3 Best Hotels in Locarno, Ticino

This gorgeously equipped B&B—perhaps the nicest in all of Ticino—has five chic rooms with burnished hardwood floors and tasteful contemporary furnishings and a great restaurant (closed Tuesday and Wednesday). Many people make their way to Ponte Brolla just for the restaurant, which serves inventive, carefully prepared Italian cuisine in the stylish café, formal dining room, or, weather permitting, soak up the sunshine on the large outdoor terrace. 

Perched near Lago Maggiore, this Old Town restaurant-with-rooms has pleasant, fairly good-value accommodations tucked under the rafters, with classic tile floors in cream and red adding to the simple, rustic charm. Even better, the popular trattoria downstairs offers inexpensive regional food—pizzas, pastas, and simply prepared fish—and fancier fish dishes are available in the more formal restaurant upstairs.

A terrific location, at the east end of the Piazza Grande, makes this friendly hotel a particularly good base for exploring Locarno, and, thanks to the pedestrian-only street and the nearby public gardens, it's relatively quiet. Many of the modern yet cozy rooms have balconies, there's a lovely terrace for breakfast, and public parking is close by.