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Together In Switzerland

All Things Swiss

Locarno Film Festival: A Local Fun Summer Activity!

Zoe| Events

For the Summer period every year, you can participate in the fun film festivities of the Locarno Film Festival. This creative festival located in the Ticino canton attracts over 75,000 people each year with lots to see. Walk the village cobblestoned streets with locals, directors and famous artists. Locarno is the place to be!

History Of the Locarno Film Festival

Founded in 1946, the Locarno Film Festival has been the place-to-be for film fanatics and those in the industry. Films shown have always been with the following categories; documentary, feature-length narrative, short, avant-garde, and retrospective programs.

It was first held at the Grand Hotel of Locarno and has been running for 75 years as of 2022, but only once cancelled (the 73rd edition) due to covid. Since the first edition showing only 15 total films, the latest editions of the festival shares so many its hard to choose! It’s one of the popular events in Ticino during August.

Each year there are many awards given out to those in the industry, with the best prize of the festival being the Golden Leopard, awarded to the best film from the International Competition. Each year also has awards handed out for the best choice voted by the public and also for career achievement.

If you want to prepare and know more about Locarno before your visit? Read here!

yellow chairs and big screen
Me next to the Locarno cat statue
yellow chairs and projector

What Can You See?

As its a film festival, the activity is in the name! There are at least 10 days long that you can enjoy lots of local, big and international films throughout the village. The festival is held in the beginning of August every year. They have multiple screens, with the biggest being at the Piazza Grande.

The local square is in my opinion the best experience ever as it’s open air. The Piazza Grande square gets decorated with 8,000 chairs for viewers. That’s right! Meaning also that 8,000 people can sit and watch a film at one time on this beautiful local square of the village. The screen is huge and the daily shows usually sell out quickly, so its always best to book in advance your tickets.

For 2022, the festival has been from 3rd August to 14th August and despite a heatwave, most shows sold out every night. For our experience, we joined the opening film on 3rd August 2022 and it was amazing. They have live viewings on the stage of the red carpet, introductions to all the judges and to the celebrities, followed by of course the film. It’s a long night (started at 9.30pm), but fully enjoyable!

Screen with leopard print

Other Locarno Activities

As well as the film festival, Locarno is of course a very beautiful village to explore. With the village having many lovely restaurants, drink places and parks to relax in.

During the film festival, there are many food trucks and live music to be found at the local roundabout nearby. This roundabout is rather huge and below the main road, so it’s easy to reach and car free. You can buy drinks here as well as many international food choices. The live music is often local but also a few international bands join for the fun.

You are also right next to Lake Maggiore, which you can enjoy a boat ride or rent peddle boats for an hour or two. There are also tour boats that you can enjoy a trip to Ascona or the botanical garden Brissago Island.

You can also explore the mountain above by taking the 2 funiculars and then the final chairlift to the top to Cimetta. This is amazing to do for the stunning views of the region. There are paragliders here as well as many hikes to enjoy depending on how much time you have. Else to head to the top for a drink in the mountain restaurant is just as sweet.

palm trees, lake and boats moored

Summary Locarno Film Festival

The Locarno Film Festival is a great summer festival for the August Summer period in Ticino. It attracts over 75,000 people each year, you should make sure to plan ahead if you want to be staying in the area

Tips:

  • For film watching at the Piazza Grande square, arrive around 1 hour earlier to get a good spot for viewing.
  • Book your tickets in advance to make sure you don’t miss out!
  • Take a drink/snacks with you if needed, else you can buy some while there.
Locarno Film Festival Summer Activity! Switzerland www.togetherinswitzerland.com (1)
Locarno Film Festival Summer Activity! Switzerland www.togetherinswitzerland.com (1)
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Ciao, I’m Zoe!

Zoe Together In Switzerland

I’m a native Brit-turned-Dutch expat living in Ticino, Switzerland with my boyfriend and our 2 kitty cats since 2022.

Our site highlights our most fun adventures and experiences while exploring local life in Switzerland.

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It is 3D printed with a gorgeous white, glossy plastic making it super lightweight for hanging up on a Christmas tree. 
The string chosen is a simple thread, with a dark blue and rich red colour to match the Ticino canton flag colours.
🌟 For your chance to win 🌟
1. Follow both @togetherinswitzerland and @david.zisky 
2. Tag at least 1 person in the comments
3. Share the post on your story and tag us for an extra chance of winning!!
🌟 The winner will be announced 10th December and we'll send you the decoration on the 11th to hang up in your tree! 🎄
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Our weekend exploring a few lakeside locations of Lake Geneva was fun. We stayed in Vevey, but explored both Lausanne and Montreux 🇨🇭
We went to see friends and to explore the Montreux Christmas market - which was extremely busy!! 🎄
We were hoping for snow, but ended up with clouds for the Saturday and then stunning sunshine on the Sunday! ☀️ It was still cold and even saw some people swimming!! 
🏡 From our home in Ticino, driving here was easy to do via the Simplon Pass (which current has snow!). It takes only 4-5 hours with the pass, else you can take the Simplon car train (with your car)! 🚘
Would you swim in the lake with less than 10°c?! 😅
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#lakegeneva #lakegenevalife #lacleman
#lacléman #lacleman🇨🇭 #vevey #veveyswitzerland #vevey_swiss #lausanne #lausannecity #lausanne🇨🇭 #lausanneswitzerland #mylausanne #lausannetourisme #montreux #montreux🇨🇭 #montreuxswitzerland #visitmontreux #chilloncastle #chateauchillon #swissexpat #swisstravel #togetherinswitzerland #swissexpatbloggers #swisslife🇨🇭 #swisslandscape #myswitzerland #myswitzerland
A #throwback to incoming rain from the south! ☔ A #throwback to incoming rain from the south! ☔
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 #swisslifestyle #swisshiking #ticinoturismo #ticinomoments #ticino  #ticinoswitzerland #cantonticino #visitswitzerland  #togetherinswitzerland #tessin  #luganoswitzerland #luganoregion #luganoturismo #lakelugano #luganomycity #xiaomiswitzerland #montesansalvatore #autumninswitzerland #autumnphotos
Winter is coming, and only 48 days to Christmas! 🎄
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📍 Parco San Michele, Lugano Switzerland 
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.#swisslifestyle #swisshiking #ticinoturismo #ticinomoments #ticino  #ticinoswitzerland #cantonticino #visitswitzerland  #togetherinswitzerland #tessin #luganoswitzerland #luganoregion #luganoturismo #lakelugano #luganomycity #xiaomiswitzerland  #autumninswitzerland  #luganophotographer  #swissdolcevita  #parcosanmichele #lakelugano🇨🇭
Who's ready for winter?! ☃️ Did you know you Who's ready for winter?! ☃️
Did you know you can spend an entire weekend at a snowy ski paradise without skiing?! We spent a wonderful weekend in Zermatt in the Valais canton and enjoyed many things without any skis! ⛷️
On www.togetherinswitzerland.com search for Zermatt and you'll find our full weekend suggestions for non-skiers ❤️
📍 Zermatt, Switzerland 🇨🇭
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#zermatt #matterhorn #zermattmatterhorn #zermattswitzerland #zermattunplugged #matterhornmonday #matterhornmountain #matterhornglacierparadise #matterhornview #matterhorngotthardbahn #gornergrat #gornergratbahn #gornergratmatterhorn🇨🇭🇨🇭🇨🇭 #swisstravel #swisslife🇨🇭 #zermatt🇨🇭 #swissmountainview #ig_switzerland #mygornergratmoment

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