For the Switzerland National Day, the country has some great events and festivities throughout the festive day. The whole country has events, live music and fun activities that you can see and join throughout the day. Many cities also have fireworks and evening music to dance to.
Leading up to the Switzerland National Day, we were officially in the country for only 6 days, since we relocated to Switzerland the previous week. So we had a lot to learn and see as we were not sure what to expect. All shops were selling lots of red and white Swiss flags for decorations, famous Swiss food, local Swiss wines, and party items to wear.
For our own experience of the day, we arrived in Lugano by the afternoon with the local train from Locarno. We had decided to explore a little late as we wanted to also stay in Lugano for the fireworks, which was at 10:30pm. So it was a long afternoon and evening for us!
Lugano City Events
The city was already busy and buzzing with a lovely atmosphere when we arrived. The Switzerland National Day was clearly well supported, with many dressed in red and white. Lots of children had also balloons or Swiss flags in their hands too.
Throughout the day there were many things that you could see and join in with. The events started at 10am on the 1st August 2022 with the opening parade followed by wreath laying at the Independence Monument. From then onwards, there was live performances from the Castagnola Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lüganiga Band.
Along the promenade there was also local music playing and some food/drink areas to sit and relax at. Everyone was having a lovely time and you could clearly see locals as well as tourists enjoying the festivities.
For more fun activities, locations to visit and Ticino inspired posts, check here!
Fireworks In Lugano
For the final event of the fireworks at 10:30pm, Lugano became very busy along the waterfront. Everyone had definitely come out to watch them and everyone was in high spirits. By 10pm we had found a spot to watch and joined the locals to sit and wait for the show.
The fireworks were already prepared on 3 flat boats just off the shore on Lake Lugano. They were not far from the shore, and prepared in a way that you could stand anywhere along the waterfront for a good view.
Once it was time to start, there must have been every boat available out on the lake for a good view. They were all in the distance, since they couldn’t float too closely for safety reasons. We had never seen so many boats on the water at one time in Lugano!
Switzerland National Day Summary
Clearly with our own experience we only had a small glimpse of the whole day of festivities. For next year, we will know more about Switzerland and be more integrated, so we will know better how to experience the day best. Regardless of this, we had an amazing afternoon in Lugano and the huge firework display was done beautifully, and we felt very welcomed by everyone.
Leave a Reply