Castelgrande
Castelgrande
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
This beautiful medieval castle overlooking the city has been recently restored.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles529 reviews
Excellent
302
Very good
189
Average
29
Poor
5
Terrible
4

Aimee C
Lausanne, Switzerland42 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
During Winter, Castlegrande is the only castle of the three in the area that is open. It cost 8 chf with no discount unless you are buying the ‘pass’ to all three castles. There was approximately five people on the grounds and the admissions clerk said it was like this, quiet and calm, most of the time. There was a brief movie of the castle in English, German, French and Italian. There is no museum shop but a case where you can buy postcards, keychains and other ‘castle-items’. The museum is small yet interesting providing information about the origins of the castle, coins and pottery. There is also another section which had the recovered paintings of the castle. The grounds are well-maintained, easy to walk on and you can go up and around following the ‘murata’ signs. There are two towers in which you can climb up but the stairs are steep and narrow. You can also walk through the tunnel ( mentioned in the introductory movie) which, when followed, takes you to the city center. Beautiful, fine day!
Written December 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter H
Fredericksburg, VA973 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Solo
There’s a famous military strategy known as The Pincer Movement that lures the enemy down the middle into a bottle neck, while the defending forces attack from the flanks. When I saw this castle arrangement, I immediately thought of the way it causes opposing forces to get trapped in the middle of the castles in the valley below. It’s only about a football field length width between the castles. It’s a strategic defense
Written May 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Isthar D
5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023
The location is magic - the food is excellent and the staff are most welcoming and taking good care of the customer's every need. We really enjoyed the castle experience! Thank you we will be back soon!
Written April 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Natalie Z
Detroit, MI3 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Friends
We visited in April so only one castle of the three in Bellinzona was open. Be prepared to walk up 20 flights of stairs (that is what my iPhone counted) it was worth the walk for the view! We didn’t pay anything to walk around the grounds.
Written April 2, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Alf
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023
part of a day trip from lugano to airolo for the ski lift.enchanting and every which way you turn you want to snap another picture!
Written February 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael A
Incline Village, NV389 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2022
This place really brought us up to snuff on the history of the area. We always wondered why Italian speaking Switzerland. The castle/fortress is really cool and the information well presented.
Written October 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tom H
Tallahassee, FL47 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2022 • Family
Awesome castle to explore, DEFINITELY worth the trip from Lugano. Here is some stuff to know if you're not from Switzerland/Europe, especially any Americans like me who wasnt sure what to expect or how hard travel was going to be:

1) travel from Luguno (or anywhere in Switzerland): SUPER EASY, enough said. We're on day 4 of our trip and my 11 year old son now understands the trains well enough to manage our travel plans in Switz, it is incredibly easy. Buy the Swiss Travel Pass, and download the swiss train app, and you'll be good to go! BTW, in stwitz you just walk on a train with your pass, you dont scan it or anything, but when the conductor walks by you have to show them your tickets. You can take ANY train in switz if you have the travel pass, so dont stress out, just enjoy the ride!

2) Bellinzona: Absolutely beautiful city. Charming, and everywhere you look, looks like a postcard.

3) Castles: awesome, all 3 of the castles in Bellinzona can be seen in a day, and id recommend seeing the Sasso castle first (take the bus up there, just use the app), then walk down to montebello, then to castel grande.

4) safety: if you are new to traveling to europe, i know a lot of Americans always ask (or think to themselves) whether a city or other country is safe. In regards to switz, it is absolutely the safest place we've ever been. I would say its roughly 500x safer than my home in Florida lol. If you are worried about that with your travels, dont!

5) Tips: with the swiss travel pass, the castles are free to see (saves you 10Fr per person per castle). Also, we loved our time in Lugano but if i did it again, i'd of stayed in Bellinzona and taken the train to Lugano instead of visa versa. Lugano was amazing, but it has the feel of South Beach (miami), and we prefer the quiet picturesque feel of Bellinzona instead. Just our $0.02

Have fun and DEFINITELY SEE THESE CASTLES!
Written June 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

saronic
Zurich, Switzerland26,274 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021
The Castelgrande, the big castle, can be reached by walking up a street from the smoother southern side or by elevator from the north side, where the bare rock of gneiss, on which the castle sits, is almost vertical. From the modern Piazza del Sole a long tunnel with walls of concrete goes deep into the rock, to the elevators that take one up to the castle's south bailey, a grass covered open space. Signs will direct one there to the restaurant, the grotto, the museum or to the two towers.

The southern wing houses the museum, which I didn't visit this time due to the covid-restrictions, but where I had seen - a few years back - a good exhibition about the Ice Man Oetzi. Now I just went up the Torre Nera (the black tower) and from there by the parapet towards the Torre Bianca in the middle of the redoubt. There are great views from up here towards the Ticino valley and also the other two castles, Montebello and Sasso Corbaro.

The Castelgrande has a very strategic location and there has been o fort here since Roman times, which was expanded, rebuilt or strengthened in following periods, especially though by the dukes of Milan in the 15th century. What one sees now mainly dates from this period, but up to a few years ago various renovations and restorations had taken place here.
Written January 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

The Weak Knee Traveler
Singapore, Singapore11,769 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Friends
This is a really beautiful medieval castle which was built in the 13th century. Loved the long stretch of walls lining the rocky hill as well as the views of the township and other castles around it. Great views.
Written October 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LeaveAndExplore
Bern, Switzerland157 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Friends
This Castle is quite big, very well conserved and you can access the whole outdoor area, one tower included, for free. The fee for the museum is 5€.
Written July 25, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Castelgrande - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions about Castelgrande