If you are looking to experience something unique in Switzerland, Swissminiatur must be on your list. The brainchild of Pierre Vuigner, Swissminiatur is located in Melide which is just about 6 km from Morcote. The park is set amidst massive lawns, flower beds, mini water bodies and the setting is as natural as it can get. Here are some captures on a recent visit to Melide which I combined with the city of Lugano.
Spread across a sprawling 14,000 square meters, the park cum museum has almost 128 models of houses, castles and monuments set in open air. Surrounded by lush greenery, the park is replete with the country’s most famous landmarks like the Parliament house in Bern, Chillon Castle, Zurich Airport and many more.
In addition to landmarks, the park also depicts architecture of houses, socio-cultural aspects like celebration of festivals, buildings like schools, town halls (Rathaus). So while here you can see the school buildings of Rapperswil, depiction of Alpine festivals and the like.
Switzerland is synonymous with trains and the park depicts at least 18 models of trains including the famous Glacier Express. There is a network of 3.5 kilometers of train tracks inside the park.
While here you can take a train ride on a mini train that takes you along the periphery of the park and also take a look at the workshop where you can see models being prepared, repaired, restored and refurbished.
Swissminiatur is an easy day trip from Zurich and is easily accessible by car, train and bus.
