Ticino has the best climate in Switzerland. The canton averages 2,300 hours of sunshine a year — more than anywhere else in the country — and the summers are warm enough for reliable lake swimming from June to September.
Spring (April–May) is the most beautiful season, when the camellias and rhododendrons are in bloom around the lakes and the mountain snow has mostly retreated above 1,500 metres. The crowds have not yet arrived and prices are lower. Autumn (September–October) is equally good: the light is golden, the wine harvest is underway, and the chestnut forests on the lower slopes turn russet.
July and August are peak season — the lakeside resorts fill with Swiss and German families, prices rise sharply, and parking at Ponte dei Salti in Lavertezzo becomes a competitive sport. The weather is reliably hot. Winter is mild at lake level but quiet; many smaller restaurants and boat services close from November to March. The higher mountains have ski areas, but Ticino is not primarily a ski destination — head north for that.
The Locarno Film Festival runs for ten days in August, taking over the main piazza for open-air screenings in front of 8,000 people. It is the largest open-air cinema event in Europe and worth timing a trip around.