What a way to spend July in Lugano! Almost three whole weeks of music, art, theatre and poetry will be going on throughout the Swiss city every afternoon and evening, and all for free.
LongLake Summer City Festival 2025
Returning for its 15th edition, the LongLake Summer City Festival is bursting with things to see and do. Each Thursday to Sunday takes on its own theme, like mini-festivals within the festival, while the intervening days are still busy with supporting theatre, markets, street art and more, as well as evening musical performances.
The three different weekend themes are:
Estival Jazz
From July 10-13, it's time for jazz music to take centre stage. International artists grace the stage, interspersed with amazing Swiss acts.
Blues to Bop
Blues to Bop has been a festival in Lugano in the past, but usually in August. For the second time, it has decided to move its dates and be part of the LongLake Summer City Festival. From July 18-19, a careful selection of international musicians will offer a musical journey to celebrate the universality of the blues.
Lugano Buskers
July 23-27 is all about the street performers, with an emphasis on performers and shows that are intense and explosive. For these days, the music and street performers are spread throughout the city instead of up on the main stage, creating a different atmosphere.
The main areas where events will be taking place are Lungolago, Piazza Manzoni, Ciani Park and Punta Foce, and the types of acts include concerts, theatre, cabaret, puppets and aerial acrobatics.
Markets at LongLake Summer City Festival
There will be three different markets during the 17-day-long festival. In Ciani Park, a food market will be set up for the whole festival period, with a huge range of international food and drinks to sate your appetite.
Every Thursday and Friday, there will be the summer market set up along the lakeside. This will be selling all kinds of interesting local products, cool clothes, beautiful handicrafts and gift ideas. The lakefront will be closed to traffic from 6pm-1.30am to make this the nicest possible experience.
Saturdays July 12 and 19 will host the Lugano Bazaar al Lago. This is a second-hand market where you can find vintage clothing and unusual jewellery and accessories.
Family Village
From 4pm to 9.30pm every day, the foyer of the Palazzo dei Congressi and the adjacent Ciani Park garden become the Family Village. This is a colourfully decorated, safe space for parents to hang out with their children and take part in fun activities. Having a covered space also means you can be prepared for whatever the weather!
Getting to LongLake Summer City Festival
The festival is scattered throughout the city of Lugano, so you only need to worry about getting yourself to Lugano itself. Then it's all laid out for you. Walking from the station to one of the furthest festival locations, Ciani Park, takes about 20 minutes, and there is plenty of public transport to get you about the city. Lugano itself is well connected, with trains to Zurich, Basel, Frankfurt and Milan.