Switzerland has no shortage of perfectly formed cities with train-set looks and Märklin-scale proportions but few come complete with chic lidos, plentiful palm-trees and a 45-minute commute to Milan. Nestled just north of the frontier with Italy, Lugano boasts a tidy “croisette” along a lake that’s perfect for early morning runners or an evening stroll to a well-managed bar. With strong modernist roots, the city has plenty of 1960s and 70s office and apartment blocks with exquisite typography, rigid architecture and stripy awnings in oranges, hot yellows and warm mochas. Well connected to Zürich and Milan by rail and to the rest of the world via the tiny airport at Agno, Lugano offers an Italian lifestyle with Swiss rule of law. It lacks a bit of edge and young entrepreneurial spirit, but that should come as the city attracts more people in search of Swiss efficiency tempered by Italian quality of life.