The Locarno funicular is 25% off while everything above it is 50%
Every other mountain on the network gives you one rate and you stop thinking about it. Cardada gives you two, and the line falls at Orselina, 395m up.
| Leg | Full price | Discount | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locarno to Orselina funicular (return) | CHF 8 | 25% | CHF 6 |
| Orselina to Cardada cableway, Cardada to Cimetta chairlift | CHF 39 | 50% | CHF 19.50 |
| Locarno to Cimetta and back | CHF 47 | CHF 25.50 |
The CHF 2 you lose on the funicular is not worth being annoyed about, but it's the only single trip in Switzerland where one pass carries two different rates, so now you know why the maths didn't add up. Full coverage rates are listed on the mountain coverage page.
You can't buy all three legs at Locarno station
This catches people out. The funicular station in Locarno sells funicular tickets and nothing else. The cableway and chairlift ticket is sold at Orselina, in the office across the street from the Madonna del Sasso church.
- Buy the funicular return at Locarno, or show your pass and pay CHF 6.
- Ride up to Orselina.
- Cross the street to the upper ticket office and buy the Cardada and Cimetta ticket at CHF 19.50.
- Take the cable car to Cardada at 1,340m.
- Walk five minutes across to the chairlift station, then ride up to Cimetta at 1,670m.
- Another five minutes on foot from the chairlift to the observation platform.
Buying the upper section online before you go skips the Orselina queue entirely. Allow two and a half hours for the whole thing including a stop at the top, and about three hours to reach Locarno from Zurich in the first place.
The chairlift seats two and you sit sideways
It's the only chairlift of its kind in Switzerland. You're facing across the valley rather than up the slope, which is either the best view on the mountain or the reason you'll grip the bar. It's open-air, so a grey day is a grey ride and there's no glass between you and it.
What you see from Cimetta at 1,670m
From up here you can see the lowest point in Switzerland and the highest at the same time: Lake Maggiore at 193m below you and the Dufourspitze at 4,634m on the horizon. That's a 4,441m spread from one platform.
Beyond that, Locarno and Ascona spread out on the lake, the Maggia and Verzasca valleys, the Centovalli, and Italy.
Things to do at Cardada and Cimetta with kids
Cardada is the stop that works on its own, without going on up to Cimetta, and most of what's there is aimed squarely at children.
- The Noah's Ark playground at Cardada
- A giant chess set at Cardada
- The #swingtheworld swing
- A treasure hunt around the Cardada area
- The landscape promontory at Cardada
- The geological observatory at Cimetta
- Madonna del Sasso, the pilgrimage sanctuary, a stop on the funicular on the way up
Five mountain restaurants, and Capanna Cimetta at the top
There are five mountain restaurants across the area, which is generous for a hill this size. Capanna Cimetta at the summit is self-service with a large terrace and the view you came for. Cardada has a restaurant too, which is where you'll end up if you're with children.
Walking and hiking from Cardada
Cardada sits between the Maggia and the Verzasca, so the trails run down into both valleys. No times are published for any of them.
- Trailheads down into the Maggia valley
- Trailheads into the Verzasca valley
- Three Nordic walking trails
- An orienteering course
- Mountain bike trail 397
- The Via Alta Vallemaggia, a multi-day trek
- Snowshoeing in winter
Opening season and the winter funicular timetable
Summer runs 16 March to 8 November. Winter runs 20 December to 15 March, but the funicular only operates Fridays to Sundays and public holidays, and it's closed on 25 December. Maintenance shuts things down from 9 November to 19 December 2026. No reservation is needed at any point, and there's nothing extra to pay.
Ticino Ticket or Swiss Travel Pass for Cardada
Both cards cut the upper section, and they don't cut it by the same amount.
| Ticino Ticket | Swiss Travel Pass | |
|---|---|---|
| Upper section (Orselina to Cimetta) | CHF 31 | CHF 19.50 |
| How you get it | Free with any paid overnight stay in Ticino | Bought as a rail pass |
If you're staying a night in Ticino you'll be handed the Ticino Ticket anyway, but it's the weaker deal on this particular mountain by CHF 11.50.
What to do if the weather turns
Nothing indoors except the restaurants. Three stages of exposed transport and an open-air chairlift mean cloud ruins it completely, and the 4,441m view is the entire point. Look at the sky before you buy the upper ticket at Orselina, because you can walk away at that stage having only spent CHF 6.
Nearby mountains on the same pass
Monte Tamaro is the other Ticino cable car on the pass, and further north there's Säntis. If you're weighing passes rather than mountains, the Swiss Travel Pass against the Lucerne pass comparison covers where each one earns its money.
