Management Swissminiatur SA

Swissminiatur in Melide in the canton of Ticino presents an idealized, miniature depiction of Switzerland and is intended for visitors with an interest in architectural and landscape model making.

The park is situated on the Melide causeway, about 5 km south of Lugano, directly adjacent to the Gotthard railway line and the A2 motorway. It opened in 1959 and has since evolved through continuous additions and careful adaptations.

On an exhibition area of 14,000 m² more than 130 model buildings at a scale of 1:25 are assembled, including patrician houses, churches, castles and monuments as well as other distinctive Swiss structures. A rail network of approximately 3.5 kilometres is served by 18 trains; supplementary installations display rack railways, cable cars and suspended railways, and model ships also operate. Depending on their location, the model railways run on three track gauges: 33 mm, 46 mm and 58 mm.

The site is landscaped and includes around 15,000 varieties of flowers and over 1,500 trees, enhancing the effect of the miniature objects. A play area is designed for children. In 2003 a walk-through model of the Milan Cathedral was added to the collection; this sole non-Swiss object recalls the historical connection of the canton of Ticino to the Duchy of Milan and the 200th anniversary of Ticino's membership in the Swiss Confederation. Swissminiatur attracts about 200,000 visitors per year.