Experience nature
The four Green Meadow Parks and the Monte Generoso, a destination with a fantastic panoramic view of Lake Lugano and Lombardy, offer relaxation and a chance to enjoy the great outdoors for young and old.
Green Meadow Parks
With the Green Meadow Parks on the Bernese Gurten, in Münchenstein, Rüschlikon and in Signal de Bougy on Lake Geneva, Migros Culture Percentage encourages everyone to enjoy nature. Free, children-friendly playgrounds are a highlight for families, just as much as the donkey riding, puppet shows and many other attractions. There are picnic spots and Migros restaurants to make it an affordable culinary trip too – in typical Migros fashion.
Green Meadow Park in MünchensteinA diverse programm of events
Not only are there permanent attractions in all four Green Meadow Parks but also varying events, like the popular Thé Dansant at the Green Meadow Park in Münchenstein, where visitors enjoy coffee, tea and cake to the tunes of dance music.
In 2009 the Park on the Gurten marked its tenth anniversary. In celebration, the programme offerings were even richer than before and included children's theatre and puppet shows, an oldies disco, as well as special events for Easter, Mothers’ Day, and August 1. Two sporting events highlighted summer and autumn: during the Gurten Cup in June, young ski jumpers competed on two summer jumps and the family sports day took place for the second time in October. Train enthusiasts marvelled at old-timer steam locomotives at the steam festival in September. It was also a busy year at the Park in Signal de Bougy – music and dance in the evenings, complemented by courses offered in cooperation with the University of Lausanne on microscopy and forensics. And at the The Green Meadow Park in Rüschlikon, the public not only enjoyed the «classics» such as puppet shows and miniature train rides, but also a big August 1 party and a well-attended open-air cinema.
Ferrovia Monte Generoso
The heavy snows in February dropped up to five metres on the Vetta, causing extensive tree fall in the area of the Pineta. Over 600 metres of electric lines were completely destroyed. Clean-up work took more than a month and resulted in a ten-day delay in the start of operations.
A lot of sun and happy guests
A hot summer with little rain made up for the late start and led to a successful 2009 season. In total, 74'000 people were transported. The Vetta restaurant served more guests than ever before and the campground was well used.
Success factor – Reaching the public
The excellent results are all the more impressive, since tourism in Ticino showed an overall decline in 2009. The combination of good weather, targeted marketing activities and consumer-oriented product offerings certainly played a big role in this success.
Creativity pays off
The nostalgic steam train trips on the oldest running steam locomotive in Switzerland (1890) were a complete success. The sale of package deals through SBB – Rail-Away has developed nicely throughout Switzerland. The 2009 launch of online offerings led to new and positive results. The 3-for-2 sale was a popular item, also in Italy, Germany and Holland. Other offers, such as evenings in Ticino (trip and dinner), the Cumulus summer sale and astronomy evenings were all well received and well attended.
120 years – A jubilee for the Ferrovia Monte Generoso
2010 will be marked by the 120th anniversary of the Monte Generoso cog railway. An Open House is planned for the July 4th «birthday» with special tickets offered at the same price as in the year 1890.