Gottardo Sud - Quinto

When we drive to Italy this is some kind of tradition to stop here first. It's right after the Gotthard Tunnel and it's good for a quick break. Be it because you're tired of the traffic jam leading south or be it to celebrate the fact that you didn't get any traffic (we did belong to the latter group). Besides the gas station and the self-service restaurant there's a shop/kiosk and of course the bathrooms (which most visitors will use). The restaurant is good for a coffee or so, the food is your standard Autobahn fare. The bathroom do cost. 1 buck a person. But you can use the ticket as a discount for the shop upstairs (and you can combine more than 1 ticket, which is nice). For us it's just the first stop on the way to our vacation destination, a welcome quick break to stretch you legs and have our dog for a quick walk after the long, dark Tunnel. But in the end it's just another Service area by the highway, but with a nice architecture.

We had driven up from Lake Garda (Northern Italy) and were heading to Lucerne to spend a few days. Our GPS lady gave us instructions to turn off E35 motorway, a detour, apparently the Gotthard Strassentunnel was closed because of an accident. We hadn 't intended to stop at City Quinto, but our route took us through Piotta, so we stopped to get some alternate directions, plus, it was time for a break anyway. This is a full service stop, you can fill up with petrol, buy something (treats or souvenirs) or stop in at the restaurant for something to eat. You can grab a quick meal, they serve buffet style, or as in our case, have a coffee and a treat. We found the servers a bit sullen and the food somewhat expensive. They say it is affordable, which maybe it is, by Swiss standards. My question is, why do people whose jobs exist only because of customer participation , have to act, like the people that they are serving, are a nuisance. Thankfully this is not the case in most places, and to be fair, it was not everybody at this Service Centre ! This is a centre that does provide for a number of your needs, there are washrooms available. There is a slight charge to use them, this is a common practise in a lot of places. We weren 't aware that Switzerland charges a toll to drive on some of their roads, we should have been, duh . We were suspicious enough to ask at the info centre. They told us we did and that we could buy a Vignetta Auto pass there for 40 CHF to put on our windshield and that it was good on all roads for the whole year. This is very reasonable, in particular, when you see the magnificent road/tunnel system that is found in Switzerland. The City Quinto Service Center is located on the west side No. 2 (E35), 5 km. south of the tunnel. The tunnel had been shut down, and who knows for how long? As we were headed to Lucerne for the night, we wanted to know if there were any alternate routes available to us, thankfully, we were told that there was one. The tunnel takes you through the mountain, but you can drive the old No. 2 route which takes you over the mountain. It is longer, but if you want to take the scenic road , then this the route to go! It really would been our first choice anyway and it would have been very disappointing to have missed taking it. So, as it turns out, the delay. was at least for us, fortunate! So, if you are heading into Lucerne from the south, and aren 't in a big hurry, take the scenic route. The views available, as you climb up and up, are quite spectacular. Switzerland is a magnificent country.

Taking rest..buying souvenirs..toilets..playing area for kids.recommend for whom travelling from switzerland to italy.

Eine 'Gast 'stätte , die nur wegen der Autobahn knapp überleben kann, was nützt es wenn man sich auf Botta beruft. Das Personal völlig uninteressiert unmotiviert, sicher wegen der Hungerlöhne.Das Folgende bezieht sich nur auf die Schnellimbissbar:hundsmies geführt, keine Ahnung von Gastronomie, Visitenkarte für 50 der Tessiner Restaurants. Sandwiches sind nur dazu da, den Hunger zu stillen, Freude und Genuss sind meilenweit enfernt.Es sollte einmal ein dynamischer Chef alles ändern,

Leider ist die Raststätte nach dem Gotthard die schnellste Möglichkeit für einen kurzen Halt. Wenn möglich würde ich sie jedoch meiden. Die Preise sind völlig überzogen und das Personal ist total unfreundlich. Man fühlt sich fast schlecht, wenn sie einen Espresso zubereiten. Schrecklich. Das Angebot ist auch sehr veraltet. Heutzutage sollte jede vielbefahrene Bar oder Restaurant Milchalternativen wie z.B Sojamilch anbieten, um auf Allergiker oder ähnliches einzugehen. Seit Jahren frage ich immer wieder danach, aber die Antwort ist immer die gleiche: Nein. Ich empfehle dem Besitzer dringend, das ganze Konzept der Raststätte zu überdenken und zu überarbeiten.