On day three, shopping in Locarno was on the plan. Shopping on piazza grande is really convenient, since there’s one boutique after the next, including 2 of our bigger swiss department stores (but that is not very interesting since you can find those everywhere in Switzerland). It is even more fun when you go on a Thursday, because then they have their weekly market, where you can find all kinds of little treasures.
Locarno has several other interesting things to do aside of shopping. For example a visit at the Visconteo Castle

photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visconteo_Castle_(Locarno)
Or a tour on the little tour train, which drives you into the old town of Locarno, and to some historical sites, to give you a quick pre-view of what you can see around town.

Photo credit: http://www.ascona-locarno.com/en/commons/details/Small-tourist-train-Locarno-and-Ascona/84170.html
Or you can make a lake cruise on Lago Maggiore, starting from Locarno…or Ascona.
And here are some impressions of Locarno lakeside, from another, not so sunny day.
Links that might interest you, for a visit to Locarno:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visconteo_Castle_(Locarno) (for the castle)
www.ascona-locarno.com/en/commons/details/Small-tourist-train-Locarno-and-Ascona/84170.html (for the mini train tour)
www.ascona-locarno.com/en/commons/details/Lake-cruises/42674.html (lake cruises)
katjaboat.com/index.php/english.html
http://www.ascona-locarno.com/en/ (tourist website of the area)