Ticino
Reached by a cable car from Verdasio or a lovely 8km hike through beech and chestnut woods, this eco-friendly B&B in Intragna is a welcome respite. The dorms and doubles are simple and pine furnished, the mountain views sublime, and the restaurant uses local produce to rustle up regional favourites like slow-cooked meats and polenta.
The cable car runs every 30 minutes from 9am to 6.30pm. A one-way/return ticket costs Sfr12/18.
18.1 MILES
Rising dramatically above the Old Town, this medieval stronghold is Bellinzona’s most visible icon. Head up Salita San Michele from Piazza Collegiata, or…
29.72 MILES
Marking the cantonal frontier with Uri is the vertiginous Furka Pass (2431m), the run up to which offers superlative views over the fissured Rhône glacier…
18.28 MILES
On cloudless days, you can see Lake Maggiore from this 13th-century hilltop fortification. The fortress is one of Bellinzona’s most impressive with its…
Santuario della Madonna del Sasso
7.09 MILES
Overlooking the town, this sanctuary was built after the Virgin Mary supposedly appeared in a vision to a monk, Bartolomeo d’Ivrea, in 1480. There’s a…
18.44 MILES
From central Bellinzona, it’s a 3.5km hike south to the Castello di Sasso Corbaro. Perched high on a wooded hillside, the castle has an austere beauty…
20.22 MILES
The Borromean Gulf forms Lake Maggiore's most beautiful corner, sheltering the Borromean Islands and their spectacular, privately owned palaces. Closest…
18.93 MILES
In the unassuming town of Casalzuigno, about 9km east of Laveno, generations of nobles have swanned about the magnificent gardens of Villa della Porta…
7.09 MILES
Named after the Visconti clan that long ruled Milan, this fortified 15th-century castle’s nucleus was raised around the 10th century. It now houses a…
1.67 MILES
Redolent of a more peaceful bygone age, Rasa is an utterly charming stone village, clinging to high slopes, combed through with neatly tended vegetable…
2.71 MILES
Perching on a rocky ledge at the confluence of the Melezzo and Isorno rivers and looking into a valley bounded by mountain beyond mountain, Intragna has a…
3.6 MILES
Dwarfed by the scale of the mountains and forests rising above it, the close-knit hamlet of Gresso, with a population of just 30, is scenically perched at…
5.29 MILES
Marooned in the glimmering waters of Lake Maggiore, this tiny pair of islands is famous for its botanic gardens designed in the 19th century. Magnolias,…
5.41 MILES
Re, on the Italian side, sees a procession of pilgrims on 30 April each year, a tradition that originated when a painting of the Madonna was reported to…
5.79 MILES
The late 19th century saw the arrival of ‘back to nature’ utopians, anarchists and sexual libertarians from northern Europe in Ascona. Their aspirations…
7. Museo Comunale d’Arte Moderna
6.01 MILES
Housed in the late-16th-century Palazzo Pancaldi, this museum showcases paintings by artists connected with the town, among them Paul Klee, Ben Nicholson,…
6.14 MILES
The Collegio Papio, now a high school, boasts a fine Lombard courtyard and includes the 15th-century Chiesa Santa Maria della Misericordia, with medieval…