Ascona – Ronco Sopra Ascona – Brissago

This a lovely, lovely stroll. Starting in beautiful Ascona, it follows the shore of Lago Maggiore to the pretty town of Brissago. Frequent ferries will bring you back to Ascona with the option to stop off on the Isola Brissago.

Isola Brissago are actually two islands and are Tessin’s botanical parks. The smaller island (Isola Piccola or St Apollinaire) has been left in its natural state, while the bigger island (Isola Grande or St. Pancrazio) opened to the public in 1950. Mostly subtropical plants from the northern and southern hemisphere grow in the botanical gardens. Theys are well worth a visit!

Our hike starts in Ascona and we quickly head out of the pretty town. Starting out, the walk is quite steep but it will be worth it for the views later on.

While at the start the views to the lake are a little hidden, they soon open up. Isola Brissago becomes visible for the first time.

After almost two hours we can see the charming village of Ronco sopra Ascona.

This really is rather pretty with a very Swiss – Italian feel!

Once reaching this pretty little town we wander along the narrow streets and charming alleyways.

After almost 3 hours we arrive in Brissago. We end this lovely outing with a relaxing ferry ride back to Ascona for a well-earned ice-cream!