Second week of October:

Accommodations: Hapimag on the Ascona Delta
Self-catering condominiums with an indoor pool and three types of saunas

Weather: Warm 20-22 C. Cool in the evenings

Sights:

Ascona: A small town on the Maggiore Lake. We walked along the lake to the harbour located near the tip of the delta. Green grass, trees, a few sandy beaches, a golf course and the beautiful lake with its hilly, almost mountainous background welcomed us along the path.

Valle Verzasca: A valley starting near Locarno. Some sights not to be missed are:

- A dam featured in the James Bond film, Goldeneye. It offers bungee jumping as well as a spine-tingling view from the top of the dam.

- Corippo: A very old stone village with only 17 inhabitants. You park outside of the village and walk around, looking at the old stone houses, wooden doors and wonder how did these people survive all these years?

- Ponte dei Salti: near Lavertezzo

A medieval bridge that goes over beautiful glacier/river carved boulders and clear turquoise clear water. Not only a feast for the eyes, but a great place to lie on smooth boulders, close your eyes and forget daily life.

- Sonogno:

The last village in the valley. 920 meters high, it’s an old stone village with an active village life. My Canadian friend, Carmen, lives there and manages the sport bar and ice rink. She’s very proud of the 100+ populated village. If you’ve read “The Potter’s House”, it’s a parallel life of Olivia, who was featured in the book. Carmen also rents out the oldest house in the village as well as apartments and double rooms to guests.

Ascona Delta Beach:
Walking down the Maggia River dike, the path led us to a secluded sandy beach on the Maggiore Lake. We loved the location and made a campfire. As time passed, we noticed more and more men coming to our beach and laying in the sun…naked. A male nudist beach! The sunbathers were male and of all ages. Luckily for us, there were a few boats anchored near the beach and the families would also come and lay on the warm sand. It was an interesting day.

Indemini:
Actually we never made it there. We took the very windy road from Vira and ended our trip on the top of the pass, a place called Alpe di Neggia. It was cold, windy and not welcoming. The kids were complaining and we decided to go back down.

Fosano:
On our drive down, we stopped in La Fosanella for a coffee with grappa. The view from the restaurant balcony was amazing. We saw the dam, the lake, Locarno and Ascona and the rugged mountains in the background. The female owner was Swiss German and very friendly. We would definitely go there again.

Vescio:
Our holiday was all about planning and then doing something different.
Today we rented bikes from Hapimag and went into Ascona. From there we wanted to go to Gordevio, where there’s a great pizzeria at the TCS camping site called Bella Vista. Many of our friends had eaten there. So we started for Valle Maggia. Suddenly, we found ourselves biking along a busy road with no bike trail and lots of trucks. It was scary and our kids were not amused. At Ponte Brolle, we changed our plans and headed for Tegna, looking for a pizzeria. We biked down to a sandy beach and a man told us about Vescio. So we continued our bike ride along the Melezza river on a beautiful unpaved bike path until we came to Vescio. We pushed our bike up the steps to the village. There we found the restaurant Croce Federale, where we ate risotto with mushrooms and veal. Delightful. On the way down to the river we passed Grotto Cavalli and thought this would have been better for the view and grotto feeling. However, we were satisfied with our meal and even saw the school for clowns, managed by Dimitri. We biked back to Ascona along the river and on bike paths.

Gordola:

Our last day was dedicated to the kids. We went to Parco Ventura in Gordola. It’s an adventure park where you are high up in the trees and go from tree to tree walking on thin cables, wooden bridges, swinging on ropes, or just sliding down cables to the next tree. All the while, you wear a helmut and climbing gear, and are constantly hooking and unhooking metal hooks on a lifeline, so there is limited risk. Children have to be 140 cm. tall and escorted by an adult if they are under 16. The older kids adored the adrenaline rush they got. My younger son, 135 cm, only got to go on the kiddie parcour and became bored after the fourth time. I stayed with him while keeping an eye out on the rest of my tarzan family.
Cost: SFr. 25 for adults. SFr. 20 for 140 cm. kids. SFr. 15. for 120-140 cm. kids.

Summary:

Ascona to the German Swiss is what California is to Washingtonians. Sun, relaxation and great food. If you want snow-capped mountains and yodelling, don’t go to Ascona or to Tessin. If you want to experience the Italian Riveria but don’t want to leave Switzerland, then Tessin is just the place to visit.

Tessin is best experienced in the spring or fall, when the day temperature is around 20 C and the nights are cool.

Hi schuler!

Sounds delightful! Wish I was there!!

Thanks so much for posting & giving us a taste of Switzerland!

s

Salü Swandav!

When are you returning to Switzerland?

schuler
This sounds delightful! I'm making two trips from US into and out of ZRH in the next 7 weeks. DH and I may be able to make it to one of our favorites, the La Palma Au Lac hotel, in Locarno, and see some of what you describe. The schedule is pretty tight, but here' hoping...
Carol

Super! I hope the weather is still mild. Tessin is only half as nice when it's cold.

Thanks for the synopsis, schuler! Needless to say, I'm envious. Hi, S!

Later, I've been working on the curriculum for three hours, and I feel a nap coming on. (Also scratchy throat and runny nose, so that's my excuse.) Affectionately, J.

Schuler, what a lovely trip report to find! I'm taking notes. The Swiss end of Maggiore is one of my favorite places on earth.

Hi J: Gute Besserung! I thought of you while driving through Vira.
Hi C: I agree wholeheartedly!

Hello again, schuler, S!, catbert et al.

I wonder if you'll do something for me. Check the Albergo Panorama's web cam at

http://www.hotel-panorama.ch/Cam/webcam.html

and tell me if the resolution is terribly poor. It's been that way on my laptop for about a month now, but I don't want to write to complain until I'm certain that it's not just me. Techno stuff is beyond me, so if there's something I should adjust, please let me know. Thanks all, J.

I opened the java file. The resolution was VERY poor. Nice to see they still have sun but a bit of fog too. Just like where I live.

bookmarking

Thank you, schuler! I know this post is a few years old, but I am investigating a trip to Locarno/Ascona from Northeast Italy.

If anyone has thoughts or recent reports on Locarno, Ascona, Lugano or Valle Verzasca, please post here!

A few of us are renting a mini-van. We're starting from Padova (Padua) in Italy. Then going to Verona. Then the Ticino region of Switzerland. Not sure about Lugano at this point -- hear mixed reviews, and with the U.S. dollar being so low, maybe it's not the best idea. Cheers, Everyone!

Hi Betty,

I was in Lugano last weekend and had a wonderful stay. Beautiful water/mountain scenery, great walks, and wonderful dinner as well as a fireworks display over the lake to celebrate Swiss National Day (kind of like US 4th of July)...

Was in Ascona last September and enjoyed similar experience with lovely weather, nice hikes, great scenery, lots of dining.

Ascona is smaller, but I found Lugano quite fun and just as dramatic with the water and mountains all around.

Both have lots of shopping if you like that sort of thing.

Ascona is a bit more low-key.

Enjoy!

Gruezi

Hi gruezi!

Thanks so much for responding.

If we are limited in time, which area would you recommend that we focus on?

A friend of mine said that Lugano is quite expensive.

I would be bringing my parents, who love scenery. So the focus would be more on seeing mountain views. Not shopping or museums.

Would Locarno/Ascona be better then?

Cheers,
Betty

bettyo,

Switzerland in general is just expensive. For us, it just makes the rest of Europe seem not so steep but even after 18 months we are still surprised sometimes by the cost of things.

I'm torn about where to send you. Ascona is a bit more low-key but there aren't as many hotels right on the water and the ones that are, are pricey but not really worth the price IMO. In Lugano there are more hotels on the water but the city is a bit busier and definitely a lot larger.

Both areas have gorgeous water views and stunning mountains and boat trips. Both are Italian in feel and Italian and German are spoken but more Italian.

I can't help with Locarno...

I would say you would like either place and find both dramatically scenic.

Sorry not to be more opinionated (I usually am). I've only spent the weekend in either spot. Both times I was with my husband. He's not the best traveler, but both times we had a lovely, romantic time. I think he preferred Ascona but I am a water girl and in Lugano we stayed right on the water and in Ascona we looked at a parking lot so I preferred Lugano for this reason alone.

In Ascona we stayed at the 4-star Ascovilla. It is very clean and comfortable and has a pool and restaurant. It is close to everything but no views. They are very nice there. You will not feel it is at all posh though. I don't remember the cost anymore but at least a couple hundred dollars. In this part of Switzerland, accommodations that are 4-star seem more 3-star IMO.

In Lugano I remember we paid $390 at the Lido Seegarten. We got the last room available as we booked on arrival 4 pm on a holiday weekend. We had a truly spectacular view and a terrace with some old chaise lounges. There is a pool right on the lake and you can swim in the lake as well - we hadn't packed swimsuits as we weren't even sure we would stay overnight (we were on the Wilhelm Tell Express for the day with a small daypack) - the swimming was so, so inviting we bought swimsuits. (My husband hates swimming and even he came in for a refreshing dip!) The room again is very clean but nothing fancy - nice linens/duvet which I appreciate. The bathroom was clean and with everything you need. Breakfast was included and although very chaotic had everything you would want including eggs. There is AC and we were glad.

Just down the road from the Lido Seegarten is Arte a lovely white linen table cloth style restaurant where we had a wonderful dinner - esp. the appetizers - and again looking right on the water. I'm sure with wine dinner came to near $200 but there are much lower cost alternatives in the busy city area. I don't get my husband's company very often, and he was pouring on the wooing, so this was a special treat. Plus we wanted a quiet place not a bustling cafe of which there are plenty...

In Gandria there are a few much lower priced hotels right on the water - they are more B&Bish but if your parents like water views and aren't fussy about accommodations you can check out:

Elvezia al Lago - charming little spot, about 10 minute walk to the center of Gandria, but I heard the food is not good. No A/C so you want room 5 or 7 for cross breeze in the summer. It does get hot. Prices are 1/3 what we paid in Lugano but you can walk or take the bus or boat to Lugano. Boat is right at the hotel. I would stay here next time I think.

Hotel Moosmann in Gandria is another option on the water. I didn't find it as charming as Elvezia but it is right in this tiny little village and again boat is right nearby.

I hope this has been helpful. I'm clearly not an expert on this area but I got good advice from my Swiss/Italian neighbors who love this area. Also, I did some searches here on Fodor's and on TripAdvisor and got some other opinions. You definitely don't need to pay what we paid - we were on a splurge and only there for one night.

gruezi

gruezi: Thank you for your ideas! We love B&Bs so no worries there.

But I think that maybe if the U.S. dollar remains criminally LOW by the time we go to Switzerland next year, we may just consider to stay in Italy where we have relatives. Just go to Switzerland for the day or something... we'll see.

Cheers!

Betty