#1 Lake Maggiore: Isola Grande Brissago near Brissago TI

The Isola Grande, the larger of the two Brissago islands, attracts more visitors each year than any other sight in Ticino, thanks to its exotic garden with more than 1700 Mediterranean and subtropical plant species. If you want to avoid the tourist hustle and bustle and experience the island's winding paths in silence, arrive in the early evening and reserve one of the ten hotel rooms in the "Villa Emden". Built in the 1920s, the neoclassical palazzo-style building owes its architecture to the German department stores' magnate Max Emden, whose free-spirited lifestyle caused red heads to turn in the then poverty-stricken, heavily Catholic southern Switzerland. The motto "Life is also an art" is still emblazoned above the boat landing stage. After Emden's death, the Brissago Islands became public property - they have been the botanical garden of the Canton of Ticino since 1950. In the evening, an indescribable magic falls over the blooming wonder park, and after the last boat departs, you feel a bit like the former island owner.

isoledibrissago

villaemden

#2 River Ticino: Isola dei Due Ponti in Giornico TI

In the centre of Giornico in the lower Leventina, the Isola dei Due Ponti is a legendary photo subject. The river island is connected to the mainland on both sides by Romanesque stone bridges over the Ticino River. In the middle of it all, the "Grotto dei Due Ponti" with its atmospheric pergola terrace and hearty Cucina Casalingua invites you to stop for a bite to eat. A worthwhile first stop on the journey from the Gotthard to Ticino. Directly below the grotto there is also the possibility of swimming safely - even for children.

grotto2ponti

 

#3 Lake Cauma: Isla near Flims GR

In the Flims forest, about 1000 metres above sea level, you walk straight into a calendar picture that has become reality. The exceptionally clear Lake Cauma with its dreamy bays and sunbathing spots - and the island Isla as the central eye-catcher - blends into this alpine idyll. The latter is covered with conifers and can be reached by pedalo or rowing boat. Or you can swim across the island. Thanks to underground springs, the natural bathing lake surprises with pleasant water temperatures of up to 24 degrees in high summer. The restaurant at Lake Cauma provides solid catering and refreshing drinks. The "Lag la Cauma" (as it is called in Romansh) can be reached by a half-hour walk from the Flims-Waldhaus bus station. This path can be shortened by a cable railway.

caumasee-flims

 

#4 Lake Hallwil: Hallwyl moated castle near Seengen AG

Walking across the bridge is like leaping across the centuries. The two arms of the Aabach, which surround the moated castle at the outlet of Lake Hallwil, seem to bounce off any hectic pace of our time. It is an otherworldly world hidden beyond the walled moats and behind huge old trees. For 800 years, the castle was the family seat of the Aargau noble family of Hallwyl, which distinguished itself in many ways on Swiss battlefields and at European courts, in science and in trade. The interactive exhibition in the impressive castle complex, which extends over two islands, brings the history and everyday life of this influential family to life, and also provides interesting insights into the earlier everyday life of the "normal" population of the lake valley. After the journey through the different eras, the castle courtyard with café invites you to linger.

schlosshallwyl

 

#5 Lake of Uri: Lorelei Bathing Islands near Flüelen UR

As on many Maldives islands, the three bathing islands of Lorelei and the inaccessible Neptune Islands in front of them have been helped along by human hands. The seemingly natural lagoon landscape in the Reuss delta at the southern tip of the Lake of Uri was created from recycled excavated material from the Gotthard base tunnel - this wave-breaking measure is intended to protect the previously eroding shore and combine the necessary with the pleasurable. 2400 trainloads of gravel and rubble were transported here and sunk into the lake. All that can be seen, however, are the shallow islands that rise just out of the water and are covered with sand, plants and large boulders, inviting even the water-shy to take a (sun)bath - it only takes a few swims from the sand and gravel beach on the landward side. The lively bathing and tropical holiday atmosphere speak for themselves.

reussdelta

 

#6 Lake Zurich: Ufenau Island near Pfäffikon SZ

Islands seem to be particularly dear to us Swiss. This is expressed in a pronounced pride in the excursion destinations surrounded by water on our own doorstep. And in strict building regulations. The latter brought down architect Peter Zumthor's ambitious new building project on the Ufenau. The Einsiedeln Monastery, which has owned the island since 965, wanted to build a summer restaurant with a striking sail-shaped roof. It was to have complemented the inn "Zu den zwei Raben". Nothing came of it, but at least the recently gently renovated restaurant shines in baroque splendour. You can get married in the Romanesque church of St. Peter and Paul with frescoes on the island's history. Ufenau can be explored on walks across the 470-metre-long and maximum 220-metre-wide islet with its protected moorland, cattle breeding and its own vineyards. Only bathing, picnicking and barbecuing are not allowed. Switzerland's largest island can be reached in a few minutes by taxi boat from Pfäffikon or by scheduled boat, for example on a 1¾-hour trip from Zurich-Bürkliplatz.

inselufenau

 

#7 Rhine: Rheinau Music and Monastery Island in Rheinau ZH

Five kilometres below the Rhine Falls, on the edge of Zurich's wine country, the Rhine wraps almost completely around the village of Rheinau. A small bridge leads from this peninsula to the real island with its former Benedictine monastery and imposing baroque church. The island of Rheinau, which housed the psychiatric clinic of the Canton of Zurich from 1862 until 2000, has recently positioned itself as a music island with appropriate facilities for musicians. Above all, orchestras and choirs are to be offered optimal conditions here for preparing concerts - also with greatly reduced rates for practice rooms and overnight stays. The hotel with 60 modern rooms is open to everyone, as are the regular concerts, music workshops, yoga weekends and creative courses. The ensemble also includes the Klostergarten restaurant with its secluded garden under shady trees.

musikinsel

kircherheinau

kloster-garten

 

#8 Rhine: Werd Monastery Island near Eschenz TG

Of the three Werd islands in the outflow of the Rhine from Untersee, only the largest is accessible. This is via a 200-long wooden footbridge that starts at the beach path between Eschenz and Stein am Rhein. Otmar, founder and first abbot of the monastery of St. Gallen, once lived in exile on the island. To this day, six Franciscan monks reside at this place of peace and contemplation. They also welcome ordinary mortals to pray together in the St. Otmar Chapel or to visit the labyrinth in the monastery garden.

thurgau-bodensee

#9 Lac de Gruyère: Île d'Ogoz near Pont-en-Ogoz FR

At 13.5 kilometres, the reservoir through which the Sarine flows is the longest in the country and is also often described as the most scenic. Many Swiss people know it from their car window - as a magical, rapidly passing backdrop to the foothills of the Alps on the drive between Fribourg and Lausanne. But only very few know this lush green region up close. Anyone who gets involved with Lac de Gruyère in the heart of the Gruyère region is sure to become curious about Île d'Ogoz. The romantic island with castle ruins and an eight-hundred-year-old chapel, created in 1948 during the construction of the dam and accessible on foot at low tide, can be reached by taxi boat from Pont-en-Ogoz. On Sunday afternoons, the boat usually also runs without advance booking.

ogoz

 

#10 Lake Geneva: Château de Chillon moated castle near Montreux VD

The moated castle in the upper Lake Geneva basin has fascinated generations of visitors and evokes a comforting shiver, and not just from children. The iconic structure has been enthroned on the oval rocky island since the 12th century and was already a strategically favourable location in Roman times due to its position at the narrow point between the steep mountain flank and the lake: tolls and duties were taken from travellers to the Great Saint Bernard here. Long under Savoyard rule, the Bernese bailiffs occupied the castle in 1536. During the Vaudois Revolution in 1798, "Leurs Excellences de Berne" were sent back home, and Chillon subsequently became the property of the newly founded Canton of Vaud. A visit to the picture-book castle is best combined with a boat trip, for example a round trip on one of the nostalgic paddle steamers from Montreux, Vevey or Lausanne.

www.chillon.ch