Swiss driving trip (2): Italian Swiss lakeland

Swiss driving trip (1): St Moritz

Day 6: From the Swiss Alps to Swiss Italian lakes, Brissago on Lake Maggiore, via Lake Como

In the morning before leaving, I went for one last walk in our village Celerina/Schlarigna, among its ski chalets and wildflowers. It was gorgeous. And then we were off for our next destination — Brissago, a lakeside town on Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. The drive was different than the drive till St Moritz. For the first part, we drove through some magnificent alpine valleys, with huge blue-green lakes glimmering in the sun, and slowly descended into the alpine valleys of Italy. Our plan was to drive through the Lake Como area of Italy, and stop at some of the famous towns there before heading back to Switzerland.

Domaso

We stopped in the towns of Domaso and Tremezzina on the way. We took a longer break at Domaso, it was so colourful and bright. We walked on the promenade with multi-coloured houses all along. We also went into Lake Como for a bit. We then drove along the lake to Villa del Balbianello in Tremezzina, where Deepika Padukone had got married. It was fenced off though and we couldn’t get into the villa. So we just spent some time along the lake, enjoying the sunshine and the Italian vibe. We could see Bellagio across the lake. It looked pretty but also felt too cramped and crowded to enjoy properly. I felt the same for most of the places along the lake, the roads were narrow and the towns felt too posh and crowded, somehow it didn’t appeal to me.

Around Lake Como

Driving through Italy was a bit of a mess too, The roads were too narrow with a mountain cliff on one side, and a drop down to the lake on the other. Also, there were loads of tourists around and it was crowded. And the driving was too aggressive. I got honked at multiple times for stopping for tourists to cross the road and even for driving within the speed limit! It was crazy. 

The second lake on our way, Lugano, was huge too and we drove for a while next to it. We were thinking of stopping at Lugano, the city, but it felt too crowded and busy, so we skipped it. We made a quick supercharger stop and finally reached our Airbnb in Brissago in the evening. This area is known as Ticino, and has huge Italian influences. Also, the Italian border was just a few kms away from Brissago.

Brissago waterfront

Brissago was quiet and peaceful. It was a small village with a population of just 1600 people! It had a nice promenade on the lake, and a slow life around. The lakefront walks were the best places to walk, with some grand palazzos there and loads of watersports happening on the lake. We were staying at an old Ticino house, located right on the lake. And there was a chuch next door to us. As luck would have it, the church bells would ring at night, all night, every night – that was irritating.


Day 7: A Day Around Ascona

Ascona

We had two days around Brissago, which we mostly spent exploring the area around, in a leisurely fashion. The first day, we drove to Ascona, a small cute little town just a short hop from Brissago. It was on the same Lake Maggiore as Brissago. The road was a bit difficult to drive on, with cliffside curves and fast drivers but the scenery was fabulous. The blue waters with sailboats, some boats parked on the sides and grand houses all along the lakeside. 

Ascona

At Ascona, we spent a couple of hours walking along the promenade. It was sunny and relaxing, though there wasn’t a whole lot to do beyond just soaking it in. We walked along the restaurants and the lakeside, sat on a local swing and then in the park for a bit. The place felt more Italian than Swiss, in the style of the buildings, food, and even the vibe. But it was also more chaotic and definitely more touristy. Parking was a pain here too. I liked it though I felt it was overrated and was surprised how it was so crowded with tourists.

Houses on Lake Maggiore

Later in the day, I went for a run till the next village, Ronco Sopra Ascona and came back walking. The walk was fabulous, with greenery around, stunning views of the lake, boats and yachts moored on the sides, villas perched on the cliffs above the lake, narrow paths leading to the lake, small villages, and even a small island in the distance. The clouds changed colour by the minute and there was even a small thunderstorm, adding to the drama. I just fell in love with the grandeur of this place. It felt so luxurious too, but not in a Lake Como kind of way.

Brissago waterfront

We spent the evening in Brissago, and our dinner was pizza at Bahia café right by the lake; simple, perfect, and with a view. The owner was an Italian who said he came every day to Switzerland to work. And it was interesting for us to see how easily people moved countries, something we from the Indian sub-continent can only dream of.


Day 8: Exploring Locarno, and around Brissago

On our second day in Ticino, we headed to Locarno. We spent some time in the city centre, the Piazza Grande. There were just some colourful buildings and a lively square there, but not much else. We also visited the ruins of the Visconteo Castle nearby, which, interestingly, was said to be built by Leonardo da Vinci.

Parco delle Pace in Locarno

Then we went to Parco delle Pace, a beautiful lakeside park. It was quite picturesque with trees growing in the water in calm surroundings. And the water in the lake was warm! It was so serene, we sat in the sun for a bit and then went in for a swim. Later, back in Brissago, I swam in the lake again. There were a lot more waves here, but it was just as fun to swim in such captivating surroundings.

Lake Maggiore

In the evening, we took a walk all the way into Italy, it was just 4kms to get there! The walk was beautiful, with the familiar lakeside villas, the hills on one side, water on the other. It was lovely. And when we came back to Brissago, a jazz concert was being held on the lakefront, for free. It was surreal to just sit there and enjoy the music in the stunning summer setting. And then we took our last walk along the waterfront. The villas there were seriously gorgeous, and I could walk this path every day. The bells were still ringing though but somehow everything else made up for it.

Brissago

There were a few places around to visit which we couldn’t, like Brissago islands, Lido Brissago, Parco delle canellie (a walk through blooming parks) and the Lido Locarno (for outdoor swimming). Maybe for the next time.







Day 9: Brissago to Baden-Baden, with stop at Lake Lucerne 

View from Gotthard Pass

We left Ticino today and it was a 2 day drive back to Amsterdam. The first day, we were stopping in Baden-Baden in Germany. During the initial part of the drive, the highway was closed for repairs. So we had to take a diversion, an old scenic route instead through the St. Gotthard Pass. And what a gorgeous detour it was (It’s at times like these I realise that the real beauty of countries lies in the old longer roads, not the new short highways). The pass had snow, even in June. And the roads were narrow and winding, but with spectacular views of the valleys and mountains around. It was so much fun to drive here, the views made the long drive worth it.  

On the way down, we passed through beautiful alpine villages — Hospental, Goschenen and others. With wooden chalets along the slopes, the kind of Switzerland you imagine when you close your eyes. And soon it was back to boring hours of highway tunnels, flat roads, and not much to see.

We did take a lunch break at the Lake Lucerne waterfront, not in the city but in Ennetbürgen (since all the other parkings were full). This lake felt a lot more open, as it was wider than Lake Maggiore and the mountains on the side were less high. It was also so warm. We sat in the sun by the water, had our lunch, went for a swim and it was bliss.

Baden-Baden

Soon we crossed into Germany, and the landscape changed again. It was three hours of straight, boring drive on the highways. We reached Baden-Baden quite late. It looked like a sweet little town, with huge old mansions, green parks and calm roads. A very relaxed kind of place. We took a nice evening walk, saw some beautiful houses and gardens, and had a nice Indian dinner at Taj Tandoori. After a long time.


Day 10: Driving back to Amsterdam, with stop in Rhine Valley

We went out to explore Baden-Baden in the morning, and it looked even greener and grander then. We walked through the high street which had some amazing shops. But it was a short stop as we had a long drive ahead.

Rhine Valley

On our way back, we were looking for a place to stop for lunch. When I found a castle on the map next to a river, we decided to drive there. And then I discovered something I didn’t know of before – the Rhine Valley. The views were just gorgeous - green hills, castles in the distance, the Rhine below glimmering in the sun, and vineyards and castles dotting the hills. It was an absolute pleasure to drive here after all the boring highways.

Sooneck Castle

We stopped at Sooneck Castle, perched above the river. It was small but still elegant. We walked around a bit, had our lunch and were off (with me hoping to come back someday). The rest of the drive was the usual. The driving through Germany was so smooth and well-organised. One thing I noticed this time, when there’s an accident in Germany, everyone pulls to the edge of the road to make space. Such a contrast to where I come from! After Germany, we entered France for a bit when things changed again, with more traffic and slower speeds.

View from Sooneck Castle

And then soon we were back to known places – the amazing roads of Netherlands, driving through boring flatlands. It was a long, full day on the road. And then, we were back in Amsterdam. Tired, happy, and already missing the mountains.

Engadine Valley

Overall, I wasn’t very impressed with Brissago and its surroundings. It was a gorgeous place but there wasn’t a lot to do there other than eat and shop. The Engadine valley though, I loved. And can’t wait to be back!