The Brissago Islands, located in Lago Maggiore, are a nice day trip from Ascona or Locarno.

The larger island, Isola Grande, is open to the public and is well known for a large botanical garden filled with a diverse range of plants and flowers from around the world. The unique subtropical climate that allow non-native plants like lotus blossoms, Japanese palm trees, bamboo, cypress, California poppies, etc.

Your entrance fee includes a short guided botanical tour (30-45 mins). You can book a longer guided tour up to 2h that visits more of the gardens and delves deeper into the the history.

For kids, they have a treasure hunt activity, where kids use a treasure map to search for "lost" flowers around the island. You can purchase the map at the shop for CHF 2.

On the island, there is a hotel and restaurant, which is open all day during the garden visiting hours.

Open: late March to early Nov / daily 9:00 to 17:30

Website: www.isoledibrissago.ti.ch

How to get there

To reach the islands, you can ride a boat from various ferry docks along Lago Maggiore.

From Locarno, the boat ride is 45-55 mins, depending which boat you take. The Locarno (Lago) ferry dock is a 5 min walk the Locarno train station. In 2024, a round trip boat ticket costs CHF 27.60/adult.

From Ascona, the boat ride is 15-20 mins, depending which boat you take. The Ascona (Lago) ferry dock is on the main lakeside promenade, a 5 min walk from the Ascona, Centro bus stop. In 2024, a round trip boat ticket costs CHF 22/adult.

Free travel on boats with Swiss Travel Pass, GA and other SBB day passes. Discount with Swiss Half Fare Card.

Entrance Fee

To visit the Brissago Islands gardens, you pay an entrance fee, which includes the short guided tour. In 2024, it costs CHF 10/adult and free for children under 16.

Tip: You can buy combo tickets for the boat and entrance to Brissago island through the SBB Railaway offer and get a 20% discount on the entrance fee. Learn more here.