Tourism Ticino's Brissago Islands also attract tourists in winter
Attract visitors even in the cold season: The Brissago Islands in Lake Maggiore. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
According to the canton of Ticino, the second "winter opening" of the Brissago Islands was also a success. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
Attract visitors even in the cold season: The Brissago Islands in Lake Maggiore. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
According to the canton of Ticino, the second "winter opening" of the Brissago Islands was also a success. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
The Brissago Islands in Lake Maggiore are also visited by many tourists in winter. With over 160 visitors per day, the second winter was even more successful than the first. The islands are only open on selected weekends during the cold season.
22.01.2026, 16:26
SDA
"Apart from one Saturday with bad weather, the weekends were a complete success," said coordinator Luca Veronese from the Ticino Department of the Environment on Thursday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. The second winter was even better than the first, with around 20 percent more entries.
This winter, the two islands were open on five weekends, the fifth and last of which is next January 24/25. After that, the two islands in Lake Maggiore will not open again until March 18 for the Locarno Camellia Show.
The canton of Ticino, which has owned the islands since 2019, is taking positive stock and wants to partially reopen the islands again next winter, explained Veronese. "The Brissago Islands have great tourist potential - even in the cold season."
During the open winter weekends, Hotel Villa Emden offers a reduced catering service and there is also a themed treasure hunt included in the admission price, as can be seen on the website. Two short botanical tours are also offered per opening day.
With the winter opening of the Brissago Islands, the canton of Ticino has also taken a step towards "deseasonalizing" tourism. Ticino Turismo recently declared this topic to be its most important "field of action". The aim is to position Ticino as a year-round destination and thus become less dependent on the weather.
An eventful history
The Brissago Islands can look back on an eventful history. In 1885, Baroness Antoinette de Saint Léger bought the islands, which were deserted at the time, and established a botanical garden. Personalities from the worlds of politics and culture visited the Brissago Islands, including the poet Rainer Maria Rilke.
In 1927, the German Max Emden bought the islands and had the villa built, which is now used as a hotel. In 1949, a few years after Emden's death, the canton and three municipalities as well as the Swiss Heritage Society and Pro Natura acquired the islands; they were opened to the public in 1950.
Pro Natura and the Swiss Heritage Society transferred their shares to the municipalities in 2015. The islands are now listed in the Federal Inventory of Swiss Sites of National Importance (ISOS).
