Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Ascona, Switzerland

Sailboats on Lago Maggiore, Swiss Alps in the background
Sailboats on Lago Maggiore, Swiss Alps in the background

In Ascona, one of Lago Maggiore’s many lakeside gems, foodie and sailing fanatics alike are sure to find bliss. Located on the Italian-speaking Swiss side of Lago Maggiore in the canton (state) of Ticino near the Italian border, Ascona boasts all the amenities necessary for a weekend of prime sailing and gourmet dining.

Those seeking lively clubs, bars and an under-40 crowd ought to reconsider Ascona as a vacation destination. However, what energy Ascona lacks during late-night hours it makes up for in lake leisure and epicurean delight.

Sponsored
Sponsored

There’s no shortage of fantastic hotels in Ascona; unfortunately, most rooms come at fantastically high rates. Top five-star picks include Eden Roc (Via Albarelle 16) and Giardino (Via del Segnale 10) – or head to Best Western’s Hotel Sasso Boretto (Viale Monte Verita 45) for the best value.

Ascona’s pride is its Piazza G. Motta boardwalk, a stretch of brightly colored buildings that house Italian eateries, patisseries, gelaterias and cigar shops under candy-yellow striped awnings. Aside from sailing, relaxing patio-side at one of these Italian bistros while enjoying the views of cascading Alps over azure lake waters is an Ascona must.

At Marnin Pasticceria (Piazza G. Motta) you’ll find the town’s best chocolate croissants and Amaretti. Several bright buildings away sits Al Porto, another bread and cake favorite. Just next door resides Osteria Nostrana by Fred Feldpausch (Piazza G. Motta), Ascona’s best Italian restaurant. Famous thin-crust pizza, perfect vitello tonnato and impeccable service lure a heavy crowd come dinner time, so come early (only large groups can make reservations) – particularly if you want patio seating.

Another Feldpausch hit is Grotto Broggini, a high-end rotisserie chicken superstar located several minutes inland from the boardwalk. Many flock here to enjoy hot-off-the-spit hens under a canopy of illuminated trees in the Italian courtyard.

Chartering a sailboat in Ascona can be done through Verband Schweizer Segelschulen-Association Suisse des Ecoles de Voile (VSSS-ASEV) or the Ascona Sailing and Motor Boat School. Sailing itineraries include leisurely loops around the botanical gardens of the Brissago Islands and a three-day excursion to the far end of Lago Maggiore. Alternatively, the other side of the lake can be reached in just one day by motorboat, which leaves Ascona several times a day.

Prefer to watch the action from afar? Check out waterfront Porto Ronco Beach Club, a beach restaurant, bar and lounge offering live jazz from May through September. Jazz fanatics also ought to consider visiting during JazzAscona, Ascona’s very own Jazz Festival, which runs from late June through early July each year.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Sailboats on Lago Maggiore, Swiss Alps in the background
Sailboats on Lago Maggiore, Swiss Alps in the background

In Ascona, one of Lago Maggiore’s many lakeside gems, foodie and sailing fanatics alike are sure to find bliss. Located on the Italian-speaking Swiss side of Lago Maggiore in the canton (state) of Ticino near the Italian border, Ascona boasts all the amenities necessary for a weekend of prime sailing and gourmet dining.

Those seeking lively clubs, bars and an under-40 crowd ought to reconsider Ascona as a vacation destination. However, what energy Ascona lacks during late-night hours it makes up for in lake leisure and epicurean delight.

Sponsored
Sponsored

There’s no shortage of fantastic hotels in Ascona; unfortunately, most rooms come at fantastically high rates. Top five-star picks include Eden Roc (Via Albarelle 16) and Giardino (Via del Segnale 10) – or head to Best Western’s Hotel Sasso Boretto (Viale Monte Verita 45) for the best value.

Ascona’s pride is its Piazza G. Motta boardwalk, a stretch of brightly colored buildings that house Italian eateries, patisseries, gelaterias and cigar shops under candy-yellow striped awnings. Aside from sailing, relaxing patio-side at one of these Italian bistros while enjoying the views of cascading Alps over azure lake waters is an Ascona must.

At Marnin Pasticceria (Piazza G. Motta) you’ll find the town’s best chocolate croissants and Amaretti. Several bright buildings away sits Al Porto, another bread and cake favorite. Just next door resides Osteria Nostrana by Fred Feldpausch (Piazza G. Motta), Ascona’s best Italian restaurant. Famous thin-crust pizza, perfect vitello tonnato and impeccable service lure a heavy crowd come dinner time, so come early (only large groups can make reservations) – particularly if you want patio seating.

Another Feldpausch hit is Grotto Broggini, a high-end rotisserie chicken superstar located several minutes inland from the boardwalk. Many flock here to enjoy hot-off-the-spit hens under a canopy of illuminated trees in the Italian courtyard.

Chartering a sailboat in Ascona can be done through Verband Schweizer Segelschulen-Association Suisse des Ecoles de Voile (VSSS-ASEV) or the Ascona Sailing and Motor Boat School. Sailing itineraries include leisurely loops around the botanical gardens of the Brissago Islands and a three-day excursion to the far end of Lago Maggiore. Alternatively, the other side of the lake can be reached in just one day by motorboat, which leaves Ascona several times a day.

Prefer to watch the action from afar? Check out waterfront Porto Ronco Beach Club, a beach restaurant, bar and lounge offering live jazz from May through September. Jazz fanatics also ought to consider visiting during JazzAscona, Ascona’s very own Jazz Festival, which runs from late June through early July each year.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Next Article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.