Isola di Brissago (botanical garden and Hotel Villa Emden)

The Isola di Brissago is the larger of the two Brissago Islands in Lago Maggiore and is home to the Hotel Villa Emden, the only building on the island. The island can only be reached by scheduled boat or water taxi, both for hotel guests and for day trippers, from Locarno, Ascona or Brissago. The island's botanical garden is divided into various themed areas according to continents and plant species, including America, Macaronesia with frogs and turtles, as well as an area devoted to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania with artificial mist made of water vapour. There is also a beach area with a special jetty over the water and a bamboo forest in the China themed area. The hotel rooms are furnished to a high standard, with the stay shaped above all by the view and the island setting.