Where the mountains touch the water

Between spray and aperitivo
Two winds share the day at Lake Maggiore: the Tramontana in the morning and the Inverna in the afternoon. They blow over an azure blue lake that attracts sailors, paddlers, and wakeboarders alike. Surrounded by mountains and palm trees, Ascona and its promenade are the place to be in summer.

Ascona has perfected this elegant trick: making the transition from adrenaline rush to aperitivo so smooth that they make for perfect summer days by the lake.

First the board, then the drink
At Lake Maggiore, summer starts – and how could it not? – on the water. In the early hours, when the surface is so smooth that the mountains are reflected in it, the Asconautica motorboat makes its first pass. On board: the equipment for wakeboarding, wakesurfing, and waterskiing. On the rope: someone who is just discovering what a controlled loss of control feels like. Lake Maggiore is perfect for these sports: quiet enough for clean starts, wide enough for long runs, beautiful enough to enjoy the view even while you’re falling with a splash.

Then it’s time to switch to the stand-up paddle board and swap speed for tranquillity. The route leads from the Bagno Pubblico towards the Maggia Delta, where the river meets the lake and sandbanks, reed beds, and shallow water form an enchanting landscape. You paddle gently, cruising unhurriedly across the lake – or speed away with powerful strokes. And at some point, you will forget your everyday life and leave it behind on the shore, as the magic of the lake and the balanced movements cast a spell over you.

Set sail, let go
The wind picks up around midday. The Inverna rises from the plain, fills the sails, and the lake is transformed from a paddler’s paradise into sailing heaven. If you book a guided sailing trip, you will glide past the Brissago Islands, pass picturesque bays on the Italian side of the lake, and feel the power in the gusts that only a lake nestled between mountains can develop.

An evening that lingers
Back in Ascona, the late afternoon belongs to the Lido. The boards are drying on the sand, your skin is warm from the summer sun over the lake, and you order your first drink of the day in the shade of the trees near Vista Lakefront Boutique Hotel, looking forward to your next day on the water in Ascona.