October 12, 2026, 8:18 am | Read time: 9 minutes

Did you also receive a ton of wedding invitations this summer? Lots of nodding. And how many of them are happening this year? Confused looks.

Most weddings are planned well in advance. The date at the registry office, the venue, the dress, the guest list, and of course, the honeymoon. My friend–pardon, now husband–and I took a different approach. In July, we decided to get married after five years together. Four weeks later, a date at the registry office happened to be available.

A Quick Honeymoon? Not So Easy

Just as surprising as our invitation was for most guests, our search query was for most booking websites: How far in advance do normal people plan their honeymoon?

Maldives, Bali, Mauritius–somehow it all seemed a bit cliché. And a long-distance trip didn’t really fit into our spontaneous plan. Organizing a wedding in four weeks had already taken enough time and energy. I didn’t want to close my Pilates studio for several weeks, and my husband couldn’t just put in a three-week vacation request. So, a vacation in Europe it was.

More specifically: a honeymoon in Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.

Also interesting: The Best Honeymoon Destinations

What Does It Really Take for a Successful Honeymoon? The Right Destination

My husband and I are generally flexible. We love Denmark, even if it rains. We handle Asian heat well (as well as the food), and for us, a camper is just as good as a five-star luxury resort–as long as there’s something to experience. For the honeymoon, it quickly became clear that we wanted warmth. And after all the stress of wedding preparations, it should be a mix of sports, good food, and wellness.

We quickly chose Ticino: Mediterranean vibes, lakes, mountains, good food, and beautiful hotels. All this without being as crowded as its Italian neighbor and much easier and more sustainable to reach than typical far-off honeymoon destinations. It has its own unique charm: palm trees by the lake, mountains right behind, and everything works a bit more reliably than one might expect from southern Europe. Or, as the hotel director later put it: “Italy, but Swiss. Everything works here.”

What Does It Really Take for a Successful Honeymoon? The Right Activities

As our registrar, as well as our fathers and friends in their unsolicited but very endearing speeches, noted: My husband and I are quite different. However, we both love movement in all forms. Just lounging by the pool isn’t really our thing.

Our previous vacations were mostly about hiking, skiing, cross-country skiing, biking, or surfing. Since last year, mountain biking has also been added–preferably electric, which probably sounds less sporty than it feels. For our honeymoon, it was quickly clear: We want to use the mountains in Ticino. Hiking, a bike tour, stand-up paddling, maybe a thermal bath, and in between, very good food.

The Brissago Islands and Villa Emden

“Don’t I know this villa from TV?” I wonder as we approach our first destination, Villa Emden, three days after our wedding. We’ve spent a whole day driving, and the villa, perched film-like on its own little island in the middle of Lake Maggiore, seems quite surreal.

We spend the first night of our honeymoon here. Even the journey feels a bit like we’ve accidentally taken the wrong, much more exclusive entrance to Ticino. The boat departs, the lake sparkles, the mountains lie in the background, and with each minute, you move a little further away from everyday life. Today’s hotel was once the private estate of Hamburg art collector and businessman Max Emden, founder of KaDeWe, who fled to Switzerland as a Jew from the Nazis. Today, the Isola Grande is home to the Botanical Garden of the Canton of Ticino, where plants from subtropical regions of the northern and southern hemispheres grow. Palms, bamboo, camellias, and plants that seem out of place in a Swiss lake.

Villa Emden has only a few rooms. No one comes here by chance. Those who stay on the island remain private, very special, and–it must be said–not cheap. Especially the food comes at a price. But it is exceptionally high quality. We feel a bit worn out from the wedding and the past weeks on the first evening, but are convinced by the delicious flavors by the first course.

The service is attentive but not overbearing. The waiter greets us with a pleasant ease, without excessive flattery and somehow sympathetically approachable. Villa Emden is not a place for a quick overnight stay. It’s a place where you want to linger. And perhaps that’s why it’s a pretty good address for the first night of a honeymoon.

A Botanical Walk with a Lake View

Even without an overnight stay, the Brissago Islands are worth a visit. The Botanical Garden is one of the special attractions in Ticino because you can walk through different climate zones in just a few hours. The tour is relaxed and passes by a historic pool where we watch a fat frog bathing.

For couples, the island is especially nice because it doesn’t look like a typical excursion program. There’s no big attraction to check off in ten minutes. Instead, it’s about paths, plants, water, and this special mix of Mediterranean lightness and Swiss order.

Ascona and the Art Hotel Riposo

After the first night on the island, we head back to the mainland to Ascona. Our next home is the Art Hotel Riposo. The house is centrally located on a hill in the old town and is a good starting point to explore picturesque Ascona on foot, by bike, or on the water. Ascona itself is probably one of those places where you understand why people like to stay longer after just a few hours. The lakeside promenade, the small alleys, the cafes, and the view of Lake Maggiore feel Mediterranean without being crowded. Everything is so beautifully clean and still remarkably lively even now in September.

At the hotel, we talk to the director about Ticino, tourism, and why the region is becoming popular again. We chat a bit with him, and he willingly shares about Switzerland, its neutrality, and the upcoming elections–as naturally as he talks about good food. “I went to a Catholic school for eight years,” he says. “Since then, I don’t believe in anything–except good food. Good restaurants are my churches.” He owes his fluent German to his childhood. “I grew up in the hotel. The Germans brought me tapes.” He doesn’t reveal what kind of tapes, but there were probably some East Frisian jokes. A few villages away, the German ends, as we notice when we set off the next day by bike towards the Grotti.

By Bike to the Grotti

The Grotti are traditional Ticino places where food like cheese, sausage, or wine was stored in the past. Today, many of them are restaurants or simple, very charming places to stop. The ride there is a good way to get to know Ticino away from the classic lake promenades. We rent bikes or e-bikes from a local provider in Ascona and ride through small towns, past old stone houses, vineyards, and always with a view of the mountains. With the e-bike, the route is also manageable for people who like to cycle but don’t necessarily want to end their honeymoon with a circulatory collapse. The Grotti themselves are nice to look at and somehow quaint: We get a small picnic in town and sit at one of the antique stone tables. That’s how it must have been here in the past, only there were no e-bikes for the way back.

More on the topic

Overview The 6 Most Beautiful Sights on Lake Maggiore

Between Switzerland and Italy These Beautiful Islands in Lake Maggiore You Can Visit

Hiking with a View of Lake Maggiore

Anyone who wants to hike in Ticino is spoiled for choice. We choose a medium-difficulty tour because we don’t want to be out all day and want to visit the thermal baths in the afternoon. We drive to Locarno and climb about 1,000 meters up to Cardada. Once at the top, we sit in Casa Colmanicchio, a hut, and enjoy the view of the mountains and the majestic Lake Maggiore. To save our legs, we take the gondola back down. I notice the many different languages: French, German, English–Ticino seems to be a popular destination in many places.

Time for Thermal Baths and Wellness

We spend the afternoon at Termali Salini & Spa, a thermal bath on Lake Maggiore. In addition to a salty brine bath, there are many saunas, which we try one by one. On the terrace outside, there is a wonderful view of the mountains. In the evening, we return to Grotto America in Ponte Brolla for dinner. We passed by here the day before on our bikes and fell in love with the beautiful outdoor terrace. Our highlight is the polenta, which is topped like pizza with various ingredients and baked with cheese.

In the following days, we rent a stand-up paddleboard and experience Ticino from a completely different perspective. We rent the boards at the Lido, a kind of beach club on the shore of Ascona.

Conclusion: Ticino as a Honeymoon Destination

Is a honeymoon in Ticino worth it? I think so. For a real getaway, in my opinion, you don’t need a long-haul flight. The Italian-speaking part of Switzerland offers a wonderful mix of experiences: hiking in the morning, swimming in the lake at noon, strolling through a botanical garden in the afternoon, and dining in a cozy grotto in the evening. Plus, the landscape is wonderfully Mediterranean, and the light is very special–almost a bit like in the tropics, only it shimmers much more gently here.

Above all, Ticino is close enough to be easily accessible and far enough away to immediately feel like a real vacation in a different time zone. A small bonus: Since Switzerland is not part of the EU, roaming charges are high. Our phones were mostly off–allowing us to be completely offline and undisturbed.

For us, it was exactly the right decision and a wonderful first trip as a newlywed couple: full of beautiful places, good food, and completely stress-free.