Cardada

Cardada sits at about thirteen hundred and fifty metres on the ridge above Locarno, reached by a cable car that replaced the first one of 1952 and opened in June 2000, with stations and cabins designed by Mario Botta. From the top a steel walkway by the landscape architect Paolo Burgi, also of 2000, projects out from the wooded slope into open air - a suspended observation platform hanging over the drop, so the view is of Lake Maggiore and the Magadino plain with nothing underfoot. What it looks down on is Switzerland's lowest ground, the lake at about a hundred and ninety-three metres, which makes the vertical relief unusually large for a short lift. A chairlift continues to Cimetta at sixteen hundred and seventy metres, and a geological observatory on the ridge explains the Insubric line that runs beneath.

What to look for

• A suspended steel platform - projecting from the slope over open air.
• Switzerland's lowest point below - Lake Maggiore at about 193 metres.
• Botta-designed stations - the cable car rebuilt in 2000.
• A geological observatory - the Insubric line explained on the ridge.

When to go

March to November. Half a day.

What to expect

Lifts close for maintenance between seasons. Haze over the lake is common and softens the view. The platform is small and queues for photographs. The chairlift to Cimetta is exposed and cold in wind.

Nearby

Madonna del Sasso is on the way up; Locarno and Ascona are below.

Key facts