Morcote

Morcote sits at the southern tip of the peninsula that divides Lake Lugano, a single row of arcaded houses along the water with the hillside rising steeply behind. Above it the church of Santa Maria del Sasso stands on a rock, reached by a stone stairway of about four hundred steps, with sixteenth-century frescoes inside and a cemetery on terraces that looks out over the lake. The Scherrer Park, laid out from the 1930s by a textile merchant, is a hillside garden of subtropical planting studded with Egyptian, Greek and Asian architectural fragments and follies - eccentric, and unlike any other garden in the country. The village was voted the most beautiful in Switzerland in a 2016 poll.

What to look for

• An arcaded lakefront row - the village strung along the water.
• Four hundred steps to the church - Santa Maria del Sasso on its rock.
• The Scherrer Park - subtropical planting with imported follies and fragments.
• A terraced cemetery - looking out over the lake below the church.

When to go

March to November. Half a day.

Good to know

The stairway to the church is long and steep in heat. Parking in the village is very limited - the boat is easier. The Scherrer Park is seasonal. It is busy with day-trippers from Lugano.

Nearby

Lugano is north; the Swissminiatur park is at Melide on the causeway.

Key facts