St. Peter’s Island and the Brissago Islands offer peaceful lakeside views, fascinating history and lush botanical landscapes beyond Switzerland’s famous mountains. (canva.com)
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Switzerland has tiny islands too, offering travellers peaceful lakeside escapes, fascinating history, rare plants and a surprising subtropical experience.
Switzerland usually brings to mind snow-covered mountains, pretty lakes, scenic train rides and storybook towns. Islands rarely make the list. Yet, scattered across the country's lakes are tiny stretches of land that offer a rather different side of Switzerland, with old stories, unusual landscapes and plenty of peace.
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For travellers who want to see a less familiar side of the country, two islands in particular make for interesting stops.
On Lake Biel in the Jura and Three Lakes region, St. Peter's Island has a story that reaches back centuries. Its most famous visitor was philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau, who stayed here in 1765. His time on the island left quite an impression. In his writings, Rousseau remembered his short stay as a particularly happy period of his life, helping put this quiet spot on the map for travellers of the time.
There is much more to the island than its connection with the philosopher. The area has links to prehistoric pile dwellers and Roman settlements, while nobility and bishops later held power here during the Middle Ages.
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Today, getting to St. Peter's Island can be part of the experience. Visitors can walk from Erlach along the four-kilometre Heidenweg path, take a summer shuttle or arrive by boat from places such as La Neuveville, Ligerz and Neuchâtel. The peninsula makes a lovely option for a slower day beside the lake, particularly for those who enjoy combining history with time outdoors.
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Today, getting to St. Peter's Island can be part of the experience. Visitors can walk from Erlach along the four-kilometre Heidenweg path, take a summer shuttle or arrive by boat from places such as La Neuveville, Ligerz and Neuchâtel. The peninsula makes a lovely option for a slower day beside the lake, particularly for those who enjoy combining history with time outdoors.
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Then there are the Brissago Islands on Lago Maggiore in Ticino, where Switzerland takes a distinctly tropical turn. The islands benefit from the lake's mild climate and protection from cold northern air by the Alps. The result is a setting where plants from warmer parts of the world can grow outdoors, creating an experience that feels rather unexpected in Switzerland.
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Isola Grande, the larger of the two islands, is home to the Botanical Gardens of the Canton of Ticino. Spread across 2.5 hectares, the gardens feature around 1,700 plant species from subtropical parts of Asia, South Africa, America, Australia and Oceania.
Visitors can see lotus flowers, giant sequoias, bald cypresses, perennial banana plants and eucalyptus trees among the collection. It is the sort of place where a visit to a Swiss island becomes as much about plants as it is about the lake around it. The smaller Isola di Sant'Apollinare has been left largely in its natural state, allowing its vegetation to grow freely. There is also a 0.5-kilometre nature trail at the Botanical Park, offering an easy way to learn more about the plants and their origins.
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These islands may be tiny, but they add plenty of variety to a Swiss holiday. St. Peter's Island brings together history, philosophy and lakeside calm, while the Brissago Islands offer a subtropical botanical experience in the heart of Ticino.
Neha Khandelwal
Content Lead, HT Travel | Travel & Lifestyle Journalist
With over 10 years of content writing experience, Neha Khandelwal is a lifestyle journalist and the Content Lead at HT Travel. She specialises in destinations, hotels, aviation, luggage, travel gear, and practical guides that help readers plan smarter and travel better. Her work combines first-hand experience, expert insights, and extensive research to create stories that are informative, useful, and easy to follow. Career Journey & Experience
Neha began her writing career as a freelance journalist in 2010 before entering mainstream media with The Times of India in 2022. She later joined Hindustan Times, where she has written extensively across travel, lifestyle, home, and consumer trends. Her professional background extends beyond journalism. Before moving into digital media full-time, she spent nearly a decade in interior design, managing residential projects from concept to execution. She also trained in visual merchandising with Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons and worked with women-led startups across design and operations. These experiences continue to shape her storytelling, especially in how she evaluates hotels, design-led stays, hospitality spaces, and travel experiences. A naturally curious learner, Neha has completed beginner certifications in pottery, scuba diving, baking, creative writing, and other creative pursuits. She has read more than 2,000 books, trained in Bharatanatyam for 8 years, and ghostwritten a book on Ladakh tourism. Subject Expertise
Travel is at the heart of Neha's work. She covers destinations, hotels, airlines, luggage, packing strategies, travel accessories, and emerging travel trends through a mix of reporting, product testing, and conversations with industry experts. A frequent traveller herself, she approaches every trip with a journalist's curiosity and a planner's mindset, focusing on experiences that readers can realistically recreate. From choosing the right cabin bag to decoding hotel openings and destination trends, her writing prioritises practical advice over promotional claims.
Her background in interior design also gives her a distinct perspective on architecture, hospitality design, boutique hotels, luxury stays, and thoughtfully designed spaces. Education & Professional Background
Neha holds a Master's degree in Interior Design. Her early experience in interior design, visual merchandising, and design operations gives her a unique understanding of aesthetics, functionality, and user experience, adding depth to her coverage of hotels, resorts, and travel spaces. Editorial Philosophy
"As an avid, research-driven traveller, my goal is simple. To answer the questions you actually have before booking a trip. I cut through the promotional noise with honest reporting and expert insights. Making travel planning seamless, smart, and reliable so you always know where to go next."
