Ascona is famous for its old town centre, its lakeside promenade with its Mediterranean flavour and climate, its outdoor cafes and the narrow streets of the old town. It boasts a huge square, elegant boutiques, prestigious hotels and excellent restaurants. It offers entertainment for every taste, from water sports such as windsurfing and sailing, to tennis and golf. A short distance from legendary places such as Monte Verità, where a number of original thinkers settled at the beginning of the twentieth century, founding a colony that attracted celebrities from all over the world, as well as wild places such as Valle Maggia and the Centovalli.