Chur, 600 m

Chur, the Alpine city is terminal of important train lines from Germany, France and Benelux. It is departure point of the Rhaetian Railway and its Glacier and Bernina Express trains which run partly on the in July 2008 certified UNESCO world heritage line. Chur is the only city in Switzerland with its own winter and summer sports region, conveniently linked with the city by means of an aerial cableway. Famous surrounding resorts like Klosters, Davos and Bad Ragaz or leisure resorts like Arosa, Flims/Laax or Lenzerheide are all connected to Chur by postal bus or train.

Points of interest

The important bishop’s town is also the centre of Rhaeto-Romanic Switzerland and the country’s oldest town. To help find the most important witnesses to the town’s history, the city map and the newly introduced audio guide will lead you through town. The audio guide is a personal city tour on your mobile phone or MP3 player and available in 11 languages.

Examples include the Gothic old town, the cathedral with its wonderful, three-sided carved altar and the Episcopal palace. Since Chur is the capital of Graubünden, it hosts the three cantonal museums with collections of Alpine culture. Visits to the Graubünden Museum of Fine Art for example, with works from Alberto Giacometti, Giovanni Segantini and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, are particularly rewarding. All three museums are open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 5.00pm. Well worth a visit is also the Giger Bar, designed by "Alien"-creator and Oscar-winning artist H.R. Giger.

Guided tours of the town: Guided tours through the old town of Chur,every Wednesday (April – October). Tourist Info at Chur railway station, 14:30 – 16:30.Group tours all year round by request.

Shopping and culinary delights

The town’s 500 shops offer the largest shopping centre between Zurich and Milan. In a small area there is enormous variety from small traditional shops in the old town to large shopping centres. The car-free old town and its lovely winding streets are very inviting for a shopping stroll.

The Chur City Guide offers a lot of advice. It also informs about the 130 restaurants which make Chur to one of the most restaurant-dense towns in Switzerland. Not surprising then that the 35’000 inhabitants of Chur enjoy going out and celebrating. The Welschdörfli-part of town is the best place to go for nightlife, bars and pubs.