Chur travel guide

Why visit Chur

Chur (pronounced “koor”) carries a distinction no other Swiss city can claim: it has been continuously inhabited for approximately 5,000 years, making it the oldest urban settlement in Switzerland and one of the oldest in the Alpine region. Roman roads crossed here. Bishops ruled from here for over a millennium. Trade between northern Europe and Italy flowed through this narrow gap in the Rhine Valley before the great Alpine passes carried it further south.

That depth of history is visible in unexpected ways. Walk through the old town and you are treading streets that Romans walked, that medieval bishops controlled, that 16th-century merchants traded along. The Bischöfliche Hof — the Bishop’s Court — has been a centre of ecclesiastical power without interruption since late antiquity. The Cathedral, begun in the 12th century, is built directly above Roman foundations that themselves rest on prehistoric layers.

For most contemporary visitors, Chur also serves as the principal starting point — or end point — for two of the most celebrated scenic train journeys in the world: the Glacier Express to Zermatt and the Bernina Express to Lugano via the Bernina Pass. The Rhaetian Railway network radiates from Chur across the Graubünden landscape in a web of narrow-gauge tracks that collectively form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Standing on Chur’s platform and choosing which direction to take — east toward the Engadin and Pontresina, south over the Bernina Pass, or west toward Zermatt — is one of the more enviable decisions in Swiss travel.

The city also sits in the only wine-producing region of German-speaking Switzerland where wine production has genuine historical and commercial depth. The Bündner Herrschaft, a few kilometres to the north of Chur along the Rhine, produces Pinot Noir of international standing — a fact that surprises visitors who associate Swiss wine primarily with the Valais or Lake Geneva.

Getting to Chur

By train

Chur is directly connected to Zurich by regular InterCity trains taking approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. From Bern, the journey is about 2 hours via Zurich. From Zurich Airport, direct trains take around 1 hour 25 minutes.

From Chur, the Rhaetian Railway’s narrow-gauge network connects east to Davos, southeast to St. Moritz and the Bernina Express route, and west toward the Glacier Express route via Disentis. The Swiss Travel Pass covers all these routes.

By car

From Zurich, the drive via the A3 and A13 motorways takes about 1 hour 20 minutes. Chur is on the main road corridor toward the San Bernardino and Maloja passes, so traffic in summer can be heavy on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Top things to do in Chur

The old town

Chur’s old town is compact — perhaps 600 metres from north to south — and entirely pedestrian. The layout follows the medieval street pattern built on Roman foundations, and despite restoration and selective modern infill, it retains an authentic character. The main pedestrian axis, Poststrasse and Reichsgasse, connects the railway station area to the old town centre and is lined with independent shops, cafes, and restaurants.

The old town opens into several squares and widened street sections that have served as market places for centuries. The most atmospheric is the Arcas, a small square surrounded by painted façades and outdoor café tables. In summer, the whole old town is used as a living outdoor space by Chur’s residents; in winter, the compact scale makes it walkable in any weather.

Allow 90 minutes to two hours for a thorough walk through the old town, or longer if stopping for wine or coffee.

Chur Cathedral (Dom St. Mariae Himmelfahrt)

The cathedral sits at the highest point of the old town, within the Bischöfliche Hof complex that has been the seat of the Bishop of Chur — the oldest still-active diocese north of the Alps — since the 4th century. The present church was built primarily between 1154 and 1272, with later additions, on Roman and early medieval foundations.

The interior contains several important artworks, including the late Gothic triptych altarpiece from the workshop of Heinrich Göldlin (c. 1492) — one of the finest examples of late Gothic painting in Switzerland. The Rätisches Museum in the adjacent building houses the Roman, medieval, and early modern archaeology of the surrounding region.

The Rhaetian Railway and scenic train hub

Chur station is the nerve centre of the Rhaetian Railway, the narrow-gauge network that winds through the mountains of Graubünden in a series of spirals, tunnels, and viaducts that collectively constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Even visitors who are not taking a long scenic journey should walk through the station to see the departure boards and understand the extraordinary network that fans out in multiple directions.

The Glacier Express — one of the world’s great scenic train journeys — begins or ends at Chur on some services (others begin at Davos or St. Moritz). You can book Glacier Express tickets in advance to secure a seat. The Bernina Express, crossing the highest railway pass in the Alps at 2,253 metres, departs from Chur or connects via St. Moritz. Even a short excursion on one of these lines — to Thusis, or up toward Arosa — gives a sense of the engineering achievement and landscape beauty that UNESCO recognised.

For detailed booking and route information, see the Glacier Express guide.

Bündner Kunstmuseum

The Graubünden Museum of Fine Arts holds a strong collection of Graubünden-related art from the 18th century to the present. Giovanni Giacometti (father of Alberto), Angelika Kauffmann (the 18th-century cosmopolitan portraitist born in nearby Chur), and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (of Davos) are all represented. The museum occupies a neo-Baroque villa with a substantial modern extension and is one of the better regional art museums in Switzerland.

The Angelika Kauffmann holding is particularly significant — she was one of the most successful painters in 18th-century Europe and is still under-recognised in the English-speaking world. Her work here provides context for understanding both the Graubünden of her era and her extraordinary career in London and Rome.

Wine tasting in the Bündner Herrschaft

The Rhine valley north of Chur — the Bündner Herrschaft — is Switzerland’s most northerly serious wine region and produces Pinot Noir of genuine quality. The villages of Maienfeld (also the setting for Johanna Spyri’s Heidi), Malans, Fläsch, and Jenins form a compact wine district where small producers open their cellars for tasting.

Maienfeld is 15 minutes north of Chur by train, and a half-day wine tour of the Herrschaft can easily be combined with a visit to the Heidihof — the farmhouse that inspired Spyri’s novel — and a walk through the vineyards on the slope above the Rhine.

The Rätisches Museum

Located within the Bischöfliche Hof complex adjacent to the cathedral, the Rätisches Museum covers the history and archaeology of the Graubünden region from the Bronze Age to the modern era. Roman artefacts from the major road crossing at Chur, medieval ecclesiastical objects, and exhibits on Romansh language and culture are all represented. The building itself — a 17th-century Episcopal residence — adds architectural interest to the archaeological content.

The Romansh dimension

Graubünden is the only Swiss canton with three official languages: German, Romansh, and Italian. While Chur itself is German-speaking, the surrounding cantonal territory has significant Romansh-speaking communities in the Rhine valley to the east and west of the city. Romansh — a Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin, with five distinct dialects and a standardised literary form (Rumantsch Grischun) — is spoken by around 37,000 people, mostly in the more remote valleys.

In Chur, you will see Romansh on cantonal government signage and in the bilingual street names of some areas. This linguistic complexity — four languages within a single canton — reflects the Roman-era foundations of the region and the relative isolation of mountain communities that preserved distinct language forms for two millennia.

Where to stay in Chur

Chur is primarily used as an overnight stop for travellers beginning or ending scenic train journeys, or as a base for day trips into the surrounding wine country and mountain valleys. The hotel range runs from budget to four-star business hotels; prices are reasonable by Swiss standards.

The old town has several hotels in historic buildings — a more characterful option than the business hotels near the station, though both are within easy walking distance of the railway.

Food and drink in Chur

Bündner cuisine

The food culture of Chur is rooted in Graubünden tradition. Bündnerfleisch — air-dried beef that has been cured in the mountain air of the Graubünden valleys — is on virtually every menu and at every delicatessen counter. Bündner Gerstensuppe (barley and vegetable soup with smoked ham) is the most reliable winter comfort food. Maluns (grated potato slowly cooked in butter, served with mountain cheese and apple sauce) appears on traditional menus and is genuinely satisfying after a cold day on the trains.

Wine bars

Several wine bars in the old town specialise in the Bündner Herrschaft’s Pinot Noir alongside a broader Swiss wine selection. This is a good opportunity to taste wines that rarely appear outside Switzerland; the local production is small and export volumes are minimal.

Old town restaurants

The Poststrasse and the streets around the Arcas square have a concentration of restaurants ranging from Swiss traditional to Italian and modern European. Quality is generally solid; Chur’s position as a cantonal capital and transport hub supports a restaurant scene above what the city’s size alone would generate.

Day trips from Chur

Arosa

The Chur–Arosa narrow-gauge railway (itself a UNESCO Heritage railway) climbs 1,500 metres in 26 kilometres through spectacular gorge scenery to reach Arosa, a car-free mountain resort at 1,775 metres. The journey takes approximately 55 minutes and is one of the most dramatically engineered railway routes in the Alps. Day trips to Arosa — for skiing in winter, or hiking in summer — work well from a Chur base. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the railway.

Davos and Klosters

East from Chur through the Prättigau valley, Davos and Klosters are accessible in about 1 hour 20 minutes by Rhaetian Railway. The journey through the Landquart valley and the ascending narrow-gauge section is scenic and the destination offers world-class skiing in winter.

Maienfeld and Heidiland

North from Chur by 15 minutes, Maienfeld is the real-world setting for Heidi — Johanna Spyri’s novel, the most translated piece of Swiss literature. The Heidihof farmhouse, the Heidiland walking trails, and the surrounding vineyards make for an easy half-day excursion combining literary tourism with wine country. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the train.

Practical tips

Scenic train booking

If Chur is your starting point for the Glacier Express or Bernina Express, book seat reservations well in advance — particularly in summer. The trains require a mandatory seat reservation fee (CHF 13-33 depending on train) on top of the Swiss Travel Pass. See the Glacier Express guide for booking details.

Budget

Chur is affordable by Swiss standards — a functional rather than luxury destination. Restaurant prices are lower than Zurich or Zermatt. See the Switzerland budget guide for general cost planning.

Walking the old town at night

Chur’s old town is particularly beautiful in the evening when the day-tripper crowds clear and the streets are lit by warm lighting against old stone. The restaurants are lively and the walk back from the old town to the station takes less than 10 minutes.

When to visit Chur

Chur is a genuinely year-round destination. Spring and early summer bring the vineyards of the Herrschaft to life and provide ideal conditions for old town exploration. Summer is warm and sunny — Chur’s location in a sheltered Rhine valley tends to produce some of the warmest temperatures in German-speaking Switzerland. Autumn is the wine harvest season and the most atmospheric time for a Herrschaft visit.

Winter uses Chur as a base for day trips to Arosa, Davos, or Lenzerheide. The old town Christmas market is modest but charming. The Glacier Express and Bernina Express continue through winter — the mountain landscape in snow is spectacular, and the heated panoramic cars make winter scenic train travel especially comfortable.

Chur works naturally within a Graubünden itinerary combining Davos, Arosa, and the Bernina Pass route, all accessible on the Swiss Travel Pass and connectable within the 7-day Switzerland itinerary. For anyone taking the Glacier Express, Chur is the logical start or end point that connects the UNESCO mountain railway heritage with the oldest urban settlement in the Alps.