Chur claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Switzerland, with evidence of occupation going back around 5,000 years, and it has been a bishopric since the fourth century. It is the capital of Graubunden, which is the largest Swiss canton, the least densely populated, and the only one with three official languages: German, Italian and Romansh, the last of which is spoken by fewer than forty thousand people in the world and almost all of them live here.
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Most people pass through rather than stop, because Chur is the junction where you change trains for St Moritz, Arosa, Davos and the Bernina and Glacier Express routes. That is a shame and also the practical reason to come: this is the best base in eastern Switzerland, it is cheaper than the resorts, and there is a cable car from the edge of town to a mountain at 1,600 metres.
What Makes Chur Different to Pack For
A sheltered valley with a warm wind
Chur sits at 593 metres in the Rhine valley, sheltered by mountains, and it gets the foehn, a warm dry wind off the Alps that can lift the temperature ten degrees in a few hours and melts snow fast. Winter runs minus 3°C to 6°C, summer 14°C to 26°C. It is drier and sunnier than much of Switzerland.
The town is mild. The canton is not. A merino wool base layer for women is the right foundation because every interesting day trip from here gains a thousand metres or more.
You are here for trains and mountains
The Rhaetian Railway is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Albula and Bernina lines, a metre gauge network of spiral tunnels and viaducts that climbs to 2,253 metres at Ospizio Bernina without a rack. Days here are spent on trains that go somewhere considerably colder than where they started.
Cobbles and a compact old town
The Altstadt is small, car free, and paved in cobbles, with two churches, the cathedral and a good art museum. It takes an afternoon.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Chur Packing List
Footwear
Flat and grippy for the cobbled old town, and waterproof hiking shoes for anything above it. The Brambrüesch trails, the Rhine gorge paths and the routes around Arosa are all proper mountain ground. In winter, boots with tread, since the old town cobbles ice in the shade.
Clothing
Layers, with a windproof shell. The foehn makes the valley unpredictable and the mountains above are a different climate entirely. A warm hat and gloves for the train days, because the Bernina line stops at Ospizio Bernina where people get out to photograph the lake and it is bitter up there in any season.
Graubunden dresses practically. Walking clothes are normal everywhere.
For the train days
This is the specific thing to plan for. You will board in a warm valley town and disembark at 2,000 metres or more. Pack the warm layer into a day bag rather than leaving it at the hotel, because the Bernina Express is a full day and the high stops are exposed.
Seat reservations are compulsory on the panoramic Bernina and Glacier Express services and they book out in summer. The regional trains run the same track without the reservation and cost far less.
For sun at altitude
A wide brim sun hat, sunglasses and high factor sunscreen. Snow reflection on the Bernina in spring burns faces badly, including through train windows on a long run.
Practical
Cash alongside cards. A Swiss Travel Pass or a regional pass, which changes the cost of this kind of trip substantially given how much of it is rail. A packable rain jacket year round.
What to Wear at Key Sites
The Altstadt and the cathedral
The Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption sits above the town in the bishop's courtyard, twelfth century, with a carved gilt high altar that is among the largest in the Alps. The Bündner Kunstmuseum holds Giovanni Segantini and the Giacomettis, who were a Graubunden family.
Practically: the cathedral is up a slope from the old town and is cold inside. Covered shoulders and knees. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Brambrüesch
A cable car leaves from the edge of the old town and climbs to 1,600 metres in two stages, putting you on a mountain with walking trails, a trottibike descent on scooters, and sledging in winter, fifteen minutes from the cathedral.
Practically: this is the reason to stay in Chur rather than pass through, and it is remarkably underused. Genuinely colder at the top and often in cloud when the valley is clear. Check the last descent time.
The Rhaetian Railway
The Albula line to St Moritz climbs through spiral tunnels and over the Landwasser viaduct, which curves straight into a cliff face. The Bernina line continues over the pass to Tirano in Italy, and it is the highest transalpine railway without a rack, crossing at 2,253 metres.
Practically: a full day to Tirano and back, or an overnight in Italy. Sit on the correct side, which the staff will tell you. The panoramic carriages have sealed windows, so for photographs the ordinary regional carriages with opening windows are better.
The Rhine gorge
The Ruinaulta, a gorge of white limestone cliffs formed by a rockslide around ten thousand years ago, west of the town. Trains run through it, there are walking paths along the rim and the river, and rafting in summer.
Practically: the paths are earth and root with some exposure, and the viewpoints at Il Spir and Conn are the easiest access. Wet rock after rain.
Arosa and Lenzerheide
Arosa is an hour up a spectacular narrow gauge line of 360 degree turns, at 1,775 metres, with walking, a bear sanctuary and skiing. Lenzerheide is on the other side of the valley.
What Not to Bring
Leave the assumption that the valley temperature tells you anything about the day. A 24°C morning in Chur and a 4°C afternoon at Ospizio Bernina is a normal July.
Leave heels for the cobbles. Leave the expectation that panoramic train windows open, and leave booking the Bernina Express late in summer, because it sells out.
Essential Resources for Women in Chur
Emergency numbers in Switzerland: 112 is the European emergency number. Police 117, ambulance 144, fire 118. Mountain and air rescue is 1414, run by Rega, and the Rega app transmits your coordinates, which matters across a canton this large and empty.
Tourist support: Switzerland has no separate tourist police. The Graubunden cantonal police take reports from visitors and English is widely spoken. A stolen passport needs a police report before the consulate can issue a replacement.
US Embassy and consulate: the embassy is in Bern at Sulgeneckstrasse 19, telephone +41 31 357 7011, at ch.usembassy.gov. Bern is around two and a half hours from Chur by train. Enrol in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: the Kantonsspital Graubunden in Chur is the main hospital for the canton, with a 24 hour emergency department and a trauma centre, and it is where mountain casualties from across Graubunden are flown. Rega operates the helicopter service. Swiss healthcare is excellent and expensive, and rescue is billed to the person rescued, so travel insurance covering alpine rescue and helicopter evacuation is essential.
Official health authority: the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health at bag.admin.ch.
US State Department travel advisory for Switzerland: current advisory level and detail. Read it directly rather than relying on this page.
UK FCDO travel advice for Switzerland: entry requirements, safety and health guidance.
Official tourism authority: Switzerland Tourism at myswitzerland.com, with the Graubunden regional board at graubuenden.ch for railway timetables, pass closures and trail conditions, and the Rhaetian Railway's own site for reservations on the Bernina and Glacier Express.
Solo women safety assessment: Chur is very safe for a woman travelling alone. Swiss crime rates are among the lowest in Europe, the town is small and prosperous, the old town is pedestrianised and busy in the evening, and public transport is punctual, clean and runs late. Walking alone at night is normal, eating alone is unremarkable, and harassment is rare. What petty theft exists is concentrated around the station, which is a busy interchange, and a closed bag handles it. The genuine risks are mountain and weather related rather than criminal, and Graubunden is a canton where that matters because it is very large and very empty. If you are walking above the cable car or in the Rhine gorge, the ground is real mountain terrain with exposure, cloud comes in fast, and phone signal disappears in the side valleys. Tell someone your route, check the forecast, know the last descent time and install the Rega app. In winter, avalanche risk is significant away from marked pistes and routes, and the canton publishes daily bulletins that are worth reading rather than skimming. Mountain passes close with snow from roughly November to May, sometimes at short notice, which affects driving itineraries more than rail ones; the trains are far more reliable in winter than the roads and are the sensible way to move around here. The one practical warning that is not about safety is cost, since Graubunden is expensive even by Swiss standards and the resort towns above Chur considerably more so.
Reading On
Chur is the practical base for eastern Switzerland and the junction every great Alpine rail journey passes through. The Switzerland travel guide for women is the parent for the whole country and covers the regions, the seasons and the rail passes, and the Switzerland packing list for women covers a multi region trip. Up the line, the St Moritz packing list for women covers the Engadine and the Bernina route, and the Appenzell packing list for women covers the region north. West, the Zurich travel guide for women is the usual arrival city ninety minutes away, the Lucerne packing list for women covers central Switzerland, and the Interlaken travel guide for women and Zermatt travel guide for women cover the Bernese Oberland and the Valais at the far end of the Glacier Express. South, the Bellinzona packing list for women covers Italian Switzerland. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why merino is the right layer when a day starts at 593 metres and peaks at 2,253, the best merino wool base layers for women explains the fibre, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
