Chur Old Town

Excavation has put settlement at Chur back some five thousand years, which is the basis of its claim to be the oldest continuously inhabited place in the country. It was a Roman administrative centre and then a bishopric from the fourth century, and the bishop's precinct - the Hof - still sits above the town as a walled enclosure with the cathedral of St Mary, begun in the twelfth century, holding a carved and gilded high altar of about 1492 by Jakob Russ that is among the largest late-gothic altarpieces in the Alps. Below the Hof the lanes are pedestrianised, painted and hung with signs. The Bundner Kunstmuseum holds Giacometti and Kirchner, who worked nearby at Davos.

What you actually see

• Five thousand years of settlement - the oldest continuous occupation in Switzerland.
• The bishop's Hof - a walled precinct above the town with the cathedral.
• A late-gothic altarpiece of 1492 - one of the largest in the Alps.
• Giacometti and Kirchner - the collection in the Bundner Kunstmuseum.

When to go

All year. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The cathedral closes for services and restoration periods. The old town is compact - two hours covers the lanes. Chur is a transport hub and the modern town around the core is unremarkable. Museums close on Mondays.

Nearby

Arosa is up the valley by rail; the Rhine gorge is west.