Poschiavo

Poschiavo lies south of the Bernina pass in an Italian-speaking, historically Protestant-and-Catholic valley that belongs to Graubunden but faces Lombardy, and the architecture shows the double inheritance - a piazza of Lombard character with a Reformed and a Catholic church, and behind it the Spaniolenviertel, a street of substantial nineteenth-century houses built by families who made money as emigrants in Spain and returned to display it. The valley's other export was confectioners: Poschiavini ran pastry shops across Europe, and the tradition survives in the town's bakeries. The Bernina railway, a World Heritage line, runs through the main street at street level, which visitors find startling the first time.

What you actually see

• The Spaniolenviertel - houses built by families returning from Spain.
• Two churches on one piazza - the Reformed and Catholic parishes together.
• A train down the street - the Bernina line running at road level.
• An emigrant confectionery tradition - the pastry trade the valley exported.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Poschiavo is a long way round from the rest of Graubunden - over the Bernina or up from Italy. The town is small and quiet outside market days. Museums keep short hours. Most signage is in Italian.

Nearby

The Brusio spiral viaduct is south; the Bernina pass and Alp Grum are north.