Scuol

Scuol sits at about twelve hundred and fifty metres in the Lower Engadin, where the valley is warmer and drier than the upper reaches, and it grew as a spa in the nineteenth century on the strength of an unusual concentration of mineral springs - more than twenty in the immediate area, carbonated and mineral-rich, several of which still run at public fountains where anyone can fill a bottle and taste the difference between them. The Bogn Engiadina baths use the same water. The lower village, Scuol Sot, keeps Engadin houses with sgraffito around fountain squares. Tarasp castle stands on a rock across the valley, and the Swiss National Park begins a short way up the road.

What you actually see

• Over twenty mineral springs - several at public fountains, free to taste.
• The Bogn Engiadina baths - the spa built on the same water.
• Scuol Sot - the lower village of sgraffito houses and fountain squares.
• Tarasp castle opposite - the rock and castle across the valley.

When to go

June to October, or the ski season. Two days.

Honest expectations

The waters are strongly mineral and not to everyone's taste. The spa is busy at weekends and charges accordingly. Scuol is a long way up the valley from anywhere. Between seasons parts of the town close.

Nearby

Guarda is west along the terrace; the Swiss National Park is south.