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Chur: Charm in the Swiss Alps
A combination of the city and the great outdoors
CHUR, Switzerland - So you want a vacation featuring culture, restaurants and night life, with easy access to the great outdoors as well?
It sounds like a tough combination. Big cities are hardly known for their fresh air and uncluttered views - just as resort destinations often have little in the way of local culture.
But Chur, a charming city with a medieval ambiance in the heart of the Swiss Alps, is a jumping-off point for mountain hikes and ski slopes, but it has all the buzz of a big city. And it's less than two hours from the Zurich airport.
"Its importance as an Alpine center has left behind many traces in the town and these are documented in our museums - art, nature and history," said Peter Laube, head of the city's tourist office.
Chur was first settled more than 4,000 years ago as a provincial Roman capital, making it one of the oldest towns north of the Alps.
The current population is just 35,000 - small fry on a global scale, but it also claims the highest density of restaurants per person in Switzerland and feels almost like London, New York or Paris to those who have just come down from an extended spell in the isolation of the surrounding mountains.
"Chur may be described, with complete justification, as a center of Alpine culture," Laube said.
The cobbled streets of Chur's old town are perfectly suited to an aimless wander, as are the banks of the river Plessur, which burbles between steep banks on its way to the Rhine - with the surrounding heights providing a stunning new backdrop at every street corner.
Right in the center is the gothic St. Martin's church, on a picturesque square, surrounded by pedestrian-friendly streets full of cafes and restaurants.
A steep hill rises behind the church to the onion-domed cathedral, seemingly on the very edge of the city. On the other side of the road, walking paths lead through vineyards to forested slopes beyond, with access to the mountains and fine views back over Chur and across the Rhine valley to neighboring mountain ranges.
Back on the valley floor, Chur also has a diverting art gallery, in the middle of the main shopping district, featuring offbeat temporary exhibitions - such as the importance of snow to the local economy - as well as landscapes, portraits and other works by local painters.
The quickest way to the mountains is to hop on a cable car direct from the city center up a ridge with three peaks called the Dreibuendenstein, which offers walking, a medium-sized ski area and paragliding - as well as the world's longest summer sled run.
In winter, the town bustles with skiers and boarders heading for the cable car base station, creating an atmosphere almost like a ski resort.
Due to its relative isolation from other major cities, Chur is also a shopping center, with brand-name retailers and department stores as well as outlets for local specialties like wine, crystal, handicrafts and thin-sliced Buendnerfleisch - beef which has been hung to dry in a farmhouse attic.
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