Being the furthest canton from Geneva, Graubünden was the last canton I visited after visiting all 25 other cantons on the way to taking the Glacier Express. If you had a preconception that Switzerland is a land of snowy peaks, deep valleys, and grassy slopes with cows, Graubünden is the canton to explore. It’s so Swissy that even Heidi was purported to be inspired my the mountains near Maienfeld.
The capital of Graübunden is Chur. I found Chur to be a rather…unique place. The polite people will greet you on the streets and store clerks will go to great lengths to help you find what you need – a far cry from the indifferent shrug Genevans typically show. They even have an awesome sensor that detects pedestrian traffic to turn traffic signals in favour of pedestrians as they approach the crosswalk.
The hotel I stayed in was very comfortable and had great buffet breakfast. The only problem was that it was too considerate for international guests providing British, EU, and American sockets at the writing desk. After looking for a while for a Swiss socket, I finally had to unplug the lamp next to the bed to charge my computer.
Library and post office 
State building 
Malteser tower 
In the town, there are three main attractions worth looking at if you’re short on time. The first is the upper part of Chur located above the main old town with a church in the middle of a wall made of houses. It’s quite interesting to see a wall that isn’t just defensive in function, but also practical in housing its inhabitants.
Wall houses 
St. Mary’s Cathedral 
Diocese of Chur 
The second worthwhile attraction is the Graubünden Art Museum, it is a deceivingly large museum with a concise, but well-curated collection of regional works. The cantonal parliament is also located in the same building as the town’s theatre…
Cantonal Parliament 
Chur Theatre
Finally, there’s the train that you can catch at a bus stop. It actually goes all the way from Chur to Arosa via the old town so it travels on street level with vehicular traffic. I found it quite a but of fun to flag a train on the street and to hear it blow its whistle at unsuspecting drivers entering a shared roundabout.
