Chur, Switzerland

Sitting in a deep valley carved by the Rhine, Chur (pronounced koor), the lively cantonal capital, is much overlooked: it has a characterful Old Town, full of medieval cobbled alleys, secret courtyards and solid, foursquare town houses, that is dominated by a huge cathedral symbolizing the rule of the bishop-princes of years gone by. Aside from offering "the best shopping between Zürich and Milan" (debatable), Chur serves as the linchpin of transport routes, with buses and trains sneaking their way through the high, narrow valleys of Central Graubünden to Davos and St Moritz, and west through Surselva to the high Alps around Andermatt.