Disentis travel guide

Disentis (German) or Mustér (Romansh), is a community of the district Surselva in the Northwest of the Canton of Graubünden or Grisons in Switzerland. The skiing and summer tourism resort high up in the Rhine valley is the site of one of the oldest Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland.

Disentis (Photo: Whgler, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Understand

The official language of the municipality is Romansh. German is the second language though nearly everybody is bilingual in both of these languages. Communal laws, though, exists only in Romansh.

Disentis is today one of the most important centers of the Romansh language, especially of its Sursilvan dialect. It also plays an important role as cultural centre, through the high school of the monastery.

Get in

By train

Trains to and from Disentis are operated by the Rhaetian Railways. Hourly trains connect from Chur (1h 15min) and Andermatt (1h 5min). The Glacier Express also stops in Disentis from Zermatt and St. Moritz.

By bus

During the summer a post bus line connects Disentis to the Lukmanier pass.

By car

Disentis lies on the highest step of the Rhine Valley, where the roads of the Oberalp pass coming from central and western Switzerland and of the Lukmanier pass coming from the Ticino meet. The main road connects Disentis to the lower parts of the Rhine valley and Chur as well as the Oberalp pass towards Andermatt, where roads split off to Valais, Central Switzerland and Ticino. A smaller road leads to the Lukmanier pass towards Ticino

Get around

Other than using a car or local buses, the Rhätische Bahn (Rhaetian Railway) is the main method of transport here throughout the upper Rhine Valley.

See

• Disentis Abbey Museum, Via Claustra 1, ☏ +41 81 929 69 00, museum@kloster-disentis.ch. Daily 08:30–17:00. Disentis Abbey, founded in ca. 720, was already in early medieval times the cultural and political centre of the area. Situated on the road to the Lukmanier pass used by the German emperors on their way to Italy, Disentis became a place of international importance in the high Middle Ages and the prince abbot of Disentis was the lord of the Rhine valley. The museum on the grounds of the monastery give an insight into its history. Fr. 10/5.
• Mineral Museum Cristallina, Via Cons. June-October, Christmas-Easter, Tue and first Sun of the month 13:00-16:00. Small museum showcasing minerals found around the region. Fr. 5/2.

Do

Tourism started around 1870 and today Disentis is a resort offering 150 km of hiking trails in summer and 30 km of cross-country tracks in winter.

Just above the village lies the source of the River Rhine.

Skiing

• Disentis 3000 (60 km in winter, 10 lifts), ☏ +41 81 920 30 40. The gondola for this ski area is right in the village of Disentis. Day pass Fr. 56/28.
• Skiarena Andermatt-Sedrun (120 km, 11 lifts), ☏ +41 41 887 14 45. Sedrun, a couple kilometres further along the valley, shares a ski area with Andermatt on the other side of the Oberalppass. The train between the two towns is included in the price of the ski ticket. Day pass Fr. 60/30.

Eat

• Hotel Alpsu, Via Alpsu 4, ☏ +41 81 947 51 17. This restaurant specialises in local food and is especially popular for Capuns, a type of dumpling.

Sleep

There are 14 hotels and 21 restaurants, and together with neighbour municipality Sedrun, Disentis offers a total of 10,000 beds in hotels and holiday apartments.

• Hotel Pez Ault, ☏ +41 81 947 41 46. Small cosy hotel on the outskirts of the village.

Go next

• Tujetsch

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