Once a remote Swiss village, Poschiavo is now a popular stopping point on the UNESCO-listed Bernina Railway that links south-east Switzerland with northern Italy. It lies in the spectacular Val Poschiavo where the official language is Italian and is clustered with Renaissance palazzi dating back to the 19th century.
Things to do in Poschiavo
A spectacular journey awaits on the Bernina Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed railway that travels over the high-altitude Bernina Pass. It links St. Moritz in Switzerland with Tirano in Italy and passes several historic stations and bridges along the way. The Poschiavo railway station is located just outside the village and features a railway workshop where historic railcars are housed.
Experienced mountaineers can scale the Piz Palü, a glaciated massif that features three main summits, the highest of which rises to 3,900 metres. This snow-blanketed mountain was made famous due to the 1929 film “The White Hell of Pitz Palu”, which starred Leni Riefenstahl. Most climbers begin at the Berghaus Diavolezza, a refuge that lies just 500 metres from the summit.
A short drive south of Poschiavo is picture-perfect Lago di Poschiavo, a turquoise lake known for its mirror-like reflections of the surrounding snow-capped peaks. It was created as a result of successive rock slides, which eventually led to a natural dam forming in the valley. A scenic hiking trail circumnavigates the lake and is easily accessible from the Miralago railway station.
Getting around Poschiavo
Poschiavo is just under an hour’s drive from St. Moritz and around 20 minutes from Tirano. Milan Malpensa Airport is 2.5 hours away. Regular trains connect to the Poschiavo railway station along the Bernina Railway and the town is compact enough to explore on foot.