A day trip to Müstair is absolutely recommended to anyone staying in the center or southeast of Switzerland. The drive out there, across the Flüela Pass and through the Swiss National Park, is very scenic. I just had to stop my rental car a couple of times to take pictures of the natural surroundings. There are several picturesque villages too, and hiking paths. I combined the visit of this WHS with one to the Albula Railway on the same day – in hindsight it would have been better to divide this over 2 days, so as to enjoy both sites more.

The Convent is easy to find in Müstair: it’s the prominent building complex at the far end of town, white and light grey in colour. In the morning it’s only open between 10 and 12. There were quite a lot of visitors already present when I arrived at 10.45. Numerous Italians among them, as this is close to the border with Italy. I was a bit confused about where to start my tour – I had read the reviews below and did not want to end up at the museum/convent while the church is the most impressive part.

However, there’s another sight directly at the entrance: the double chapel, housed in a small white building. This also has mural paintings from the Carolingian and romanesque periods. The interior is being renovated at the moment, and it can take years for it to be finished. While a guided tour was being conducted, I was able to peek in and became interested. So after paying up I could join the remaining part of the informative session about restoration and the several mural layers that have been found. Another highlight of the chapel is the original wooden ceiling.

After the tour finished, there were maybe 20 minutes left before the convent would close for lunch. I was somewhat in doubt about what I had just seen: was this the main part of the church, or “just” the chapel. The answer became clear immediately when I walked into the main building – the church is what the chapel could look like in years. Here the murals almost fully cover the walls. Most of them are in very good repair, with bright colours (these are the romanesque paintings I guess). The church interior is quite small and very atmospheric.