Thusis is a gateway town, and it knows its job well. It sits where the Hinterrhein, the young Rhine, comes out of the gorge of the Viamala and into the wide, orchard-lined valley of the Domleschg, and from here roads and railway lines fan out into the Graubünden mountains: south over the Splügen and San Bernardino passes, east through the Schin gorge toward the Albula and Davos. At about seven hundred metres in altitude, it is a fairly low base for such high terrain, and that makes it a useful place to be at the start of a mountain day.
The Viamala itself, the bad road, is just south of the town. For centuries it was one of the great hazards of alpine travel, a gorge so narrow and deep that the old mule track clung to the cliff over the river. The Romans and medieval merchants used it to reach the southern passes, and the toll traffic made nearby villages rich. The modern road runs through tunnels and over high bridges, but you can still stop and walk down into the gorge itself, where the river has carved a ribbon of polished rock far below. The Domleschg valley to the north is full of castles, more per square kilometre than almost anywhere in Switzerland.
The ride south from Thusis is among the best in the country. The old road through the Viamala and Rofla gorges and up to the Splügen is a feat of nineteenth-century engineering, while the motorway tunnel carries the heavy traffic toward San Bernardino. If you take the pass road over the San Bernardino, the road climbs in long, easy curves and ends with a generous run of hairpins on the southern side toward Mesocco and Ticino. Be ready for cool air at the top even in summer, and snow can close some of these roads from late autumn to spring, so check ahead.
Thusis is a small, practical town with a fuel station, supermarkets, bakeries and several cafes beside the Rhaetian Railway station, which is a good place to watch the red trains setting off for the Albula. The nearest bigger town is Domat/Ems, about fifteen kilometres to the north, and Chur is just beyond. If you plan a long mountain day, fill up and eat something here first.