Davos is a small Swiss town with international appeal that always extends beyond the hillsides. Its worldwide fame in Victorian times stemmed from the tuberculosis sanatoriums built here in the belief that the crisp, clean mountain air could cure or at least alleviate the ravages of the disease. Nowadays it is the annual meeting place of the World Economic Forum.
Davos’ own slopes are linked to the much smaller Klosters slopes, and the total ski area has six separate ski sectors with 300 kilometers of slopes and good terrain parks. The facility is ideal for intermediates and there are also challenging black runs and off-piste opportunities for experts.
Catch up on the essentials from the resort below and scroll down for our insider guide to a day on the slopes, expert reviews and advice. For more Davos inspiration, check out our guides to the resort’s best accommodation, restaurants and après-ski.
In this guide:
Inside the facility
The city of Davos is divided into two parts: Davos Platz and Davos Dorf. The Platz is most convenient for most hotels and shops; Dorf is the best starting point for accessing the ski slopes. However, there is an efficient ski bus service so getting from one to the other poses little problem during the day and early evening.
Davos wasn’t built as a ski resort, and it’s not an architecturally beautiful place either, but skiers and snowboarders come here for the ski slopes, not to admire the rugged and largely unenterprising hotel blocks.
In the 1880s, a local businessman purchased a pair of the newfangled “Norwegian snowshoes”, then known as skis. This sport attracted the attention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, whose wife was being treated for tuberculosis in Davos. He shared his passion with Strand magazine readers and a whole new type of winter tourism was born. Conan Doyle described in detail his passage through the Maienfelder Furgga Pass to Arosa, and it is possible to follow it with a guide.
By far the largest of the ski area’s six sectors is Parsenn, but the others are all interesting and worth exploring, especially during peak season weeks.
The development of the wonder drug Streptomycin in 1946 heralded the demise of sanatoriums, but by then the Swiss ski industry had begun to emerge as a viable alternative in Davos’ economy. The World Economic Forum has been held here every winter since 1971, giving the resort a new financial boost.
Switzerland in general (and Davos in particular) is not a place to take a cheap snow sports trip. However, the resort offers a program of complementary activities for holders of the complimentary Davos Klosters guest pass, which can be obtained through the tourist office.
There is a wide range of bars and night entertainment available after dark. There is also a wide range of quality leisure facilities, especially ice rinks and swimming pools.
on the slopes
Davos’ ski area is linked to the much smaller Klosters ski area, and together the two resorts offer six separate ski sectors ideal for intermediate skiers: Parsenn, Jakobshorn, Pischa, Madrisa, Rinerhorn and Schatzalp-Strela – with 300 km of pistes and 56 ski slopes. by ski lift.
By far the largest of these is Parsenn, but the others are all interesting. They can be especially good during high season weeks when Parsenn tends to get overcrowded. Pischa is a private freeride zone, and the remote Rinerhorn is generally quiet, even on the busiest weekends of the season. Jakobshorn is a freestyle paradise, home to the massive Jatzpark terrain park and superpipe, serviced by a quick-access cable car. Both this and the hill station have been refurbished and refurbished for 2022/23 with new solar panels for easier access for disabled people and increased renewable energy.
New for 2023/24 is a challenging 2 kilometer piste from the summit of the Jakobshorn to the existing descent below the valley station of the Usser Isch chairlift, via a forested path towards the center of Davos Platz.
But Parsenn is the main dish. The Parsennbahn funicular goes from Davos Dorf to the 2,662 m Weissfluhjoch, followed by a short cable car ride to the ski area’s highest point, the Weissfluhgipfel at 2,844 m. From here, a network of lifts spreads over the mountains towards Klosters. Alternatively, there is a 12-kilometre descent with a 2,000-metre vertical descent to the farming villages of Küblis or Serneus on connecting red pistes. There is a train from Kublis to Davos; From Serneus there is a bus to Klosters, then a train to Davos.
Experts will enjoy challenging black runs from Meierhofer Tälli to the hamlet of Wolfgang, as well as more challenging route routes to Klosters, and enjoy numerous off-piste opportunities, including following in the footsteps of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, crossing Maienfelder Furgga . Cross to Arosa accompanied by a guide.
For starters, there are better resorts than Davos. The Madrisa district of Klosters is beginner-friendly but very remote, and Davos’ disorganized layout makes it extremely difficult for a party of mixed abilities to spend time together. The best bet for beginners is the Bolgen nursery slope below the Jakobshorn and at Bünda Davos Dorf. The magic carpets in Bolgen and Bunde are new additions.
Davos is a big place for terrain parks. Jakobshorn and Jatzpark with various thrusters and rails. There are boardercross courses in both Madrisa and Parsenn. There is a small amusement park in Rinerhorn.
Who should go?
Davos has an extensive network of interconnected intermediate runways in six separate runway sectors. The resort is also a great area for freeriders when the snow is good, with long runs from the mountaintops down to the valley, but it’s equally interesting for freestyle enthusiasts looking for terrain parks. Most accommodation in Davos consists of four and five-star hotels, and prices here are quite high even for Switzerland. But the service and quality are good and there are plenty of options for nice places to eat and stay.
Know before you go
Basic knowledge
-
British Embassy/Consulate in Bern: +41 (0)31 359 77 00
-
Ambulance: Dial 144
-
Police: Dial 117
-
Fire: Dial 118
-
Tourism Office: Check the Davos Klosters Tourist Board’s website davos.ch for weather reports, lift availability, webcams, traffic details and local event listings. Get maps, brochures and other information from offices in the center of Davos and Klosters.
Fundamentals
-
Currency unit: Swiss franc (CHF)
-
Phone code: From abroad, dial 00 41 and leave out the zero at the beginning of the 10-digit number.
-
Time difference: +1 hour