Davos Ski Resort - Ski Holidays in Davos

Davos

Davos is the highest city in Western Europe and has a big ski area which stretches all the way to Klosters. The pistes are mostly intermediate-friendly blue and red runs, but there are black slopes and ungroomed ski routes too, and lots of activities for non-skiers.

The Davos-Klosters ski area is one of the biggest in Switzerland with about 300 km of ski slopes separated into 6 different sectors: Parsenn, Jacobshorn, Rinerhorn, Madrisa, Pischa and Schatzalp-Strela.

Parsenn and Jacobshorn are the largest sectors and can both be reached by ski lift from Davos, as can the small Schatzalp-Strela sector that requires a separate lift pass. Rinerhorn, Pischa and Madrisa are all a bus-ride or train-ride away, but they are all within a 15 km radius of the centre of Davos and the buses and trains are free for skiers with a lift pass.

Davos has nursery slopes for beginners, but most of the pistes are intermediate-friendly blues and reds. Advanced skiers have black runs, freeride zones and ski routes, as well as proper off-piste for which they will need a guide. And good skiers in good snow conditions can make huge descents, such as skiing all the way from the top of the ski area at Weissfluhgipfel (2845m) down to Kublis, more than 2,000 vertical metres below.

Alpine skiing, however, is ultimately just one activity that draws people to Davos every winter. There are 175 km of cross-country skiing tracks, 150 km of winter-hiking paths, 10 snow-shoe trails, 8 toboggan runs, a huge outdoor ice rink, an indoor sports centre, and an ice hockey stadium that’s host to one of Switzerland’s top teams.

Business tycoons and political leaders also come to Davos each year for the World Economic Forum in late January. But this lasts less than a week and for the rest of the season, it leaves a lot of luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants to competing for custom from well-heeled but discerning skiers.

The centre of Davos is very urban. If you want to stay in a more traditional Swiss mountain village, you could follow the King of England’s lead and head for neighbouring Klosters . But there are also small rural hamlets all around Davos that are only a few minutes’ drive from the centre. And for a true feeling of splendid isolation, you can stay above the city, most notably at Schatzalp, on the fabled ‘Magic Mountain’ that Thomas Mann wrote about over a hundred years ago.