Davos Apres Ski

Apres Ski in Davos

Davos is a city surrounded by mountains. It has good restaurants and plenty of bars, both on the slopes and in the town. There’s also a wealth of other activities besides alpine skiing, with superb winter hikes, ice skating, nordic skiing and tobogganing. And they don’t stop when the sun sets.

The City of Davos

Part of the canton of Graubunden, Davos’ transformation from a remote farming community into an international resort began in 1860 when Dr Spengler opened the first tuberculosis clinic. Davos soon became the leading health resort in Switzerland and was popular with the British, including well-known personalities such as author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.

With the decline of tuberculosis after the Second World War, many of the elegant sanatoriums were turned into hotels, and Davos changed again. But Davos is still a city with a year-round population of more than 10,000 people rather than just a winter resort, and it’s nightlife reflects this. There are the usual bars, restaurants and clubs that that you find throughout the Alps, but there’s a lot more besides.

Apres Ski Bars & Nightlife in Davos

Apres ski in Davos begins on the slopes, especially on Jakobshorn and continues in the bars inside the resort, especially around the Parsennbahn. There are late night bars and clubs for those who want to continue into the early hours, and even a casino. Mid-week everything is quite quiet and relaxed, but at weekends and holidays the bars can be packed. There are also special festivals and events, including the Covers festival in March each year on the Bolgen nursery slopes when covers bands play dance floor favourites (see photo at top of the page).

Restaurants in Davos 

There are over 140 restaurants in Davos, Klosters and the surrounding villages, including gourmet restaurants in some of the ritzier hotels like the Morosani Schweizerhof in Davos Platz. Anf fine dining doesn’t stop at the city limits.  Restaurants in small villages, like Hotel Schraemli in Lengmatta, can be just as good as those in the centre.. For full listings, see the restaurant section of the official Davos Klosters tourist board website.

Other Activities in Davos

Davos offers plenty of other activities besides alpine skiing. Its facilities for ice skating, tobogganing, nordic skiing and winter hiking are among the best in the Alps, and with the aid of floodlights, they are part of the city’s nightlife, as well as alternatives to skiing during the day. But to really see what makes the city special, watch a top ice hockey match in its striking stadium or try Eisminigolf (a cross between mini golf and ice hockey)  that you can play with a drink in your hand.

Ice Skating and Curling in Davos

Ice skating, curling, ice hockey and speed skating are all popular on the huge outdoor ice rink near the city centre that stays open in the evening too.

Ice Hockey

 

All through the winter, ice hockey matches are an almost weekly occurrence in the Davos stadium. As well as hosting the Spengler Cup and numerous other matches, Davos’ ice hockey team, HC Davos, are one if the most successful premier league ice hockey teams in Switzerland.

Winter Hiking in Davos

For those who enjoy walking there are over 150 km of well-prepared winter hiking paths. Popular routes are around the Davos Lake, along the river from Platz towards Frauenkirch, to the frozen waterfall at Schatzalp, and Hoheweg, the path which runs above the city but parallel to the main street from Dorf to Platz.

Snowshoeing in Davos

Snowshoes enable winter-hikers to go off the beaten track. Davos has prepared, avalanche-secured trails on mountains like Pischa.

Cross-Country Skiing/Nordic Skiing in Davos

Davos is one the most important centres in Switzerland for cross-country skiing. The Swiss Cross-country ski team home and training camp is based in Davos (most athletes live here) and there are no fees to use the cross-country tracks in Davos Klosters! 75km of Nordic track stretch from Glaris to beyond Wolfgang with branches into the side valleys of Sertig, Dischma and Flüela. A 2.5 km floodlit loop at the entrance to Dischma is also open in the evenings. Each year the Flüela runs challenge the world’s best skiers during the Nordic FIS World Cup Races. 

Tobogganing in Davos

At Rinerhorn there is a sledge run, which is seriously steep in sections, with 33 twists and is often manic with children belting down out of control. It’s floodlit until 9 pm, twice a week. There is also a comparatively gentle 2.8km sledge run down from the hotel at Schatzalp accessed by the mountain railway from Davos Platz which is floodlit every evening..

Eisminigolf

Eisminigolf is ‘Mini Golf on Ice with an Ice Hockey Stick and a Puck’. A perfect apres-ski sport.

Horse Drawn Sleigh Rides

Ok it’s corny, but part of the appeal of Davos is the contrast between its very urban city centre and the rural villages that lie just outside it. And whilst you can reach them by car, bus, train or taxi, a sleigh ride is a lot more memorable.

Davos Tourist Office

For more information contact the Tourist Office in Davos:

Davos Tourist Offices
Talstrasse 41, 7270 Davos Platz
Bahnhofstrasse 8, 7260 Davos Dorf
Tel: +41 (0) 81 415 21 21
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.davos.ch