The Highest Town in Europe and Its Alpine Character
At 1,560 metres above sea level, Davos occupies a broad valley in the canton of Graubunden that feels fundamentally different from the narrow gorges elsewhere in Switzerland. The valley floor is wide enough to accommodate a proper town rather than a village, with boulevards, civic buildings, and the congress centre that hosts the World Economic Forum each January. Above it all, six distinct mountains rise to nearly 3,000 metres, offering terrain that ranges from gentle nursery runs to hard high-altitude descents. The combination of urban infrastructure and alpine grandeur is what sets this resort apart from the picture-postcard villages that fill the travel brochures.
The light at this elevation has a particular quality that visitors notice within hours of arriving. The air is thinner and drier, which gives the sky a depth of blue that photographs rarely capture honestly. Sunsets turn the snowfields amber. On clear winter mornings, the temperature can drop well below minus fifteen, but the absence of humidity makes the cold feel invigorating rather than punishing. It is an environment that has drawn visitors seeking physical renewal since the nineteenth century, and that legacy permeates the architecture, the rhythms of daily life, and the expectations of those who return year after year.
Hotel Davos: Where to Stay in the Valley
The hotel scene in Davos reflects a town that has welcomed visitors since the sanatorium era. Accommodation stretches from Dorf at the eastern end to Platz at the western end, and the choice between the two determines the character of a holiday. Dorf sits closer to the Parsenn lifts and carries a charming, quieter atmosphere. Platz offers easy access to the Jakobshorn slopes, the commercial heart of town, and the congress facilities. Both ends are connected by efficient transport.
A hotel in Davos will typically offer comfortable rooms with mountain views, a restaurant serving alpine cuisine, and a spa or sauna for recovery after a day on the slopes. Guests find the room quality consistently good across categories. A star hotel at the four or five level adds fine dining, a swimming pool, and the style of architecture that turns a stay into something memorable. The heritage properties carry a particular appeal, with several buildings dating from the Belle Epoque period when the town functioned as a sanatorium destination and the architecture reflected the confidence of an era that believed absolutely in the healing power of thin air.
Davos Klosters Hotel: Charming Properties to Find
Davos and neighbouring Klosters together form one of the top ski resort destinations in the Swiss Alps. A Davos Klosters hotel benefits from access to the full mountain network. Hotels Davos range from charming family-run establishments to polished five-star properties. Guests will find accommodation at every level, and the Swiss standard ensures that even a modest property delivers clean rooms, good dining, and a location that puts the alpine landscape within easy reach. A holiday Davos rewards those who look beyond the obvious.
The Schatzalp: Literature Made Habitable
Above the town, reached by funicular that climbs through snow-laden spruce forest, the Berghotel Schatzalp occupies a south-facing terrace at 1,860 metres. Built as a luxury sanatorium in 1900, its Art Nouveau facade and hundred-metre-long terrace inspired Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain. Patients once reclined on the famous yellow deck chairs, wrapped in blankets, absorbing sunlight and pure air as prescribed therapy. The institution operated in its original medical capacity until 1953 before conversion to an establishment that honours its heritage while providing modern comfort.
The botanical garden surrounding the building contains over 3,500 species, representing one of the most significant collections at this elevation anywhere on the continent. In winter, the Schatzalp also functions as a small, nostalgic piste served by a single drag lift. A night here provides something no other property in the valley can replicate: the sense of sleeping within the pages of a novel, on a terrace that changed how the continent thought about rest, recovery, and the therapeutic potential of being above the clouds.
Ski Area Davos: Six Mountains of Choice
The ski area Davos offers 266 kilometres of pistes across six mountains including Parsenn, Jakobshorn, Rinerhorn, Madrisa, Pischa, and the Schatzalp. This ski area choice is hard to match in Switzerland. Parsenn reaches 2,844 metres and includes the legendary descent to Kublis that has been traced since 1895. Jakobshorn attracts freestyle skiing enthusiasts. Rinerhorn provides slopes that are a popular family choice.
The pass covers all six mountains. Cross country skiing trails thread through the valley floor. Grooming standards are impeccable throughout the network. The on-mountain restaurant dining at the summit stations surprises visitors who arrive expecting institutional canteen fare. Several of these elevated establishments produce plates that would hold their own at valley level, accompanied by panoramas that no ground-floor dining room can offer regardless of its pretensions.
Summer Holiday Davos
The transformation between seasons is dramatic. In warmer months, the mountains offer trails from gentle lakeside promenades to exposed traverses that require proper equipment and a head for heights. Mountain biking has established a serious following. A summer holiday in the alps around Davos means longer days, warmer terraces, and the particular pleasure of these mountains without the winter crowds. The Davossee provides lake swimming. Cultural events including music festivals punctuate the calendar from June through September, and the town takes on an atmosphere quite different from its winter identity, more reflective, less driven by the imperative to maximise vertical metres before the lifts close.
Spa and Wellness: The Recovery Tradition
The relationship between Davos and physical recovery predates the modern spa concept. Contemporary hotels offer spa facilities including sauna and treatment rooms. The bella vita spa philosophy appears at several properties, combining mountain herbs with therapies calibrated for bodies that have spent a day working at elevation. A hotel that offers ski access and spa in the same package understands the rhythm: active mornings, comfortable afternoons to relax, restorative evenings at the table. The thin air at this altitude performs its own therapy, an observation that the sanatorium physicians made over a century ago and that contemporary medical science has largely confirmed.
Alpine Cuisine and Dining
The restaurant scene has evolved beyond fondue, though it remains a popular choice on a cold evening. The regional pantry provides the foundation: dried meats cured in the mountain air, cheeses aged in cellars that maintain a constant temperature year-round, game from the surrounding forests in autumn. The commitment to ingredient quality, characteristic of this country's approach to food, ensures that even unassuming establishments produce results that surprise with their precision. The choice across the town is wide enough that a week-long visit need never repeat, which is not something every mountain destination can honestly claim.
Getting There and Practical Notes
Zurich airport connects by train in roughly two and a half hours via Landquart. The Rhaetian Railway section deserves attention in its own right, winding through gorges and past villages that cling to impossibly steep terrain. Accommodation should be booked early for winter. The Davos Klosters mountains are easily reached via the local bus. Parking is available at most properties. Whether arriving for a ski holiday, a summer escape, or simply a night in the mountains, a stay Davos delivers an experience rooted in Swiss alpine hospitality. Guests who find their way here once tend to return, which is the most honest recommendation any resort in the alps can receive.