How many days do you need in Davos?

Four to seven nights, the ski area is huge with six linked mountains, and you'll want time for the Parsenn, the cross-country, and Klosters. In summer it's an equally big hiking and biking base.

Do you need a car in Davos?

No. Davos is well served by the Rhaetian Railway and local ski buses, and the slopes are lift-reached, so it works well car-free. A car helps only for exploring the wider Graubünden valleys.

What is Davos known for?

Being the highest town in Europe, a vast Davos-Klosters ski area with the famous Parsenn, a long heritage as a mountain-air health resort, and as host of the annual World Economic Forum each January.

They share the same linked ski area. Davos is the larger, higher, more urban town with more amenities; Klosters is smaller, prettier, and more village-like. Choose on scale and buzz versus charm and calm.

🇨🇭 Swiss Alps

Davos

Europe's highest town, big skiing and famous mountain air.

Davos

Davos is the highest town in Europe, a broad high-valley resort in Graubünden that pairs a serious ski area, six mountains linked with neighbouring Klosters, with a long history as a mountain-air health resort and the modern home of the World Economic Forum. It's larger and more urban than a typical Swiss village, more town than postcard, but the skiing is vast, the Parsenn and the cross-country legendary, and the summer hiking and biking off the Jakobshorn and Schatzalp equally big. A high-altitude all-rounder with a cosmopolitan edge.

Go car-free

Car or train?

Skip the car. Davos is well served by trains and easy to get around on foot or by mountain lift. Parking is tight and a car is more hassle than help.

Train access 4/5Nearest airports: Zurich (ZRH), Friedrichshafen (FDH)Alps by rail guide →

How it scores

Scenery

Food scene

Romance

Family-friendly

Hiking

Value for money

Best for

✓Skiers and snowboarders
✓Cross-country skiing
✓Big high-altitude terrain
✓Summer hiking and biking
✓Train travelers

Who should skip it

✕Tiny-village charm
✕A quiet, intimate base
✕Budget travelers

Signature experiences

Skiing the legendary Parsenn and the six linked Davos-Klosters mountains
A glide along the high cross-country trails in the Flüela and Sertig valleys
Summer hiking and biking from the Jakobshorn and the historic Schatzalp

Biggest mistake

Expecting a chocolate-box village. Davos is a big, high, slightly urban town, so come for the scale of the skiing and the high-alpine terrain, and pick neighbouring Klosters or a side valley if you want the storybook version.

Worth the splurge

A wellness hotel with a spa near the Parsenn railway, and a day across the full Davos-Klosters ski area.

Good to know

Davos questions, answered

The practical things travelers ask most before booking this base.

How many days do you need in Davos?: Four to seven nights, the ski area is huge with six linked mountains, and you'll want time for the Parsenn, the cross-country, and Klosters. In summer it's an equally big hiking and biking base.
Do you need a car in Davos?: No. Davos is well served by the Rhaetian Railway and local ski buses, and the slopes are lift-reached, so it works well car-free. A car helps only for exploring the wider Graubünden valleys.
What is Davos known for?: Being the highest town in Europe, a vast Davos-Klosters ski area with the famous Parsenn, a long heritage as a mountain-air health resort, and as host of the annual World Economic Forum each January.
Davos or Klosters?: They share the same linked ski area. Davos is the larger, higher, more urban town with more amenities; Klosters is smaller, prettier, and more village-like. Choose on scale and buzz versus charm and calm.

Keep planning

Build a trip around Davos

Routes, itineraries, and guides that put this base to work.

Swiss Alps by Train or Car: Which Is Better?

Switzerland has the world's best rail network and famously car-free villages, so do you even need a car? An honest guide to train versus car for the Swiss Alps.

9 min read

Seasonal Planning

The Best Time to Visit the Swiss Alps

A month-by-month guide to the Swiss Alps: the September sweet spot, high summer in the Jungfrau and Zermatt, world-class ski winters, and where the lakes still work in the shoulder.

6 min read

First-Time Planning