Davos-Klosters

Overview

Davos is where alpine ski tourism more or less began. The town hosted some of the first ski races in the Alps, built Europe's pioneering funiculars, and has been receiving winter guests since the 19th century, when its high, dry air made it the continent's most famous health retreat. Today the name mostly conjures the World Economic Forum, which is a shame, because for the other fifty-one weeks of the year Davos and its quieter neighbour Klosters form one of Switzerland's biggest and most varied winter playgrounds: around 300 kilometres of pistes spread across six separate ski areas, topping out at 2,844 metres on the Weissfluhgipfel.

The two towns could hardly be more different, and that contrast is half the appeal. Davos is a proper small city at altitude: two train stations, a congress centre, a professional hockey team, shops that sell things other than watches. Klosters, ten minutes down the valley at 1,191 metres, is a chocolate-box village of dark timber chalets that has quietly hosted British royalty for decades. They share the Parsenn ski area between them, and a single pass covers everything on both sides.

Getting there is classic Switzerland: the Rhaetian Railway runs straight into both towns, roughly two and a half hours from Zurich airport with a change in Landquart. The red trains climbing through the Prättigau are part of the experience, and staying car-free here is entirely realistic.

Terrain & The Six Areas

Davos-Klosters is not one interconnected mega-resort; it is six distinct mountains strung along the valley, each with its own personality. That structure rewards visitors who treat the week as a tour rather than lapping one lift. The consensus among visitors is that the variety here is the point: you can ski a different mountain every day and never repeat yourself.

Parsenn is the flagship, the broad, rolling plateau between Davos and Klosters served by the historic Parsennbahn funicular from Davos Dorf. Its long red cruisers are some of the best in the Alps, and the famous run from the Weissfluhgipfel down to Küblis drops over 2,000 vertical metres and stretches around 12 kilometres, finishing at a railway station where you ride the train back. Jakobshorn, rising straight above Davos Platz, is the freestyle and freeride hill, with a big terrain park, a snowboard heritage going back to the sport's European beginnings, and lively slope-side après. Pischa is now a largely unpisted freeride mountain, Rinerhorn and Madrisa are quieter family areas, and little Schatzalp above Davos is a slow-skiing throwback served by a Belle Époque funicular.

Off-piste, the region punches well above its fame. The Parsenn's shoulder-season powder fields, Pischa's ungroomed faces and the touring terrain toward the Flüela Pass draw serious freeriders, and visitors consistently report shorter powder-day queues than at the big-name freeride resorts. The usual caveats apply: this is high alpine terrain, so carry a beacon, shovel and probe and check the bulletin. Our avalanche safety gear guide covers the kit.

Beginners have gentle zones at Bünda in Davos and on Madrisa above Klosters, though the region as a whole favours intermediates and up. Confident cruisers will have the best week of their lives on the Parsenn; experts will split time between Jakobshorn's park, Pischa's faces and the long valley descents.

Lift Tickets & Pricing

The Davos Klosters Mountains day pass covers all six areas and runs somewhere around CHF 75 for an adult, with dynamic pricing that moves between roughly CHF 60 and CHF 80 depending on date and how far ahead you book. Multi-day passes bring the daily rate down meaningfully, and online purchase in advance is consistently cheaper than the ticket window. Kids and youth get substantial discounts, and regional guest cards bundled with many hotels shave costs further.

By Swiss standards that is decent value: you are paying Verbier-adjacent money for a region with more total terrain than most visitors can cover in a week. Check current pricing at the official Davos Klosters Mountains site.

Where to Stay

The first decision is Davos or Klosters. Davos offers more hotels, more restaurants and easier access to Jakobshorn and the Parsennbahn; Klosters offers charm, quiet and its own gondola up the Parsenn's Gotschna side. Trains and buses link the two constantly, so neither choice locks you out of anything.

Budget (~CHF 120-250/night)

Mid-Range (~CHF 250-450/night)

Luxury (CHF 450+/night)

Dining

On-Mountain

In Town

Plan Your Davos-Klosters Trip

Give this region a full week and treat it as a tour: Parsenn cruising days bookending a Jakobshorn park day, a Pischa powder morning if the snow cooperates, and at least one run down the Küblis valley descent with the train ride home. Base in Davos for convenience or Klosters for charm, take the railway rather than a car, and if your dates are flexible, aim for January or March, when the crowds thin and the pistes stay cold. It is not the flashiest name in the Alps, and that is precisely why those who know it keep going back.