Really very extensive slopes and bags of off-piste options - probably stands alongside the Engadin and the 4 Vallées as somewhere you could easily spend a whole season. Davos Dorf has access to the fabulous snow-sure Parsenn it shares with Klosters, but there is also good on and off-piste on other mountains served by the lifts from the town, for example the Jakobshorn from Davos Platz and the Rinerhorn from Glaris. In addition you can access the small areas at Pischa and Schatzalp or, from Klosters, access the Madrisa. The Parsenn can get busy at weekends, so it is worthwhile trying out one of the smaller areas or the generally quieter slopes on Parsenn below Goschnagrat. The slopes at the bottom of the Jakobshorn are best for beginners.
Davos is a busy town with lots going on, easy to get to by road or rail and a favoured destination since the mid nineteenth century when it became established as a high-altitude health resort by a German refugee, Dr Alexander Spengler, on the run from a death sentence in his home country. It became one of the very first winter sports resorts, popularised by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who came here to accompany his sick wife and got hooked on skiing. He wrote about his experiences on his return to England, fuelling an interest in the activity. At Bolgen, the resort had the very first t-bar system in Europe. James Riddell eulogised about the Parsenn in his 1957 book on Swiss ski resorts: "Parsenn! One word is enough. It is a word that crops up all o'er the world, whenever and wherever skiers meet."
Sky and Rail
The nearest airport to Davos is Zurich. There is a railway station in the airport.
Best of the Slopes at Davos
The breath-taking 14k, 2000m drop off Weissfluhjoch to Küblis is one of the longest runs in the Alps, but the unpisted trails down to Fideris and Jenaz are even longer. The Parsenn is a huge, wonderful area with quiet corners and plenty of off-piste, Jakobshorn is particularly good for boarders.
Where to Eat and Party in Davos
The Weissfluhgipfel is the classiest mountain restaurant. After a day on the piste, the Bolgenschanze, near Davos Platz and the Jakobshorn base station, is the best place to rendezvous. A lot of the nightlife is spread around town, but the Hotel Europe at the bottom of the Schaltzalpbahn is a good place to hang out with several bars to choose from. The best restaurants are along the Promenade: Glow (+41 81 416 43 43) at #115 and Restaurant Pöstli in the Morosani Posthotel (+41 81 415 45 00) at #42.
Getting to Davos by Train
The best destination to access the downhill slopes by public transport in this ski area is Davos Platz or Dorf. Dorf Station, 5 minutes to Parsenn mountain railway for main pistes. Davos Platz, 5 minutes to Jakobshorn cable car. (Davos Glaris 5 minutes to Rinerhorn cable car.)
