Davos tourist information & hotel reservations.
We warmly welcome you to visit Davos (Davos Dorf & Davos Platz) and wish you a wonderful vacation.
The great resort for sport lovers Davos is located 24 kilometers away from Chur and only 11 kilometers away from Klosters. Along with St. Moritz and Zermatt, it offers an amazing number of sport opportunities and can be afforded by both rich and middle class people.
The place was first known as Tavauns and Dafaas and its current name was first mentioned in the Episcopal archives of Chur in 1160. The town later became a favourite place for some families from Valais and separated from Austria in 1649.
Davos has two parts – Platz and Dorf which used to be two different settlements but the expansion of both of them led to their unification in the past 20 years. This made Davos bigger than St.Moritz.
The Davos canton is second in largeness in Switzerland and its nice valley is comfortably protected by the surrounding high mountains. This makes the climate in the area very suitable for any kind of sort both in winter and summer. Davos became famous firstly in the 19th century as a health resort suitable for treating tuberculosis. One can still visit some sanatoriums there.
Located at the foot of Zauberberg, Davos became the setting of the well-known novel The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. There were also written parts of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The resort attracted also the world-famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who used to go skiing there. All of the above mentioned people stayed in the Am Stein hotel, which unfortunately cannot be visited as it contains only private apartments. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner who is a famous German expressionist lived in Davos 20 years until his death.
Davos can be visited by people who only want a good vacation and also by those who like sports, have some health problems or have to arrange an important international meeting. Davon can offer mountain biking, skiing, hiking, hang-gliding, ice-sports and many more. And if you are not into sports, visit Davos for the great cultural life and the opportunity to relax in a beautiful place.
Davos Skiing Holidays
Although Davos was popular even before that, it attracted attention in 1899 when there was built a large ice-skating rink. It was used for the world figure and European speed-skating championships. Also then were opened the Davos-Schatzalp funicular and the Schatzalp toboggan run. Nowadays Davos is surely one of the best places for skiing in the world.
There are 5 huge ski areas around the valley and the most important of them is Parsenn-Weissflüh. You can reach it by train from Davos-Dorf (Parsennbahn) which will get you to Weissflühjoch – 2 622 meters above the sea level. This is the entrance of the ski area and there you can find many tracks suitable for all categories and some leading back to Davos, but only for experts in skiing.
From Weissflühjoch you can go to Weissflühgipfel by cable way – 2 778 meters elevation. You can also reach it from Davos-Dorf in around half an hour. From Weissflühgipfel you can get to the famous track Küblis.
Suitable for skiing is also the area around Klosters, which is near Davos, but the lines around Davos make the skiing places in the closest proximity really easily accessible. If you are a beginner, you should go to Rinerhorn or Pischa and for intermediates the best place is Jakobshorn. There are also many places that will satisfy even the most pretentious experts. Many people prefer Davos' Top Ski Pass (also called Davos/Klosters R.E.G.A. Ski Pass) from where one can visit 5 different areas around Klosters and Davos. All of the areas together make 322 kilometers of ski tracks and have available 3 funiculars, ten cable-cars, 4 gondolas and around 40 more conveyances which can take you to a higher place.
Hiking Around Davos
There are numerous marked and cared-for hiking and mountain trails. They can lead you to many picturesque meadows, forests and mountains around the area. There is a 451 meters long network of paths that may lead you some amazing places including the Sertig, Dischma, and Flüela valleys. There are also many railways that can transport you to magnificent walking areas and looking points.
In Davos-Platz you should not miss seeing the parish Church of St. John the Baptist which main building dates back to 1280-85. The construction of the church was finished in 1481 and it was renovated recently. One of the windows inside is made by Augusto Giacometti. You can find the church on Talstrasse, near the train station. Also near is the Town Hall (Rathaus) in which there is the Great Chamber (Grosse Stube) made in 1564.
Davos-Dorf also has a popular church – the Church of St. Theodulus from the 14th century. On Museumstrasse you can see the Altes Pfründhaus (Old Prebend House), which is among the few still preserved places where medieval burghers lived. It now houses a museum – Heimatmuseum where you can follow the history of the town through old objects and documents. It is open to visitors from January till April and from June till October. You can arrange a tour during the other months only by calling the museum or the tourist office.
Davos Transportation
By train from Zurich you will need to make a transfer at Landquart or Filisur. The closest airport to Davos is the one in Zurich (Kloten), but from there you will need to make an additional transfer in order to reach Davos.
By bus you can travel from Munich to Chur and the bus will make a stop at Davos and other town although they will probably need a transfer.
By car you should first go to Klosters and then follow Route 28 to Davos.
Visitor Information
The tourist office at Davos-Dorf is located at Promenade 67 and it is open even in Sunday.
City Layout
There is a boulevard connecting Davos-Platz (1 535 meters elevation) and Davos-Dorf (1 538 meters elevation) which is full of shops, hotels and cafes. Although the boulevard Promenade is only in one direction (from Dorf to Platz), the buses there travel in both
For flights, trains and car-rental reservations as well as for buses, coaches and taxi ski transfers refer to the general Switzerland Transportation page!
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