Ski holidays in Davos, Switzerland

Davos is Europe's highest town and one of Switzerland's largest and most versatile ski resorts. At an altitude of 1,560 metres in Graubünden, the resort offers six separate ski areas with a combined 300km of pistes together with the neighbouring resort of Klosters. A ski holiday in Davos suits all types of skiers, from beginners to experts, and the town's size provides a rich choice of restaurants, shops and activities beyond the slopes.

Parsenn is the largest and most popular ski area, with long runs from Weissfluhgipfel at 2,844 metres all the way down to Klosters, a height difference of some 2,000 metres. Jakobshorn on the other side of the valley is known for lively après-ski and its snowpark, while Pischa offers off-piste skiing and natural snow runs. Three further smaller areas add variety for every taste.

Davos is also internationally known as host of the World Economic Forum, which transforms the resort into a global meeting place every January. But for most visitors, it's the skiing, the cross-country trails and the pleasant town atmosphere that draw them in. Davos has over 100km of groomed cross-country trails and is a classic destination for Nordic skiing.

Compared with the luxury resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz, Davos is a little more down-to-earth, with a wider range of accommodation across different price brackets. The resort has all the amenities a town can offer, from large supermarkets to a cinema, making everyday life easy for families and longer stays.

5 tips about Davos

1. Beginners on Rinerhorn Rinerhorn and Madrisa have quieter, family-friendly pistes that are ideal for anyone who has just taken up skiing or is travelling with children.
2. Make the most of the area pass Your lift pass covers all six ski areas in Davos-Klosters, so it is worth planning a day in each one to experience the full range, from the vertical drop of Parsenn to the natural snow of Pischa.
3. Ski all the way down to Klosters Don't miss the 12 km descent from Weissfluhgipfel at 2,844 metres down to Klosters Dorf, one of the longest continuous ski runs in the Alps with around 2,000 metres of vertical.
4. Avoid WEF week in January Try to book outside the week in January when the World Economic Forum takes place, as the town fills up with security checks and conference delegates rather than skiers.
5. Try the cross-country trails Davos has over 100 km of prepared cross-country trails, a perfect complement to the downhill skiing if you fancy a change of pace for a day of your ski holiday.

Pistes and lifts in Davos

The six ski areas of Davos-Klosters offer 300km of pistes with great variety. Parsenn is the crown jewel, with the 12km run from Weissfluhgipfel down to Klosters Dorf, one of the Alps' longest continuous pistes. Jakobshorn has the resort's best snowpark and liveliest après-ski at the top station. Pischa is unique, offering only ungroomed natural snow runs for those seeking adventure. Madrisa, Rinerhorn and Schatzalp round off the offering with quieter, family-friendly runs.

Piste map for Davos

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Snow reliability in Davos

Davos sits at an altitude of 1,560 metres with skiing up to 2,844 metres at Weissfluhgipfel, which makes for good snow reliability throughout much of the season. The considerable vertical range means the highest pistes often hold good snow even when milder weather reaches the village.

With 57 lifts spread across six ski areas and 150 km of pistes, there are plenty of opportunities to find good conditions whatever the weather, and Pischa also offers ungroomed natural-snow slopes for anyone keen to ski untouched terrain.

Best time to travel to Davos

December to April is ski season, with the best snow conditions in January and February. March is excellent for sunny skiing on Parsenn. During the World Economic Forum in January, accommodation can be hard to find and more expensive. For cross-country skiing, January and February are optimal, with well-groomed trails and stable snow conditions.

Will there be lift queues in Davos?

The Parsenn (Davos Klosters) sector at Davos carries 26,893 people an hour across 18 lifts. 14 of the 18 lifts are gondolas, cable cars or high-speed chairlifts, the kind that clear a queue quickly. The fastest lifts carry up to 2,600 people an hour, for example Höhenweg-Weissfluhjoch (Parsenn Rapid). Per kilometre of piste there is less lift capacity than at an average resort on this site, so a busy week is felt more clearly here. The queue you actually notice is almost always down in the valley between eight and half past nine. If you are on the lift before eight you avoid it.

When is Davos busiest?

How busy the slopes get is not decided by the English half term but by when the local families and the neighbouring countries are on holiday. These are the weeks that fill Davos in the 2026/2027 season.

• Switzerland: The Swiss Sportferien vary from canton to canton, and sometimes between municipalities in the same canton. They are spread from late January to early March, which makes the pressure more even than in the neighbouring countries.
• Germany: Germans are the largest foreign group in the Alps and their winter holidays are spread across early February.
  1 to 6 February: Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia
  8 to 12 February: Bavaria and Saarland
  8 to 19 February: Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
• England: The English February half term is 15 to 19 February 2027 for most councils, with a few areas breaking up a week earlier. The Easter holidays run from 26 March to 9 April.
  8 to 12 February: half term in a few council areas, for example Hull
  15 to 19 February: half term in most of England, including London, the Midlands and the North
  26 March to 9 April: Easter holidays for most English schools
• Easter holidays: Easter 2027 is early, on 28 March. Austria and Germany take their holidays around the weekend, while the French holidays fall after Easter, in April.
  20 to 29 March: the whole of Austria, all states at the same time
  22 March to 3 April: most German states, including Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia
  3 April to 3 May: the French zones, which fall after Easter 2027 and only affect the highest resorts
• Long weekends: Long weekends fill the slopes with day visitors from the nearest cities, even when no schools are on holiday.
  26 December to 3 January: Christmas and New Year, the most expensive period of the year
  6 January: Epiphany, a public holiday in Austria, Italy and parts of Switzerland
  27 to 29 March: the Easter weekend. Easter Monday is a public holiday across the Alps, but Good Friday is a working day in Austria, Italy and France
  1 to 2 May: May Day, a public holiday across the Alps

Because the cantons spread their holidays out, the pressure is more even here than in the neighbouring countries. Mid-January and March are still the quietest weeks.

Snow right now. There is no snow cover in the valley or at the top right now. The figures are modelled by Open-Meteo, not measured by the lift company, and were fetched 15 October 2026 at 20:24.

The lift pass included. The stay comes with the Davos Klosters Mountains lift pass, which covers 215 km of piste. The pass is worth around €433.

How to get to Davos

Last-minute deals in Davos

Last-minute offers, that is late dates the operator still wants to fill, appear from January onwards. Once the season is under way we will show them here on this page.

Davos is suitable for

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Frequently asked questions about Davos