The Grand Tour will take you upstream along the “Landquart”, past lush meadows, across spectacular bridges and through idyllic Wals villages. See the holiday resort Klosters – also known as “Hollywood on the Rocks” – located in the Prättigau valley. Continue across Wolfgang Pass to Davos, the world-famous health resort and long-term host to the World Economic Forum (WEF). This stage is a real highlight on the Grand Tour of Switzerland.
The municipalitie Saas (1000 m above sea level) are located in the Prättigau Valley, just before you reach the world-famous holiday destination Davos Klosters. Opened in 2011, a bypass with tunnels and bridges saves Saas – “the sunshine village” – from the heavy traffic heading for Davos / Klosters. A bypass for Küblis is currently under construction and is scheduled to be opened in 2016. This will bring more peace and relaxation for the visitors and more quality of life for the locals. Both villages are well worth a visit on your Grand Tour. The old village centres are home to many original Wals houses.
In the international people's press, Klosters is usually sought in vain. The location is certainly renowned worldwide as a classic holiday resort, but it is never one of those with the greatest media presences.. And this is despite of the fact that a number of Klosters guests certainly have the potential to fill newspapers and television programmes with their presence alone. In the past, only the royal family from Great Britain has arranged an official photo session during their stay in Klosters. The deal: Afterwards, Prince Charles, Lady Diana and their sons were to be left in peace.
After your visit to the picturesque Klosters, the Grand Tour leads you across Wolfgang Pass to Davos, the highest town in Europe, famed for the diversity of sports, leisure and cultural facilities, its rejuvenating climate, the HC Davos, the Spengler Cup, the Kirchner Museum, the World Economic Forum and the celebrated freestyle scene on the Jakobshorn. The road along Lake Davos will take you across the level crossing and towards Flüela Pass. Once you have passed the impressive golden egg, the Intercontinental Hotel Davos, the road climbs up to the Flüela hostel. The attractive mountain pass weaves gently through the untouched Flüela Valley up to 2383 m above sea level. Here, not only modern post vans, but also the ancient Flüela stage coach will take you for a ride.
Davos originally became famous thanks to its rejuvenating climate, which has been renowned for around 150 years. As early as 1860, the first Davos guest house was opened to welcome spa guests. The immigrated German physician, Alexander Spengler, opened a recuperation spa for people suffering from lung diseases. He primarily prescribed extensive sleep on the sun terraces of Davos along with Veltliner wine. This treatment made Davos world-famous. In 1924, Thomas Mann immortalised the place also in a literary sense with his novel "The Magic Mountain“. Numerous other writers, artists and philosophers followed in Mann’s footsteps. They brought their own culture with them, made the spa town famous in their works or were responsible for initiating the sports, events and cultural facilities that exist today. Davos was at the forefront of the development of modern winter sports. The history of the world renowned Davos sledge started in the 19th century. The sledge received its name at the first historic sledge race in 1883 in Davos. In 1921, the Hockey Club Davos was established – today it is both myth and living legend. 1923 witnessed the first Spengler Cup, the oldest and most famous international ice-hockey tournament in the world. The Parsenn Derby is the most traditional ski race in Switzerland and took place for the first time in 1924. Ten years later, the first t-bar ski lift in the world was put into operation on the Bolgen.
More information on Davos and the surrounding area
Tips
Klosters gained fame as a winter and summer holiday destination more than 100 years ago. It experienced a decisive impetus in its development as a stylish holiday resort for connoisseurs in the 1950s. At that time, many famous faces from the American and British film, music and theatre scene discovered the ski resort, which resulted in the name "Hollywood on the Rocks". Back then, many British and American guests moved to Klosters, where they established their second homes. They characterised the style and atmosphere of the holiday village for decades, and their children are still doing it to this day. In recent decades, Klosters has enjoyed attention from international media thanks to its illustrious guests from the British royal family. Despite this, the elegant village, which retains its original character and chalet style, has stayed down-to-earth.
More information on Klosters and the surrounding area
Tips
Many houses in the heart of the village still feature the original local architecture: Wals houses have white lower walls and rich brown wood-panelled upper walls. These houses, together with the campanile church spire, form a highly attractive backdrop. The lush and colourful flowers in the many window boxes are also typical of Saas. The Aquasana memorial on Hauptstrasse commemorates a battle Saas fought against Austria in 1622. The leisure mountain Madrisa can be easily accessed via the Madrisa cable car from Klosters. Adjacent to the terminus, you will find “Madrisa Land”, an extensive play and adventure area for children and families.
Tips
From just one night’s stay, all guests – both in hotels and commercially let holiday apartments – receive the Premium Card, which allows you to use trains and busses in the area free of charge. Cable cars and mountain railways are available from CHF 6.00 (Schatzalp) or CHF 10.00 (Parsenn, Jakobshorn, Rinerhorn, Madrisa) per Person and day with the Premium Card.
Overnight guests also benefit from the summer guest programme, some programmes are free, CHF 5 or max CHF 10 with unparalleled leisure activities. These include climbing, riding and windsurfing taster courses, guided mountain hikes, family offers such as children’s afternoons, biking courses for children, pony trekking, wildlife observation tours with the ranger, cultural events such as traditional evenings and visits to the working brewery in Davos Monstein or the cheese dairy on Clavadeler Alp.
Keen on trying some local treats? With the Grand Tour Snack Box you can double the enjoyment of your journey through Switzerland. You can buy the Snack Box from any of the official sales outlets and fill it up with regional specialities for two people. Enabling you to experience the culinary diversity of Switzerland. And: The Snack Box also makes an attractive souvenir and is available at Milk & more, Talstrasse 3 in Davos Platz.
Snack Box (excluding contents) CHF 25.—Filling for two persons CHF 20.—
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