Klosters, Switzerland: Everything a Skier Should Know

Klosters, Switzerland | Welove2ski — Photo: © J.Palmer Tomkinson

The Stats

Altitude: 1192m

Top Lift: 2844m

Ski area: 305km of piste

Adult lift pass: CHF332 for six days

In a Nutshell

Don’t be put off by the connection with Prince Charles. The Swiss resort of Klosters is a cutey, and boasts a good snow record and plenty of skiing at every level. Its lifts connect with those of neighbouring Davos too – making for a big, if bitty, area.

Essential Advice for the Perfect Trip

We like Klosters. Unlike Davos, its much larger and more cosmopolitan neighbour, Klosters entertains fame and embraces fortune but has never knowingly sought either. Yes, the Windsors have traditionally holidayed here – and so do a lot of wealthy bankers from Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse. But despite the international profile they’ve given the place, it still clings tenaciously to its roots as a proper Alpine community – where farming still matters as much as tourism. And it’s all the better for it.

The skiing‘s good too. This is the snowier end of the lift system which Klosters shares with Davos, and although the village itself is rather low, at 1190m, there’s usually excellent skiing higher up – for all levels.

Like Davos, the resort is divided into two sectors. Klosters Platz around the main railway station is the village centre, with most of the hotels, shops, restaurants, and access to the Parsenn. Klosters Dorf, also on the railway line but a couple of kilometres away, is a more remote outpost around the base of the Madrisa gondola. A regular bus service connects the two. Trains between Klosters and Davos are included in the regional lift pass. Madrisa, incidentally, is where you will find some of the best nursery slopes in Switzerland.

“It is a small and charming village with outstanding restaurants and the greatest off-piste options we have ever seen,” said a reporter.

	The testing mogul fields and lush off-piste.
	The well-groomed, and seemingly endless intermediates runs.
	The laid-back village atmosphere.
	The variety of accommodation, including some of the nicest chalets around.
	The achingly beautiful railway journey up to Davos – though it can seem painfully slow if all you want to do is get there and start skiing.

	The peak-season overcrowding.
	The bottleneck caused at Gotschna by the second cable-car being smaller than the first.
	The lack of natural focus to the resort.
	The fractured lift system, once you get beyond the Parsenn.
	The fact that beginners and children are stuck in a completely separate ski area that’s not connected to the main Parsenn.