Discover Davos Platz
The city hosting the international economic forum
Winter sport station for affluent people
Davos, nearly 11 000 permanent inhabitants (called also the Davosiens), is located in the German speaking canton of Grisons. The luxury winter sport center, at 1500 meters high may seem off the way, isolated in the easter part of the Swiss Alps. It is only 15 km away from Austria but 122 km from Zurich, 192 km from Basel and 291 from Geneva. Davos does not owe its worldwide reputation merely to tourism. It is above the city of the world’s international economic forum gathering each year the world’s leaders and economic elites. Apart from being the winter sport station with dozens of kilometers of trails and ski slopes the city is well organised around the Convention Center with boutiques, restaurants and trendy places. Before becoming what it is today, the city of Davos was popular among tuberculosis patients, who banked on its fresh air and sunbathed mountains to cure them. At the end of the XIXth century, the village was packed full of sanatoria, hotels and residents. It is for this reason that Davos served as the setting for Thomas Mann's novel The Magic Mountain. This». This part of the city’s history stopped in the 50’s when streptomycin was discovered. Davos famous landmarks are the church of Saint Johann, (1514), Town hall (1564), la Maison Alexander (before a sanatorium), the biggest covered ice rink in Europe, Frauenkirch (1500) and the Kirchner museum.
Real property: living in Davos
The city stretches over four kilometers and includes two villages: Davos-Dorf (just by the shore of the Davos lake) and Davos-Platz. Over 70% of the local income and most jobs are due to tourism. The city is home to five medical and scientific research centers. Nearby 70 dairy farms make use of winter tourism as an additional source of revenue. The Davos winter sport station is frequented by the international jet-set meeting on ski slopes, trendiest spots or at the Coupe Spengler ice hockey tournament. During the summertime, amateurs of water sports may enjoy the facilities around the waters of the Davos lake. The festival of classical music « Young artists in concert » is the place for discovering new talents among young musicians from around the world. The Davos population is stable and only few housing projects are being launched here. It is not that difficult to find yourself a home, the property prices are however in the highest Swiss average. Still, not as high as in Gstaad or St Moritz.
