Overview
Davos was our first proper stop after driving into Switzerland from northern Italy during our May 2026 Central Europe road trip. This was my third visit to Switzerland, but the first time we had explored the country entirely by car.
The town itself is small and I did not find much reason to spend a long time walking around the center. Its strength is its position. Davos works as a base for the surrounding mountains, with a wide choice of accommodation and railways or lifts heading uphill. The official Davos Klosters network covers several mountain areas, which makes the town more useful as a base than as a sightseeing destination in its own right. Skiing is naturally a major part of its identity.
Getting There via Flüela Pass
We entered from Italy through the Resia and Scuol direction, then crossed Flüela Pass toward Davos. The road passed tiny settlements with only a handful of houses. It was difficult to imagine what everyday life must be like in places that isolated.
The drive suddenly turned into a snowstorm on the pass. Visibility dropped to only a few meters and the entire landscape disappeared into white. Fortunately, the snow did not build up quickly on the road, so we managed to continue. It was one of the most exciting moments of the road trip, although not one I would want to repeat unprepared.
We also noticed roadside signs illustrating nearby attractions, a simple but useful way to introduce places that drivers might otherwise pass without noticing. The other immediate sign that we had crossed into Switzerland was the price level. Compared with Italy, many prices felt almost twice as high.
Verdict
Davos made sense as a comfortable mountain base, but not as a town where I would plan a long sightseeing stay. The road through Flüela Pass and the surrounding landscape were more memorable than the center itself.