Things To Do in Davos

Among the old buildings to be seen in Davos-Platz are the parish Church of St. John the Baptist, with a nave dating from 1280 to 1285. The church, now restored, was completed in 1481. It stands east of the train station along Talstrasse. A window in the choir is by Augusto Giacometti. The adjoining Rathaus (town hall) has been extensively restored. Its paneled Grosse Stube (Great Chamber) dates from 1564.

In Davos-Dorf you can visit the 14th-century Church of St. Theodulus. At Museumstrasse 1 is the Altes Pfründhaus (Old Prebend House), the town's only surviving example of a medieval burgher's domicile, now sheltering a minor local museum, the Heimatmuseum (tel. 081/416-26-66; www.heimatmuseum-davos.ch). The museum traces the history of the resort town through a collection of objects and documents relating to its past. It's open January to April and June to October on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday from 3 to 5pm, although special tours can be arranged in other months by contacting the museum or the tourist office. Guided tours cost 50F per person. Adult admission is 5F; children are charged 2F.

Davos is not obsessed with Swiss folklore, but you'll find lots of emphasis on cutting-edge sports equipment and clothing. Check out Ettinger Sport, Promenade 153, Davos-Dorf (tel. 081/410-12-12), or its less comprehensive counterpart at the opposite end of the resort, Angerer Intersport, Promenade 49, Davos-Platz (tel. 081/410-60-60).

Souvenirs of your stay in the Grisons are most conveniently acquired at Pfister Holzladen, Promenade 121A, Davos-Dorf (tel. 081/416-40-60). Benetton sells casual men's and women's clothes at Promenade 62, in Davos-Platz (tel. 081/413-49-50). If you're looking for etchings, oil paintings, watercolors, or lithographs created by artists from the region, head for any of the oft-changing exhibitions at either of the resort's most noteworthy art galleries, Galerie Iris-Wazzau, Promenade 72, Davos-Platz (tel. 081/413-31-06), or Galerie Eule Art, Promenade 41, Davos-Platz (tel. 081/413-15-00).

Everybody's favorite late-night den, bar, and disco is the Bar Rotliechtli, which translates as "Red Light Bar." It's also known as Cava Grischi, near Postplatz, just off the main street of Davos-Platz (tel. 081/417-62-22; www.rotliechtli.ch). Warm, cozy, cramped, and convivial, it offers a rustic-looking decor of varnished pine and masonry, free entrance, and a bar that caters to all ages and all types of personalities, provided that they're late-nighters looking for interaction with like-minded extroverts. It's open nightly from 8pm till around 3am. Beers cost from 8F each.