First time in Klosters
If you only read one thing
Everything a first-timer needs, in the order you'll need it. Eight minutes to read; saves you roughly one bad dinner and a wasted afternoon.
Eight minutes. Saves you one bad dinner.
The village in one minute
Two halves: the Platz, with the station, the gondola and most of the restaurants, and the Dorf, quieter and a short ride up the valley. Davos is over the hill and is a different animal entirely. Nobody here is in a hurry, including the waiters.
When to come
Go, if you ski or like watching people who do.
Busy, beautiful, book everything. Weekdays in March are the sweet spot.
Go. The secret the winter crowd hasn't noticed.
Walking, lakes, huts with terraces. Half the price, twice the space.
Go, if you want quiet and can cook.
Many places close. Lovely for walkers, frustrating for everyone else.
Ten places worth your time
- Restaurant ExampleThe dinner to book first. Venison, corner table.Type: Eat & drink
- Example Alp HutLunch with the view. Book the stove table.Type: Eat & drink
- Konditorei ExampleNut tart, window seat, rainy afternoons.Type: Eat & drink
- Larch Walk ExampleTwo hours, one bench, nobody else.Type: Do
- Example Sledge RunThe best 25 minutes in the valley.Type: Do
- Spa ExampleFour o'clock, after the school groups.Type: Do
- Hotel ExampleComfortable, fair, open when others shut.Type: Stay
- Gasthaus ExampleCash only, Sunday lunch, worth it.Type: Eat & drink
- Example Valley TownForty minutes by train; for grey days.Type: Beyond
- Example LakeCold, beautiful, empty in autumn.Type: Beyond
Three to skip
- Verdict: skip
Hotel Bar Example. You are paying for the carpet.
- Verdict: skip
Fondue Stübli Example. Fondue is fondue. This one costs twice as much.
- Verdict: skip
Opening Weekend Example. Everyone goes, the snow rarely does. Come the week after.
Rules nobody tells you
Book dinner. Always.
Saturday tables go days ahead in winter. "We'll just walk in" is how you end up at the Fondue Stübli.
Lunch is the main meal.
Huts stop serving hot food mid-afternoon. Plan the skiing around it, not the other way round.
Carry a little cash.
Cards work almost everywhere, but not at every hut, honesty-box farm shop or sledge hire.
Sunday is quiet.
Most shops close. Restaurants don't. Plan your groceries on Saturday.
Greet people.
"Grüezi" in shops and on paths. You will be greeted back, and treated better.
Rest days vary.
Every restaurant has one, and it's never the same day. We list them on each entry.
06 · If it rains
Don't sulk in the hotel. Spa at four, the valley town by train, and a long early dinner. The full Plan B is one tap away.
Rainy day / Plan B →Getting here, briefly
The train is easier than the car and prettier than both. Full details, passes and the timetable traps are on Practicalities.