The square, the park, the walk up the mountain and most of the garden are free; three museums charge admission and the funicular is optional. Route, map and GPS navigation run free in your browser; the AI Tour Guide is optional.
Davos Walking Tour Stops, from Town Square to Sanatorium
1
Davos Weekly Market
Start with an honest expectation: despite the name, you will not find stalls and crates here. No regular weekly market is held at this spot. What you have instead is an open public square, with no gates, no admission and no closing time.
That is exactly what a loop needs. You can start at any hour, and whatever the museums and the funicular do later in the day, the square will still be here when you come back. If you want to break the tour into two days, this is the natural place to stop and resume.
Before you set off, notice the thread this walk follows without announcing it: a spa park early on, a mountain in the middle that was built up as a tuberculosis sanatorium, and a medical museum at the end. Davos tells its health story in places rather than plaques, and you will pick it up as you go.
The Kurpark Davos is 1050 m away, about 14 minutes on foot.
The first leg ends in the town's spa park, and it is the gentlest introduction to Davos you could ask for: a municipal park with walking paths and a playground, free, unfenced and open around the clock. The name itself, Kurpark, is the first clue to the health theme of the day.
Nothing here demands anything of you, so decide what this stop is for. With children, the playground turns it from a pass-through into a proper stop. Without them, use it as a short pause before the first paid door of the day, and settle the real question: is this a museum day, or a walking day with the mountain as the main event?
The Kirchner Museum is only 450 m on, about 7 minutes.
This museum belongs to one painter: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, the German Expressionist who came to Davos in 1918 and lived here until 1938. Most of the works in the collection come from those Davos years, and you can feel why. The mountains impressed him deeply, and so did the people who lived in them; farmers, valleys and peaks keep returning in his pictures.
Inside you get the full range of his work: paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and textiles, plus almost all of his sketchbooks and the photographs he took himself. The themes span his whole career, from studio, nude and circus scenes of his Die Brücke years to portraits and landscapes of his late Swiss period. Documents on his life and a library on Expressionism round it out, and recent exhibitions have set his work in dialogue with contemporary art.
The museum's story is one of generous people. It was founded in 1982 and first housed in the old post office in Davos Platz. The Swiss collector and dealer Eberhard W. Kornfeld was central to setting it up; in the 1960s he had already bought Kirchner's last house on the Wildboden in Frauenkirch near Davos and opened his own Kirchner collection there at weekends. On 4 September 1992 the present building opened, donated by Roman Norbert Ketterer, who administered Kirchner's estate. The collection then counted 519 works, and for the opening the estate gave another 500 works and 160 sketchbooks holding almost 10,000 drawings. In 1994 a further 700 works arrived, along with many of Kirchner's surviving photo negatives. After a renovation, the museum marked its 30th anniversary in December 2012 with a show of the collection.
Is it worth going in? If you have any interest in art, yes: this is the stop where the landscape you are walking through turns into pictures, and an hour is a good allowance. From here the route crosses town to the Davos Local History Museum, 1960 m and about 27 minutes away.
The Heimatmuseum Davos keeps the most particular calendar in town: it opens only on certain afternoons in its summer season and stays shut on the other days.
If your day lines up, it is a fair price for a town museum, cheaper than the Kirchner, and on some days there is a guided tour you can simply join on arrival. Matching the hours is the whole trick: arrive early in the afternoon opening and you still have time for the mountain afterwards.
If it does not line up, let it go without regret. The longest leg of the tour starts at this door: 3740 m and about 70 minutes on foot up to Schatzalp, partly along the Höhenweg Schatzalp. That climb deserves the time you just saved.
Local name
Heimatmuseum Davos
Hours
Sun–Wed 15:00–17:00, Thu–Sat closed (Summer season until mid October)
Price
CHF 10 adults, 20% discount with guest card, free under 16
After the climb, the reward is a long Art Nouveau building at 1,860 m, high on the western side of Davos and listed as a Cultural Property of National Significance. Look at how it is set: facing south, built to catch as much light as possible, in a spot that gets more sun than the town itself. Today it is the Berghotel Schatzalp, but every line of it was planned for patients.
The Dutch entrepreneur Willem Jan Holsboer had it built between 1898 and 1900 by the Zurich architects Otto Pfleghard and Max Haefeli. It opened on 21 December 1900 as a state-of-the-art tuberculosis sanatorium. The funicular came first: work on the Davos to Schatzalp railway began on 29 April 1899 and finished on Christmas Day the same year, just in time to serve the new clinic. In the summer of 1937 the first ski lift went up here, and in 1953 the sanatorium closed and the building became a resort hotel. During the World Economic Forum in the third week of January, it hosts private parties for leaders from business and politics.
Its fame, though, comes from a novel. Thomas Mann set The Magic Mountain, published in 1924, in this sanatorium: the young engineer Hans Castorp comes to visit his sick cousin and ends up staying in Davos for seven years. Mann calls it the highest of the sanatoriums, so far up the mountain that in winter they have to bring the bodies down on bobsleds. The hotel happily leans on the connection, and standing here, you understand why.
On foot the mountain costs nothing. If you would rather ride, the Schatzalpbahn runs regularly in its summer season, and you can buy a one-way or return ticket. The botanical garden is just 100 m on, a one-minute walk.
Hours
Daily continuous service every 15 min (summer season May 1 – Oct 25, 2026: 08:00–19:00, night service until 24:00)
The Botanischer Alpengarten «Alpinum» is the payoff for the climb, and most of it is free. The Big-Five garden, the historical Alpinum and Thomas Mann Square cost nothing, and the garden opens for a summer season. Inside that season, it is the reason to come up, not a detour.
Thomas Mann Square is the place to sit for a while. You have just seen the building he turned into literature; here the novel gets its own corner among the alpine plants, a quiet spot to let the sanatorium story settle before you head back to town.
One section, the Guggerbachtal, charges admission. Walk the free parts first and decide at its gate whether alpine plants are worth the extra to you; skipping it is a perfectly good choice.
Then the route turns downhill: 2940 m and about 41 minutes back into town to the Medical Museum Davos.
Local name
Botanischer Alpengarten «Alpinum»
Hours
Mid-May to end of October: daily 09:00–18:00.
Price
Free main garden (Big-Five garden, historical Alpinum, Thomas Mann Square); Guggerbachtal section CHF 5 (free for hotel guests & Premium Card)
The route saves its most exclusive door for last. The Medizinmuseum Davos opens on just two evenings a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 17:00 until 19:00, and only in its season from 23 June to 8 October 2026. Outside those hours, the outside is all you get, and that is fine: the stop still closes the health theme that began in the Kurpark and peaked at the sanatorium on the mountain.
When it is open, your ticket is a combined one that also covers the Wintersport Museum, so think of it as one fee for two museums if you still have the energy. Bring cash or Twint, which is how you pay here.
On the final stretch you pass the Wintersport Museum, and after 1750 m, about 24 minutes, you are back on the square where you started. Look back over the day: a spa park, a painter who found his subject in these mountains, a sanatorium that became a novel, a garden of alpine plants, and a town that keeps a medical museum open on summer evenings.
Local name
Medizinmuseum Davos
Hours
Tue, Thu 17:00–19:00 (Summer season: Jun 23 – Oct 8, 2026)
Price
CHF 10 adults (combined ticket with Wintersportmuseum), free under 16
All 7 stops are already on the map. You just press start.
AI Tour Guide
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Press start wherever you are, even hundreds of kilometres from Davos, and the guide begins telling its stories right away. In the city, pick any of the 7 stops to start from: it leads you there, then talks with you the whole route, asking, listening, remembering, and shaping the tour around your answers.
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Shorter Ways to Walk Davos
The full loop asks for a climb and good timing. If you have less time or less appetite for altitude, these cuts still make sense.
The whole loop
Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
For walkers with a free afternoon and evening who want the town and the mountain. 3 h 4 min of walking in total, including the 70-minute climb to Schatzalp. Admission at all three museums, plus the Guggerbachtal section of the garden if you want it.
Town and art
Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4
For art lovers, families and anyone skipping the climb. 48 minutes of walking from the square through the Kurpark Davos to the Kirchner Museum and on to the Davos Local History Museum. Admission at the Kirchner, and at the Local History Museum if you arrive during its afternoon hours.
Schatzalp by funicular
Stops: 5, 6
For anyone short on time or legs who still wants the Magic Mountain. Ride the Schatzalpbahn up from town, then it is a one-minute walk from the hotel to the garden. You pay only the funicular fare, and the Guggerbachtal section if you choose it.
How Long This Davos Loop Takes, With and Without Museums
The loop is 12.0 km with 3 h 4 min of pure walking, and almost half of that sits in two legs: the 70-minute climb to Schatzalp and the 41-minute descent back into town. The museum hours decide everything else, so here is a day plan that catches every door: start at the Davos Weekly Market at 13:00, reach the Kurpark Davos at 13:14, give it ten minutes and be at the Kirchner Museum at 13:31. An hour inside gets you out at 14:33 and to the Local History Museum at 15:00. Leave at 15:45, arrive at Schatzalp at 16:55, spend 25 minutes there and then half an hour in the garden until 17:51. The descent brings you to the Medical Museum at 18:32, and you are back on the square at 19:24. That is about six and a half hours.
Without any museum visits, the walk plus short pauses comes to roughly four hours. The town and art variant is under an hour of walking plus your museum time, and the funicular variant leaves the length of your Schatzalp visit entirely up to you.
Before You Start in Davos
Start and finish: The recommended start is the Davos Weekly Market, an open square that never closes, and the loop ends there too. You can join at any stop; the order here is the one that works best.
Best day: If you want all three museums in one walk, pick your day with care in the summer season: each keeps its own opening days, and the Medical Museum opens only on a few evenings in its season.
Costs: Walking, the park, the mountain on foot and the main garden are free. The Kirchner Museum, the Local History Museum and the Medical Museum charge admission, as do the Guggerbachtal section and the funicular if you add them.
Guide: Route, map and GPS navigation from stop to stop are free in your browser. The AI Tour Guide is optional: 100 free credits to start, then either this tour all-inclusive for €19.99 with no time limit or €5 per hour.
AI Tour Guide
Your Davos guide is ready when you are
Press start and a voice AI Tour Guide takes it from here: leading the route through Davos, telling the stories, and turning your walk into a real back-and-forth conversation. No app or download is needed; it runs in your browser.
Free to start · Runs in your browser · No app, no download
What the AI Tour Guide Adds on the Way to the Magic Mountain
On this loop the long stretches are the point: 70 minutes up to Schatzalp and 41 back down. The AI Tour Guide fills them with conversation instead of silence. It greets you on the square, tells the stories of Kirchner, Holsboer and Hans Castorp as you walk, asks whether you have read Thomas Mann or would rather hear about the painter, remembers your answer and steers the next stories that way. If you want to know what a day on a sanatorium sun terrace was like, or how Kirchner's view of the mountains changed over twenty years, just interrupt and ask.
A Real Conversation
A voice AI Tour Guide greets you, leads the whole route, and tells the stories and facts as you walk, asking what you want to see and keeping a real conversation going. Not a recording you press play on.
Map Navigation
Follow the route on the map and walk at your own pace. You choose where to start and when to move to the next stop.
Ask Anything
Curious about a building you pass? Ask your AI Tour Guide on the spot and the conversation carries on.
13 Languages
Switch language anytime. No separate tour needed.
Do the Davos guest card or the Premium Card save money on this tour?
Yes. With the guest card the Kirchner Museum is cheaper (the same reduced rate applies to seniors and students), and the Local History Museum gives a discount. The DK Premium Card lowers the Schatzalpbahn return fare and opens the Guggerbachtal section of the garden for free, as does staying at the Schatzalp hotel.
Do children pay admission?
Children get in free at the Kirchner Museum, the Local History Museum and the Medical Museum, and older teenagers pay a reduced rate at the Kirchner. Families often make the Kurpark playground a longer stop and take the funicular for the mountain.
Can I bring my dog?
On the walk, yes, but dogs are not allowed in the Alpinum Schatzalp Botanical Garden at all. Dog owners can stay on the free mountain trails around Schatzalp instead and rejoin the route for the descent.
What is still worth doing after the summer season?
The square and the Kurpark are open around the clock, the Kirchner Museum stays open, and Schatzalp is free to reach on foot. The Medical Museum, the Local History Museum, the funicular's summer service and the garden all close for the season in autumn.
Where can I walk next if I stay in the region?
Arosa is the nearest mountain resort with its own walk, and Chur makes a good town day. Further into the Engadine, try Pontresina.
Is the tour really free?
Yes. The whole tour is free: the route, the interactive map and the navigation cost you nothing. Only the voice AI Tour Guide is optional and paid: you test it with 100 free credits, then you pay either €5 per hour or €19.99 for this whole tour, with no time limit. Admission to 3 of the 7 stops is not included: Kirchner Museum, Davos Local History Museum and Medical Museum Davos charge their own entry fees.
Do I need to download an app?
No. Everything runs in your phone browser. Open the route and start walking, no download and no sign-up required.
Do I need to book the walking tour in advance?
No booking needed. This self-guided tour is available anytime. Open the route in your browser and start walking. The AI Tour Guide works instantly, no app, no reservation required.
What languages is the AI Tour Guide available in?
The AI Tour Guide speaks 13 languages, so you take the tour in your own language and can switch at any time.
Can I skip stops or change the route?
Yes. Skip any stop, spend extra time at places you like, or start the route from any point. It is your walk, you set the pace.
