Davos sits in a high, broad valley in the Graubünden Alps at about 1,560 metres, and it calls itself the highest city in Europe, a claim that depends on how you count. The dot is a few kilometres off, in the mountains toward Zernez, probably near the Flüela Pass, where the road climbs to over 2,300 metres between rock and tarn, and the landscape is bare and bright. It is a very different place from the town, which is known for the World Economic Forum in January and for the long ski runs on the Parsenn.
Davos was a health resort long before it was a place for skiers and politicians. In the nineteenth century, doctors prescribed its dry, sunny mountain air for tuberculosis, and sanatoria were built on the hillsides. Thomas Mann stayed here in 1912 while visiting his wife, and the visit inspired his novel The Magic Mountain, which turns the town into a closed world of illness and ideas. Today, the grand sanatorium buildings have been turned into hotels and clinics, and the lake and the old church are good places for a quiet walk.
The Flüela road climbs from Davos through a narrow valley and over the pass at about 2,383 metres, then drops in tight bends toward Susch in the Lower Engadine. Beyond that, Zernez is the gateway to the Swiss National Park, the only national park in the country, founded in 1914, where ibex, red deer, marmots and golden eagles live without being disturbed. The road is narrow and sometimes steep, and it can be closed by snow for part of the year, so check before you go. Alpine weather can change within minutes, even in summer.
The riding here is some of the best in Switzerland, with crisp tarmac, good visibility and a series of rewarding bends. Speed limits are strictly enforced, with cameras in many valleys.
Fuel is easy in Davos and Zernez, and you will find cafes serving Bündner specialities like barley soup and nut cake. The Engadine is Romansh-speaking, and you may see signs in that language, which is one of the four national languages. Summer weekends are busy, and early morning is the quietest time to be on the road.