2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Davos, Switzerland’s first winter guests. Drawn to the mountain air, two German visitors pioneered the quintessential alpine vacation in this rejuvenating locale. Conceived as a health resort, Davos attracted tuberculosis patients from around the world in search of a cure theoretically enabled by the relatively high altitude (1560m). Its most notable visitors at that time included Robert Louis Stevenson, followed by Thomas Mann, who logged an extended visit in 1911 during his wife’s convalescence there.
Twenty years later, skiing entered the scene. Since then, Davos, along with its neighbor Klosters, has become the European ski destination. Today, people seek rejuvenation and fresh air not in sanatoriums but on the slopes. Prince William, for example, has chosen to continue the Royal Family tradition to winter here. Don’t be surprised, too, if leaders in town for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum each January stic...