Arosa Is the Charming Mountain Town Where Swiss Locals Actually Go to Ski

Skiing in the Swiss Alps has become such a global status marker that mountain villages are routinely flooded with international tourists during peak season. These snow-covered ski resort towns may sparkle on Instagram, but the reality of elusive dinner reservations, endless lift lines and packed hotels is not exactly serenity-inducing. For travelers looking for the charms of a picturesque Swiss mountain town without the crowds—and who prefer a cozier winter getaway to the over-the-top glitz and glamour of Gstaad or St. Moritz—why not look to the Swiss locals themselves? They are, after all, renowned arbiters of taste and quality, from chocolate to cheese to luxury timepieces—and such discernment extends to mountain retreats, as well. Enter: Arosa, where the Swiss go to ski, with all the charms of the Alps but without any of the crowds. To call an alpine ski town—or any destination, really—a “hidden gem” is so beyond cliché that it verges on laziness.

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