St. Moritz travel guide

Why visit St. Moritz

St. Moritz invented the concept of winter tourism. Before the 1860s, Switzerland’s mountain resorts were summer destinations — people came for the air and the walks, not the snow. Then the hotelier Johannes Badrutt made a bet with his English summer guests: come back in winter, and if you don’t enjoy it I’ll pay your expenses. They came, they loved it, and the rest is history. The tradition of wealthy Europeans wintering in the Alps began here, in this small valley in the canton of Graubünden, and it has never really stopped.

The resort sits at 1,856 metres above sea level in the Upper Engadin valley — a broad, high-altitude plateau with the Inn River running through it and a chain of frozen lakes that doubles as a winter sports venue of extraordinary character. The sun shines an average of 322 days a year here; the champagne climate (St. Moritz’s self-styled marketing description) is genuine. The quality of light at this altitude, in this dry Alpine climate, is unlike anything in the lower resorts.

St. Moritz is unambiguously expensive and unapologetically glamorous. The Corviglia ski runs are the preserve of strong intermediate and expert skiers; the hotels are among the finest in Europe; the restaurants are serious about quality and serious about their prices. But the underlying landscape — the Engadin valley, the surrounding peaks, the clarity of the air and light — is for everyone, and the summer hiking season is genuinely a different and more accessible proposition than the winter glitterati culture.

Getting to St. Moritz

By train — the Glacier Express

The most memorable way to arrive in St. Moritz is on the Glacier Express from Zermatt, crossing the Alps in approximately eight hours through 291 bridges and 91 tunnels. The route passes through Andermatt, across the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 metres, through the Rhine Gorge (the Swiss Grand Canyon), and across the Landwasser Viaduct — one of the most dramatic railway structures in the world. Reserve panoramic window seats in the purpose-built cars well in advance. Glacier Express scenic routes between St. Moritz and Zermatt.

By train — the Bernina Express

The other great scenic railway approach is the Bernina Express from Chur (or from Italy via Tirano). This UNESCO-listed railway crosses the Bernina Pass at 2,253 metres — the highest open-air railway crossing in the Alps — with views of glaciers, snow-covered peaks, and the spectacular Brusio spiral viaduct. The journey from Chur takes about 3 hours 45 minutes.

Standard rail connections

From Zurich: approximately 3 hours 30 minutes via Chur and the Rhaetian Railway. From Lugano: about 2 hours via Tirano and the Bernina Express. The Swiss Travel Pass covers both routes.

Getting around

St. Moritz has two main areas: St. Moritz-Dorf (the village above the lake, where most luxury hotels and boutiques are located) and St. Moritz-Bad (the spa quarter at lake level, somewhat more affordable). A free ski bus connects the resort areas; boats cross the lake in summer.

Top things to do in St. Moritz

Skiing the Corviglia and beyond

The Engadin ski area centred on Corviglia is one of the world’s great ski experiences. The main Corviglia area above St. Moritz-Dorf offers excellent piste skiing with breathtaking views; the Diavolezza glacier and Lagalb on the other side of the valley add challenging terrain. The Piz Nair summit at 3,057 metres provides an extraordinary panorama across the Engadin and the surrounding four-thousand-metre peaks.

The runs are varied and well-maintained. Intermediate skiers have a huge selection; expert skiers find challenging options including the Hahnensee run (the longest in the area) and several off-piste routes. Lift queues are usually minimal outside peak periods.

The Glacier Express to Zermatt

Arriving or departing on the Glacier Express is one of the great Swiss experiences. Whether you arrive from Zermatt after a days of skiing or depart toward it at the start of your Swiss journey, the eight-hour panoramic journey through the heart of the Alps is unforgettable. The scenery changes constantly — from the high Engadin valleys through the Rhine Gorge to the Valais Alps — and the purpose-designed cars with panoramic windows make photography effortless. See the Glacier Express guide for booking details.

Lake Engadin and winter sports

The frozen lake at the centre of the Upper Engadin is the venue for a remarkable collection of traditional and unconventional winter sports. Polo on ice (the Snow Polo World Cup) takes place every January. Cricket on ice has been played here. The White Turf horse racing on the frozen lake every February draws enormous crowds. The Cresta Run — a natural ice track for the dangerous skeleton toboggan sport — has operated continuously since 1884, and the St. Moritz Bobsled Run is one of the few natural ice bobsled tracks remaining in the world.

Summer hiking

The summer transformation of St. Moritz is dramatic. The ski pistes become wildflower meadows; the lifts carry hikers rather than skiers; the lakes thaw and warm enough for swimming (cold, but possible in August). The Engadin valley’s hiking network is outstanding: routes range from gentle lake-circuit walks at valley level to demanding high-altitude traverses across the peaks surrounding the resort.

The classic view — the combination of the Maloja Pass, the chain of Engadin lakes, and the surrounding peaks — is best appreciated from the Corviglia summit in summer, either by lift or after a substantial hike. The light in the Engadin in summer is remarkably clear and the landscape shifts constantly with the movement of clouds over the peaks.

Segantini Museum

The Swiss painter Giovanni Segantini spent his final years in the Engadin and made the landscapes of the Upper Engadin the subject of his greatest works. The Segantini Museum in St. Moritz holds the largest collection of his paintings and is one of the finest single-artist museums in Switzerland. The circular building was purpose-built for the collection and houses the vast triptych “The Alps” — three monumental paintings depicting life, nature, and death in the Alpine landscape — which alone justify a visit.

Engadin valley villages

The villages of the Upper Engadin — Pontresina, Silvaplana, Sils-Maria, Celerina, and others — each have distinct characters and are connected by cross-country ski trails in winter and walking paths in summer. Sils-Maria is famous as the place where Friedrich Nietzsche spent seven summers and had the inspiration for Thus Spoke Zarathustra. His simple summer house is open as a museum. Pontresina is a more affordable and less fashionable alternative base to St. Moritz itself, with excellent mountain access.

Where to stay in St. Moritz

The grand hotels

St. Moritz’s hotel culture is legendary. The Badrutt’s Palace, the Kulm Hotel, and the Carlton are among the grande dame establishments that have defined luxury Alpine hospitality for over a century. These are genuinely extraordinary places to stay — even if only for one night as a special occasion — with service standards, interiors, and amenities that justify the extraordinary cost.

Mid-range and alternatives

Mid-range hotels exist in St. Moritz but are expensive by almost any external reference point. The St. Moritz-Bad area (the spa quarter at lake level) has slightly lower prices than the Dorf. Pontresina and Celerina nearby are meaningfully more affordable while remaining extremely convenient for the ski lifts.

Self-catering

Holiday apartments in St. Moritz and the surrounding villages provide the most economical option for groups or families staying a week or more.

Food and drink in St. Moritz

Dining culture

St. Moritz has more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than almost any comparable resort in the world. The dining culture here is serious: long menus, exceptional wine lists, and service that matches the surroundings. Several restaurants in the palace hotels have been operating at this level for generations.

Less formally, the mountain restaurants above the resort serve excellent alpine food — soup, pasta, Bündner Gerstensuppe (barley soup, the Graubünden regional speciality), and grilled meat — at viewpoints that are genuinely extraordinary. Lunch on the mountain is an integral part of the ski day.

Bündner cuisine

Graubünden has its own distinct food culture. Bündnerfleisch — air-dried beef, sliced paper-thin — is one of Switzerland’s most distinctive cured meats and is produced in the valley. Bündner Gerstensuppe (barley and vegetable soup with smoked ham) is the canonical regional dish, warming and substantial after a day on the mountain. Maluns — a grated potato dish cooked slowly in butter until crisp, served with apple sauce and mountain cheese — is a local specialty worth seeking out.

Day trips from St. Moritz

Poschiavo and the Italian border

The Bernina Express route south from St. Moritz passes through the dramatically descending spiral viaduct at Brusio and reaches Tirano in Italy — a genuine cross-border journey on one of the world’s great railways. The valley village of Poschiavo, just above the Italian border, has an exceptionally well-preserved historic centre and a Spanish Quarter (Quartiere Spagnolo) with coloured houses built by emigrants returned from Spain.

Davos and the Prättigau

An hour by train, Davos offers a different character — less glamorous, more workaday Swiss mountain resort — with access to excellent skiing at Parsenn and the dramatic landscapes of the Landwassertal. See the Davos travel guide.

Zernez and the Swiss National Park

An hour by train or car west, Zernez is the gateway to the Swiss National Park — the only strict nature reserve in Switzerland, covering 170 square kilometres of entirely undisturbed Alpine landscape. Ibex, chamois, red deer, and golden eagles are reliably seen from the park’s marked trails.

Practical tips

The Engadin sun guarantee

The Upper Engadin genuinely does have exceptional sunshine — around 322 sunny days per year. UV radiation at altitude is intense; high-factor sunscreen is essential for any outdoor activity, winter or summer.

Snow conditions

The Engadin’s altitude and climate create consistently good snow conditions from December through April. The Diavolezza glacier provides skiing in autumn before the main season opens. Spring skiing in March and April, with warm sunshine and settled snow, is a particularly excellent option.

Costs

St. Moritz is very expensive even by Swiss standards. Budget CHF 200-400 per night for a mid-range hotel room; CHF 80-120 per day for ski passes; CHF 60-100 for a good restaurant dinner. See the Switzerland budget guide for strategies, though it should be noted that budget travel in St. Moritz is a relative concept.

When to visit St. Moritz

The peak ski season runs from December to April, with Christmas and February being the most expensive periods. The best snow and most consistent sunshine is typically in January and March.

Summer (July to August) is the other main season, with hiking and lake activities. July is warm and flower-filled; August can bring afternoon thunderstorms but is otherwise excellent.

The shoulder periods (May to June and October to November) are quiet — some facilities close and the weather can be unpredictable — but they are also the most affordable. The autumn light in the Engadin in October is extraordinary.

See the best time to visit Switzerland for broader seasonal planning. St. Moritz is the natural end (or beginning) of a 7-day Switzerland itinerary that includes the Glacier Express from Zermatt, combining two of the most spectacular Alpine resort experiences in a single scenic rail journey.

The Engadin light and landscape

The Upper Engadin valley is famous among painters and photographers for its quality of light. At 1,856 metres, with dry air, strong sunshine (322 days per year), and the characteristic pale blue of the high-altitude sky, the valley creates a visual environment unlike anything in the lower Alpine regions. The light has a clarity and sharpness that makes colours appear more saturated than usual: the blue of the lakes, the white of the glaciers, the rust and green of the larch forests in autumn all appear heightened.

Autumn in St. Moritz — particularly October — is when this light is at its most extraordinary. The larch forests around the valley turn gold and rust before the November cold strips them, and the combination of autumn colour, snow on the upper peaks, and the intense Engadin sky is among the finest landscapes in Switzerland.

Cross-country skiing and winter walking

Beyond downhill skiing, St. Moritz and the Upper Engadin have one of Europe’s finest cross-country ski networks. Over 180 kilometres of groomed trails connect the valley floor with the surrounding villages and winter pastures. The trail from St. Moritz to Pontresina along the valley floor is a classic easy route with the entire amphitheatre of Engadin peaks visible throughout.

Winter walking paths — separate from ski pistes — are groomed and cleared throughout the season, providing access to winter landscapes for non-skiers. The lakeside paths and the lower valley circuits are particularly pleasant.

The Julier and Maloja passes

Two famous Alpine road passes flank the Upper Engadin and provide spectacular driving or cycling routes in summer. The Julier Pass (2,284 metres) connecting St. Moritz to Tiefencastel and the Rhine valley to the north has Roman origins — two ancient Roman columns still stand at the summit, of unknown purpose. The Maloja Pass (1,815 metres) at the western end of the Engadin chain descends dramatically to the Italian-Swiss border and the Bregaglia valley, an approach of extraordinary scenic quality.

The Maloja wind — a mountain weather phenomenon unique to the Engadin — flows up the valley from Italy on warm afternoons, creating the characteristic fast-moving cloud formations above the western ridges that painters have depicted for centuries.

Wellness and spa culture

St. Moritz has a long history as a spa destination — the mineral springs here attracted visitors seeking cures long before anyone thought to strap boards to their feet. The Bad in St. Moritz-Bad marks the original spa quarter, and several hotels maintain spa facilities of exceptional quality. The combination of altitude, mineral water, and mountain air that made St. Moritz famous before the skiing era is still genuinely available to visitors who seek it out.

Planning your St. Moritz visit

Three nights is the minimum to experience St. Moritz properly: one day for the skiing or hiking at Corviglia, one day for a Glacier Express leg or a Bernina Express excursion, and one day to explore the valley villages and the Segantini Museum. Five to seven nights gives the resort enough time to reveal its full character across different weathers and lighting conditions.

St. Moritz pairs naturally with Zermatt on a high-altitude circuit — both car-free, both with extraordinary mountains, both justifiably world-famous. The Glacier Express between them is the perfect way to travel, covering in eight scenic hours the distance that would take most of a day by other means. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the rail segment and provides significant discounts on the scenic train supplements. See the 7-day Switzerland itinerary for a complete circuit that combines both resorts with the northern Swiss cities.