St. Moritz
A frozen lake that hosts horse races, the original Cresta Run, Belle Époque palace hotels, and Europe's highest airport five kilometres down the valley.
- Arrival
- Zurich Airport · ZRH
- To the resort
- About 3 hours by direct train from Zurich
- Private jets
- Engadin Airport, Samedan, 5 km away
- Best time
- December to March
The city
Where winter holidays began.
In 1856 Johannes Badrutt turned a village inn into the Kulm, the first hotel in St. Moritz, and later promised his British summer guests their money back if a winter here disappointed them. They stayed, and the resort has lived by the season ever since: the Cresta Run since 1885, horse racing on the frozen lake, and three hotels with three MICHELIN Keys.
The Corviglia lifts run from late November to early April. Summer is calmer, and the Rhaetian Railway over the Albula and Bernina, a UNESCO site since 2008, crosses the Engadin on its way from Thusis to Tirano.
Arriving
The highest runway in Europe.
No airline flies to the Engadin. Most travellers come through Zurich or Milan; private aircraft land at Samedan, five kilometres from St. Moritz.
- Geneva 45 min
- Nice 50 min
- Baku 4 h 35
- Kuwait City 5 h 15
- Bangkok 11 h 55 long-range jet
When to go
December to March.
A high valley with dry, bright, cold winters. The lifts run from the end of November to early April, so December to March is the season. Summer is short and mild, with highs around twenty degrees.
- -1° J 29
- 1° F 19
- 4° M 24
- 8° A 37
- 13° M 67
- 17° J 91
- 19° J 87
- 19° A 100
- 15° S 73
- 11° O 77
- 4° N 70
- -1° D 37
What to see and do
Days in and around St. Moritz.
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Landmark
Corviglia
The home mountain above the village, reached by funicular, with the season running into April.
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Landmark
White Turf
Flat racing, trotting and skijoring on the frozen lake, on race days in February.
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Landmark
Cresta Run
The first skeleton track, built in 1885, running 1,214 metres down to Celerina.
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Culture
Segantini Museum
Nicolaus Hartmann built this memorial to Giovanni Segantini in 1908, and its centrepiece is the painter's Alpine triptych Becoming, Being, Passing.
Official site -
Racing & sport
Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz Celerina
Opened in 1904, the oldest bobsleigh run still in use is made of natural ice from snow and water, and guests can ride behind an experienced pilot.
Official site -
Nature
Diavolezza
A cable car climbs to 2,978 metres facing Piz Bernina and Piz Palü, above the Pers and Morteratsch glaciers.
Official site -
Snow
Engadin cross-country trails
Some 230 km of trails cross the Upper Engadine, including the 42 km Engadin Skimarathon course from Maloja to S-chanf and lit loops for night skiing.
Official site -
Nature
Swiss National Park
Founded in 1914 as the oldest national park in the Alps, it covers over 170 km² with about 100 km of paths where ibex, chamois and bearded vultures live.
Official site -
Opera & music
Engadin Festival
Classical concerts have filled the valley's churches and old hotel halls each summer since 1941, from Pontresina and Celerina to Sils Maria.
Official site
On the calendar
Dates to plan around.
Dates as published by the organisers. Runways, hotels and slots fill early around these weeks: the sooner we know, the more choice you have.
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18–22 Jan 2027
Policy
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
Yearly meeting of the World Economic Forum gathering heads of state, business leaders and economists in Davos-Klosters.
Congress Centre Davos, Davos, about 34 km away
In 3 months
-
21–24 Jan 2027
Polo
Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz
A four day high goal polo tournament played on the frozen lake of St. Moritz, with the final on the Sunday.
Frozen lake of St. Moritz
In 3 months
Where to stay
Three palaces and a house in the snow.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Badrutt's Palace Hotel Opened in 1896 and still in the Badrutt family, with a seventeenth-century Engadin farmhouse, the Chesa Veglia, beside it.
- Kulm Hotel St. Moritz The first hotel in the resort, looking over the lake, and new to three MICHELIN Keys in 2026.
- Carlton Hotel St. Moritz Sixty suites above the lake in a house of 1913, restyled by Carlo Rampazzi, with Da Vittorio downstairs.
- Suvretta House A palace of 1912 just outside the village, with a private ski lift for guests into the Corviglia area.
- Grace La Margna St. Moritz A 1907 Art Nouveau house a few steps from the station, restored and joined to a new wing above the lake.
- Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains Two hundred and twenty-four rooms and suites, a high-Alpine spa and a casino under the same roof.
Where to dine
Two-star cooking at altitude.
From the MICHELIN Guide Switzerland 2025, the current edition; the next selection is announced on 2 November 2026. Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Da Vittorio - St. Moritz Two Michelin stars Italian Carlton Hotel St. Moritz
- Ecco St. Moritz Two Michelin stars Creative Giardino Mountain, Champfèr
- Talvo One Michelin star Mediterranean Via Gunels, Champfèr
- Chesa Stüva Colani One Michelin star Innovative Madulain
- La Chavallera One Michelin star Modern Krone Säumerei am Inn, La Punt-Chamues-ch
- Vivanda One Michelin star Creative Brail
Elsewhere in Switzerland
More reasons to come.
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Geneva
The private banks, the Jet d'Eau, and the shortest drive to the French Alps.
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Zurich
The largest city, its old town on the river, and the country's main airport.
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Gstaad
The car-free Promenade, the Palace on its hill, and chalets all around.
- Verbier The Four Valleys, two hours by road from Geneva.
- Zermatt Electric taxis in a street without cars, and the Matterhorn at the end of it.
Flying to St. Moritz?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.