If you have ever been wondering who invented winter tourism – well, St. Moritz is guilty on all charges.
It all started 150 years ago with an unusual bet between a hotel owner and his guests.
Back then, people would only come to springs to have a lovely day in nature and experience what we call “wellness” nowadays.
This was the case until hotelier Johannes Badrutt came up with an idea. He invited 4 Englishmen for a winter holiday by saying it will be much more fun.
To encourage guests, he promised to cover all the costs in case they end up dissatisfied. As it turned out, they stayed from Christmas to Easter and returned with tanned skin and strong positive impressions.
This moment was marked as the birth of a winter playground for the rich.
But not only that, as the resort offers endless activities and pleasures for all ages and personalities.
St. Moritz will fascinate you with high-class sporting events, stunning restaurants, shopping with the most famous brands, and freshly powdered pistes.
St. Moritz is an impressive village located in the Engadin valley in the Swiss Alps. It takes less than 4 hours of train ride from Zurich to reach this winter paradise.
Being in the southeastern part of Switzerland, St. Moritz is close to the borders of Italy to the south and Austria to the east.
The nearest airport is in Zurich, about two and a half-hour drive away.
The resort nurtures a vast cultural heritage: Romansch is St. Moritz‘s official main language, and it is a German spoken area.
Italian is spoken in the surrounding valleys, French at the Club Med, and English at the Cresta Run, cricket, and polo.
To arrive in style at this prestigious resort, we recommend you to hire our limo service and let our chauffeur treat you nothing less than royal.
St. Moritz isn’t just a ski resort.
Its popularity doesn’t simply lie in the fact that it represents a winter playground for the mega-rich.
The fame extended and reached its peak when the resort hosted the Winter Olympics. Or, better to say, St. Moritz gained popularity because it hosted the Winter Olympics twice.
Mineral springs are another unique thing about St. Moritz. They were discovered 3,000 years ago and that proclaimed the town as a summer spa resort back in the past.
Since it is the cradle of winter tourism for the last 150 years, a long-lasting tradition is something that must be appreciated about St. Moritz.
It is quite unbelievable how its quality doesn’t deteriorate as time passes. On the contrary, it keeps up in being the best and it leaves all the competitors behind.
Pure and intact nature is another important advantage of St. Moritz. Skiing or hiking surrounded by breathtaking landscapes is a routine in St. Moritz.
And, above all, skiing in St. Moritz is beyond comparison!
There are 350 kilometers of pistes with impeccable infrastructure in the surrounding area. Furthermore, by being at an elevation of 1,856 meters, St. Moritz boasts a lot of sunny days.
Having all these amazing facts in mind, we should ask ourselves: Is St. Moritz that expensive?
The resort’s beauty goes on ad infinitum and the pleasure you’ll get is worth every penny.
Don’t forget that only the highest-quality embellishes St. Moritz – nothing less than five-star luxury hotels and even Michelin-starred restaurants.
It is the place where royals and ultra-famous people gather and spend holidays according to their standards.
All things considered – definitely YES!
In St. Moritz, you’ll be blown away by urban vibes hidden in a lot of cultural institutions, museums, and art galleries. Let’s put it this way: it is a cosmopolitan place settled in the alpine beauty.
The galleries are too well organized to skip them. Pieces of art can be admired in combo with natural blessings – collected on your walk along the lake. Expect to see those surrounding landscapes exposed in some of the art galleries.
The lake is spectacular and it will give you the peace and retreat you are looking for. You can watch the sunset while sitting in one of the wooden chairs, scattered on the well-paved path around the lake, and admire the scenery.
St. Moritz is the center for holidays with celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, a director of horror movies, who spent his honeymoon in the resort.
Famous models such as Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer are also frequent guests in St. Moritz.
Playboy Gunter Sachs and a young Brigitte Bardot are just some out of many famous people who enjoy the alpine charms of St. Moritz Switzerland.
The resort was even used as a background for two James Bond films, “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “A View to Kill.“
On this winter playground, royals often bathe in luxury, including the Swedish royal family, Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex, and Willem-Alexander and Maxima of The Netherlands.
Some visitors even fly in their own jets!
St. Moritz in winter is a base for millionaires and billionaires from all over the world.
If you have enough money on your account, you can have an ultra-luxurious and highly comfortable holiday, too.
St. Moritz is the region’s biggest attraction with 25 crystal-clear mountain lakes, and charming forests and glaciers.
The landscapes from St. Moritz encompass the mountains from Piz Languard in the east and Piz Julier in the west. The most distinctive summits are the following:
This kind of setting creates a perfect base for numerous activities and entertainment in both winter and summer. To be precise, we’ll note activities suitable for each season.
Scroll down and find out what are the best winter and summer activities to do in St. Moritz!
Positioned in the dazzling Engadine, St. Moritz is the utmost winter playground with a wide range of activities for everyone.
The resort has precise dates of winter events taking place each season and creating a lot of sporting amusement.
Here is just a fragrance of the exciting things that you can do during your winter holiday:
For skiers, there is nothing more appealing than overlooking St. Moritz’s closest mountain Corviglia all dressed in sophisticated white.
The cradle of winter tourism is one of the best ski regions in the world, so it’s not so surprising that it has already hosted two Winter Olympic Games and five Alpine Ski World Championships.
Through the entire St. Moritz ski region run 87 pistes that follow World Cup quality standards. As a true skier, you can immediately feel the difference, and get a quite transparent answer regarding is St. Moritz good for skiing.
The Corviglia area is connected with the nearby village of Celerina, which extends to magnificent 3,057 meters on the peak of Piz Nair. You can get the slopes from the funicular at the upper end of St. Moritz Dorf, and by a cable car situated at St. Moritz Bad.
Is St. Moritz good for beginners?
The resort is usually regarded as a mecca for intermediate-advanced and advanced skiers and snowboarders, but that doesn’t exclude the fact that this ground is also good for beginners.
There is a wide number of black runs within the linked area, but most of them are blue and red.
The beginners should be focused on the Corviglia, Salastrans, or Celerina nursery slopes. Thanks to its lifting system, this area is the most suitable for children.
After some practice and built confidence, fresh skiers can go up higher into the mountain, but it’s advisable to have a professional instructor by their side.
Moreover, St. Moritz is a vast ski area with endless options, so beginners should be accompanied by someone who will lead them in the right direction.
When in the Upper Engadine, you get the feeling like you might touch the sky.
Within the pine forests, your lungs will be filled with fresh air, and you will be mesmerized with lake crystal clarity.
Here are some ideas for activities you might find fun during your summer holiday in St. Moritz:
Switzerland traffic works impeccably – there are private, shared, and group transfers available to and from all airports and also hotels.
In case you are not on a European road trip, the best option is to visit St. Moritz by train. Either from Zurich or Milan airports, the train ride is magical. It is guaranteed that you will have the best alpine railway experience.
Upon your arrival at the train station, buses and taxis will be available to complete your journey.
Nevertheless, don’t forget that St. Moritz is the pearl of luxury and that you should arrive there like a true aristocrat. To achieve that, contact our EdelSwiss limo service and let us pamper you with class and luxury on your ride to the most prestigious winter playground.
St. Moritz draws tourists from all over the world with its endless beauty and modern alpine lifestyle, manifested in first-class restaurants, luxurious hotels, and events of international value.
A lot of interesting activities await you there, both in summer and winter – each time of the year is good for a visit.
Plan your trip, pack your bags, and rent a limo for sheer driving pleasure.