St Moritz Village Guide 2026

St Moritz at a glance

Photos via Google. Contributed by Urs Reichmuth, Karel Chromy, Federico Tempesti.

What St Moritz is really like

St Moritz is unlike any other village in this guide, because it is not really a village at all but a glittering town with a century and a half of glamour behind it. This is where Alpine winter tourism was effectively born, and the place has never lost its sense of occasion: grand belle epoque hotels, designer boutiques, polo and horse racing on the frozen lake, and a clientele that comes to be seen as much as to ski. Set high in the Engadin at around 1,820 m beside its famous lake, under one of the brightest skies in the Alps, it is a romance of a very particular, opulent kind.

Yet beneath the glamour is a genuinely superb mountain region. The Engadin offers high, sunny, snow sure skiing across several linked and nearby areas, with a top lift near 3,300 m and long, beautifully groomed slopes that suit cruising intermediates perfectly. The town spreads between St Moritz Dorf above and St Moritz Bad by the lake, and the ski areas sit a little apart, so this is a place you move around rather than ski straight into. For the full terrain and ratings breakdown see our St Moritz ski resort review.

Where to stay in St Moritz

St Moritz is where you choose your base by budget and style more than anywhere in this guide, because the range is enormous. At the top sit some of the most famous luxury hotels in the world, palatial places where a week climbs well beyond the $8,000 plus band per person. But St Moritz is not only for the super rich: there are comfortable mid range hotels and apartments in the $2,000 to $4,000 and $4,000 to $8,000 bands, especially down in St Moritz Bad by the lake, and the wider Engadin villages offer more value still.

St Moritz Dorf, the upper town, puts you among the grand hotels, the shops and the closest access to the Corviglia slopes, and is the glamorous choice. St Moritz Bad, lower by the lake, is quieter, more relaxed and better value, with easy access to the cross country trails. Couples wanting the full grand experience should splurge on a classic Dorf hotel with a spa and lake view, while families and value seekers do better in Bad or in a neighbouring Engadin village. For a sense of where it sits among the grand resorts, see our pick of the best luxury ski resorts in Switzerland. Use the short form below to have your dates and group priced quickly.

Skiing from the village

The skiing around St Moritz is high, sunny and made for intermediates, and there is a lot of it: around 160 km of pistes spread across the Engadin, principally the Corviglia slopes directly above the town and the higher Corvatsch area a short ride away, with more terrain nearby. The runs are wide, long, beautifully groomed and bathed in that famous Engadin light, ideal cruising for a comfortable skier, and the altitude keeps the snow reliable through the season. The descents back toward the valley and the lake are some of the most scenic in the Alps.

Be clear about two things. First, this is intermediate heaven rather than an experts' mountain: there is good off piste and some steeper pitches, especially around Corvatsch, but a skier who lives for sustained steeps will not find St Moritz as testing as the terrain its glamour implies. Second, the ski areas are spread out and a little apart from the town, so you use buses, gondolas and a car between sectors rather than skiing from your hotel door. Plan your days around which area you want, and embrace the variety the Engadin offers. Arrange a guide for the off piste through our lessons partner.

Apres ski and evenings

Nobody does the grand evening quite like St Moritz. This is a town of celebrated bars, fine restaurants, glamorous hotel lounges and a social calendar of polo, racing and gourmet festivals on and around the frozen lake. The after ski here is less about boozy slope side decks and more about champagne, fur and occasion, though there is plenty of warmth and fun if you know where to look. For people who love a sense of theatre with their mountains, the St Moritz evening is intoxicating.

It is, however, expensive and image conscious, and that is worth knowing before you book. If your idea of apres ski is a cheap beer in ski boots, you may find the town's polish a little cool. But if you want to dress for dinner, dance late in a legendary bar and feel the glamour of a place that has hosted royalty and film stars for generations, few resorts on earth compete.

For families and non skiers

St Moritz works for families with the budget for it, though it is not a natural budget family choice. The skiing is gentle and confidence building, the sunshine is reliable and the Engadin offers safe nursery areas, but the town's spread out layout and high prices make it more effort and expense than a compact family village. Families who come tend to love the variety and the sense of occasion, and the quieter St Moritz Bad or a neighbouring village makes a more relaxed base.

Non skiers, on the other hand, are spoiled. There is world class shopping, grand hotel spas, the frozen lake with its winter events, the famous Cresta Run and bob track, horse drawn sleigh rides, fine dining, museums and the scenic Bernina railway nearby. Few ski destinations offer a non skier so much to fill a glamorous week, which is a real point in St Moritz's favour for couples and groups of mixed interests.

Getting around

St Moritz is a town rather than a compact resort, so you will move around more than at a small village. Free ski buses link the two parts of town, St Moritz Dorf and St Moritz Bad, with the various lift bases and the nearby Engadin areas, and the train and postbus network across the valley is excellent. A car gives the most flexibility for reaching the spread out ski sectors and exploring the Engadin villages, but it is not essential given the public transport. Plan your days around which ski area you are heading to, since they sit a little apart.

Getting there

Reaching St Moritz is part of the romance. Zurich is around 3 hours away by road over scenic passes, and the train journey through the mountains, including the celebrated Bernina and Glacier express routes, is one of the great rail experiences in Europe and a wonderful way to arrive. The high Engadin setting means a longer transfer than the headline Alpine resorts, but the scenery makes it a pleasure rather than a chore. Arrange a transfer or car through our transfer partner, and put cover in place through our travel insurance partner before you travel. For the wider area see our Graubunden region guide.

Lift passes, lessons and ski hire

The Engadin day pass runs around $90 and covers the linked St Moritz ski areas, which reflects the scale and the altitude of the terrain, and multi day passes bring better value across a week. Buy the full area pass to enjoy the variety, since the spread out sectors are the whole appeal. Compare current pass options through our lift pass partner, book lessons or a guide through our lessons partner, and sort skis or a board through our ski hire partner before you arrive to skip the queues.

When to go

St Moritz skis from around late November into April, with the high Engadin altitude giving it a long and reliable season under famously sunny skies. January and February bring the coldest, most dependable snow and the height of the social season, with the lake events at their best. March and early April bring long, brilliant, sunny days that are glorious on the high cruising slopes, with the altitude keeping conditions good when lower resorts soften. Because the sunshine is such a part of the appeal, a clear settled spell shows the Engadin and its lake at their dazzling best.

The honest bottom line

St Moritz is the romantic's choice for grandeur, a glittering high Engadin town with around 160 km of sunny intermediate skiing, dependable altitude snow, a frozen lake full of winter spectacle and a social scene found nowhere else in the Alps. For scenery lovers, comfortable intermediates, non skiers and anyone who wants glamour and occasion with their mountains, it is one of the truly iconic destinations in skiing.

The honest trade off is cost and convenience. This is an expensive, spread out town rather than a cosy ski in ski out village, and a skier who lives for sustained steeps will find it less testing than its reputation implies. If you want a simple budget family base or an experts' mountain, look elsewhere. But if you want to ski superb sunny slopes by day and dress for a legendary evening by night, nowhere does it like St Moritz. If you want this trip priced by specialists, tell us your dates and budget below and we will route your brief to operators who know the Engadin.

Get chalet and lodging quotes

For a faster quote on where to stay in St Moritz, send the short form below and operators who know the Engadin will price your dates and group, including whether a grand hotel in St Moritz Dorf or a better value base in St Moritz Bad or a neighbouring village suits your trip.

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