St. Moritz Destination Guide

Winter was invented here, and it still performs on schedule.

Justin Keeperman

St. Moritz, Where Winter Was Invented

Winter tourism began in St. Moritz, on a bet. In the autumn of 1864 the hotelier Johannes Badrutt promised his departing English summer guests that if they came back in December and disliked what they found, he would pay for the journey. They stayed until Easter, and the Engadin winter has been performing ever since. St. Moritz is not a place for understatement and does not pretend to be. The lake freezes to a depth that supports horses, polo ponies, and grandstands, and that frozen surface becomes the social calendar itself.

A resort that opens and closes like a theater

There are two seasons and a firm curtain between them. Winter runs from early December to early April. Summer runs from roughly late June to early September, and in the gaps most of the grand hotels close outright, Badrutt's Palace among them. If your dates fall in May or November, St. Moritz is simply not on the menu, and we will tell you so and route you elsewhere.

The winter calendar is specific. Snow polo takes the frozen lake in late January, and the White Turf races run across it on February Sundays. The Cresta Run and the Olympia bob run operate through the winter as well, and both can be arranged for the brave. Festive and event weeks sell ten to twelve months out. Summer is the insider season: the same hotels at gentler rates, sailing on the lake, and high trails under the particular Engadin light that has kept painters moving here for a century.

The grand hotels, honestly told

Badrutt's Palace is the theater itself, with towers above the lake and a lobby that functions as the town's living room. The Kulm is where the 1864 bet was actually made, and it remains the sporting choice, with its own ice rink, a country club, and a quieter kind of glamour. The Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains sits closest to the Signal lift for serious ski mornings. Grace La Margna, opened in 2023 by the station, is the small contemporary counterpoint for clients who want St. Moritz without the ballroom scale.

The Engadin approach

Private aviation lands at Engadin Airport in Samedan, ten minutes from the hotels and the highest airport in Europe. Flying commercially, you will come through Zurich, then finish with about three hours by road or, better, the Albula rail line, a UNESCO-listed piece of engineering that works as the first act of the holiday rather than a transfer. The village sits at 1,800 meters, so an easy first day helps with the altitude. Milan is under three hours to the south, a natural pairing, and four to five nights is the right length in either season. Pack for sun as much as for snow: the Engadin claims well over 300 days of it a year, which is exactly what Badrutt was betting on.

Planning brief

Plan St. Moritz around the winter calendar or summer landscape, then align the rail arrival, hotel and event week.

Best suited to: winter sport; alpine events; summer mountains; classic grand hotels.
Decisions to settle early: season; event week; rail or air approach; ski or summer priorities; lead time.
Arrival and routing: Rail is integral to the Engadin arrival; schedules and any air connection should be checked for the specific itinerary.

Start with a conversation

Tell us the week you want and whether the point is the skiing, the lake calendar, or the rooms themselves. Secure the right hotel before the season sells through, and arrange the approach so the trip begins on the train, not at the front desk.

For a different read on the mountains, compare the Swiss Alps and Aspen. Our luxury leisure travel planning handles the hotel, rail or air connections, dining, and seasonal reservations.