SWISS
HOLIDAYS
St. Moritz is one of the world’s most famous holiday resorts. Chic, elegant and exclusive with a cosmopolitan ambiance, it is located at 1,856m in the middle of the Upper Engadin lake landscape. The dry, sparkling champagne climate is legendary and the celebrated St. Moritz sun shines for an average of 322 days a year.
Behind the Royal polo matches, five star hotels, celeb-spotting, shopping and spa facilities in the village, there are actually over 350km of skiing to be done in the area around St. Moritz. It’s hard to leave the great town but for those willing to do so there is some excellent snow and facilities.
St. Moritz claims to have been the birthplace of the winter holiday and has the oldest Tourism Board in Switzerland. It’s been the venue for two Winter Olympic Games (1928 and 1948) as well as numerous skiing and bob World Championships, and more recently the Alpine Ski World Championships in 2003.
The St. Moritz sun shines more intensely and the snow is more certain than anywhere else. These elements combined with the Upper Engadin lake landscape gives St. Moritz culture that is unique in terms of quality and diversity. The name St. Moritz is now so much in demand that it has been registered as an internationally protected trademark. As an international symbol of quality, the name St. Moritz epitomizes style, elegance and class.
The centre of the town is full of luxury shops and boutique bars which could be found on any main city high street. Most of the charm and attraction of the town comes from outside this centre area. The town itself is set on the lakeside and rises up the steep slopes towards the ski area. The most relaxed area to be is in the spa region of the resort, right next to this lake. The hotels here cater very well to the mid range clientèle and once there you have to be careful not to get stuck in the spars and to remember that there is am amazing skiing area to be explored.
With nearly 100 places to eat in St Moritz, there is a remarkable choice and the competition helps to keep many good restaurants quite affordable. 1 in 10 restaurants in the area are gourmet standard so there are plenty of very nice venues to try out. The other side of the coin means that 90% of the restaurants are very well suited for those without the polo budgets. Being close to Italy means there are plenty of restaurants serving very good, hearty and wholesome food.
There is a huge variety of après ski bars to go to. There is everything from local tea and cake houses to very lively, young spots. There are a few big nightclubs in the resort that will keep you entertained until the early hours, but if you just fancy a quiet drink away from the noise there are plenty of lovely wine bars for a nice tipple. If you do have the polo budget there are a few places that will happily take that from you, as long as you are wearing a jacket. If you have change from that, there is even the well known casino.
The three main ski areas are separate but big enough to stand alone. There are regular buses that transport you between the areas and each one will offer you a distinctly different feel. Corviglia offers extensive, rolling, well-groomed pistes. Corvatsch offers the drama of the high peaks followed by big vertical descents, then there is the Diavolleza, giving huge runs across the glacier and steepest slopes.
The area can lay claim to 350km of ski pistes. It lies between 1,800m and 3,303m and offers guaranteed snow and some fantastic views, not to mention great weather. Some of this is due to over 260 snow cannons, meaning the lower slopes can keep up with higher glacier pistes. Modern, fast ski lifts mean minimal waiting times and more skiing time, you’ll need it to cover the Engadine. The area has somthing for everyone, carving paradises, free ride slopes, spacious nursery slopes and a glacier downhill run.
The Engadine has 18 blue runs, 16 red runs and 9 black runs.
The area has hosted the Olympic Winter Games twice and because of this offers a great variety of attractions. Toboggan riders plunge down the icy run which is one of the oldest natural ice bob runs in the world. The Fun Park, for snowboarders, features a permanent half-pipe.
For winter hikers there are 150km of winter walking trails and for cross-country skiers there is a track network of about 180kms.
We include Cross-Channel Ferries for those who are self driving or Airport Transfers for those flying, so you can choose the best option that suits you.
| Train Transfer Time from Basel: | 4hr 50min |
| Train Transfer Time from Bern: | 5hr 10min |
| Train Transfer Time from *Geneva: | 6hr 25min |
| Train Transfer Time from *Zürich: | 3hr 45min |
| Driving Distance from Calais: | 615 miles |
* Swiss Fly-Luggage available
View the Swiss Rail timetable.
We have 2-person studio apartments and every size, right up to 10-person apartments. They are spacious and convenient to amenities, the ski lifts and free village ski bus.
Again, we offer a huge range of availability on hotels. We can offer any level from our 2, 3 or 4-star hotel selection. In some resorts we can even 5 star hotels.
Our prices are simple, LOW & HIGH season. We have Youth prices for up to 18yrs old, discounts for children up to the age of 16yrs and even bigger savings for Children under the age of 6yrs!
LOW & HIGH season vary for each accommodation/resort – we do not add any of our own surcharges onto the cost of your stay. NEW YEAR and HALF-TERM are standard HIGH Season. If you have any queries about which dates are LOW or HIGH for the accommodation level you desire, please contact us directly.
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