St. Moritz travel guide

SherryStay Destination Guide

St. Moritz

Birthplace of winter tourism — frozen lakes, 300 days of sun, and the legendary Bernina railway.

Switzerland

About St. Moritz

St. Moritz is not just a holiday destination — it is a winter love story, stormy and horrendously expensive, that begins with the first breath of piercing, frozen alpine air that fills your lungs and makes your heart skip a beat. This Swiss lover, sitting at 1,800 metres in the Engadin valley, does not try to be modest or accessible — it wraps itself in a heavy fur coat, offers you champagne in crystal glasses on a frozen lake, and draws you into a game of seduction in which the absolute white of the snow and the deep blue of the sky combine in a way that makes everywhere else look bland. This love was born somewhere in the nineteenth century, when the town reinvented the very concept of the winter holiday, and ever since it has kept an aesthetic of eternal glamour and aristocratic elegance that is hard to resist: it begins in the morning on the snowy slopes of Corviglia under a warm, caressing sun, continues with a light lunch and thick hot chocolate at one of the historic luxury hotels like Badrutt’s Palace, and ends in a frozen night when the town lights reflect on the frozen lake like scattered diamonds. It is a sensual, uncompromising relationship between extreme cold and burning inner warmth — an experience in which you know the price is heavy and the show is over the top, but the moment the sleighs glide over the soft snow and the wind whistles through the pine trees, you simply surrender to the drama and understand that there is a kind of magic that cannot be explained, only experienced, breathless, before this alpine wonder.

Sherry's Take

Stay in Celerina or Pontresina — lovely alpine villages on the same ski area, at 30–40% less than St Moritz itself. And don't skip the Bernina railway — a UNESCO-heritage route that leaves right from the area.

Best For

Luxury skiingCouplesScenic railwaysAlpine summer (lakes & treks)
Go in
DecemberJanuaryFebruaryMarchJuneJulyAugustSeptember
Avoid if possible
AprilMayNovember

Where to Stay

St Moritz Dorf

The historic, luxe centre, the grand hotels

St Moritz Bad

By the lake, the "accessible price" of St Moritz

Celerina / Pontresina

Authentic villages, the same ski lifts, sane prices

Money-Saving Tips

  • 1Most hotels in the area give a guest card (Engadin Card) with transport perks — check before buying a full ski pass.
  • 2Celerina/Pontresina: the same skiing, the same railway, a difference of hundreds of francs.
  • 3The Bernina railway on a regular (Regional) ticket rides almost the same panoramic carriages as the Express — at half price.

Getting Around

  • 1Zurich–St Moritz train is about 3.5 hours (via Chur — views the whole way).
  • 2Local trains and buses connect all the villages of the Engadin valley.
  • 3The Bernina railway to Tirano (Italy) — one of the world's most beautiful train rides.

Most Common Mistake

Paying "St Moritz" prices for a hotel, when villages on the exact same ski area sit at half the price — and the railway links it all in 10 minutes.

Ideal Stay

34 nights

Combine with
  • Bernina railway to Tirano/Milan
  • Zermatt (Glacier Express)
  • Zurich

Hotels Sherry Recommends

Useful Local Hotel Phrases

German (Swiss) / Romansh
  • HelloGrüeziGROO-eh-tsee
  • Thank youDankeDAHN-kuh
  • PleaseBitteBIT-tuh
  • Check-inCheck-inCHECK-in
  • Check-outAbreiseAHP-rye-zuh
  • HotelHotelho-TEL
  • ReceptionRezeptionret-sep-tsee-OHN
  • BreakfastFrühstückFROO-shtook
  • Wi-FiWLANVAY-lahn
  • TaxiTaxiTAK-see
  • Train stationBahnhofBAHN-hofe
  • Ski liftSkiliftSHEE-lift
  • HelpHilfeHIL-fuh
  • How much?Wie viel?vee FEEL
  • Where is...?Wo ist...?voh IST