Engadin St Moritz - introduction

Engadin St. Moritz lies on the south side of the Alps, in the Engadin Valley at 1,856m. Overlooking a big, beautiful frozen lake, it’s probably the most famous winter sports resort in the world. Even its name is copyrighted: in 1986 the resort became the first destination in the world to register itself as a brand-name – “St. Moritz, Top of the World”. 

It was in St. Moritz in 1864 that a group of British visitors kick-started the idea of winter sports holidays. The owner of a local hotel suggested that rather than return to Britain at the end of summer, they should stay on to experience the “winter wonderland”. They did, and the rest is history.

St. Moritz went on to host two Winter Olympics – in 1928 and 1948 – and has hosted 4 Alpine Ski Championships as well as numerous ski and bobsleigh world championships.

There are 3 main ski areas plus a sprinkling of small satellite areas. The resort’s original “local” skiing is at Corviglia, where there are some steep, sunny and scenic runs from the highest point of Piz Nair, at 3,057m.

The other two areas are easily reached by bus, train or car. Corvatsch, across the valley, is another extensive area with quite steep terrain between Murtel and Furtschellas.

Highlights

• Extensive choice of skiing in three main distinctive areas
• Superb scenery
• Wide variety of spectator sports on the frozen lake
• Great for people watching, including spot-the-celebrity

Lowlights

• Prices tend to be on the high side
• Some hotel rooms are small for such an illustrious resort