St. Moritz
Engadin, GraubündenSee it on the map
About St. Moritz
St. Moritz is where winter tourism was invented: in 1864 a local hotelier bet a group of English summer guests that they would enjoy the Engadin in winter or he would refund their trip, and they stayed until Easter. It has since hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1928 and 1948, and the Alpine World Championships five times, and the Cresta Run — a skeleton track ridden head first — has been operating since 1885.
The town sits at 1,822 m beside a lake that freezes hard enough for horse races and polo, in a high, dry valley with a well-earned reputation for sunshine. The skiing is split across three separate mountains. Corviglia, reached by funicular from the town, has the most pistes and the widest cruising; Corvatsch, across the lakes above Silvaplana, climbs to 3,303 m, the highest lift in Graubünden, with long, steep runs and the best snow; Diavolezza, out towards the Bernina pass, faces the glaciers and offers a celebrated off-piste descent over the Morteratsch glacier.
Altogether the Engadin counts around 350 km of pistes and, on the valley floor, one of the great cross-country networks in Europe, home of the Engadin Skimarathon each March.
Last reviewed 13 September 2026
Best suited to
- Intermediates
- Advanced skiers
- Cross-country
- Off-piste and freeride
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Where lessons start
The beginner area is at Salastrains, on the lower slopes of Corviglia above St. Moritz Dorf, sunny and away from the main pistes, with the wide blues of Corviglia as the obvious next step. St. Moritz is expensive and does not go out of its way for beginners, but the teaching is good and the terrain is genuinely suited to intermediates who like long groomed runs. Strong skiers should head across to Corvatsch, which has the steep pistes and the snow.
Resort areas
- Corviglia
- Corvatsch
- Diavolezza
Getting there
The Engadin is a long way from anywhere, which is part of the point. By train, change at Chur onto the Rhaetian Railway's Albula line, a UNESCO-listed route of spirals and viaducts that reaches St. Moritz in around two hours — about three and a half hours from Zurich in total. By car, Zurich is about three hours over the Julier pass and Milan Malpensa a little over three via the Maloja. The airfield at Samedan takes private aircraft only.
Qualifications required in Switzerland
Teaching skiing or snowboarding for payment in Switzerland is a regulated profession: an instructor must hold the Snowsports instructor diploma. Instructors listed as certified on Alpine Pal have either sent theirs to us for review or are vouched for by the ski school that invited them.
Find instructors in SwitzerlandSt. Moritz: common questions
Which mountain should I ski on which day?
Corviglia for the first days and for anyone who wants easy access from the town — the funicular leaves from the centre of St. Moritz Dorf. Corvatsch on a cold, clear day for its long runs and the best snow, remembering that it is a bus ride away and the top is high and exposed. Diavolezza when you want the glacier scenery or the Morteratsch descent, which should be done with a guide. None of the three is linked to the others by lift, so plan each day around one.
Is St. Moritz only for the rich?
The grand hotels and the boutiques are, and the town does nothing to hide it. The skiing is not: the lift pass costs about the same as at other big Swiss resorts, and staying in Celerina, Pontresina or Samedan, a few minutes away by train, brings prices closer to the Swiss norm while keeping the same mountains and a local bus service that is included with the pass.
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