Tall mountains, houses perched on improbable ridges, lovely lake (St Moritzsee) and fresh mountain air. That’s the upside. The downside? Heavy-duty marketing of St Moritz as prestigious, visited by movie stars and minor royals, trying to attract big names and big shoppers, even copyrighting the name St Moritz (?)
St Moritz is divided in two: The upper Dorf and the lower Bad. The two are connected by a series of escalators (!) so I suppose St Moritz must get its share of lazy tourists. Here for Prada and Patek Philippe rather than the skiing. Claudia Schiffer and Pierce Brosnan hang out here from time to time. I’m sure they are fit enough to walk, though.
Great things to do in St Moritz in September:
1) Walk around the gorgeous St Moritzsee. Try to overlook the ugly concrete blocks of flats in Bad (what can those architects have been thinking?) and focus instead on the surrounding countryside and mountains.
2) Have a look at the quirky old-world Hotel Waldhaus am See and imagine the place say, 100 years ago - people in Edwardian costume strolling lazily around, picknicing by the lake, happily chatting, resting and taking the baths. Very belle époque.
3) Try a Nusstorte (local nut cake - delicious).
4) Take the Bergbahn up to Corviglia and the cable car on up to Piz Nair. At 3 057 m, walk up to the top and just breathe! Go back down to the Panorama restaurant, get a cup of tea and sit and enjoy the view. Walk back down the mountain and look for the cute marmots along the mountainside.
5) OK then - try out those escalators. They end at a terrace overlooking the lake. And just in case the two short stairways down from the terrace are too much, there is a lift down to the pavement.
This is off-season. Many resorts and shops are closed - but everything will be back in business on 5 December at noon, including flashy Badrutt’s Palace. Now you know.
Summing up, here’s my quick take on St Moritz:
The town - eeeh…..
The setting - stunning
Worth it? Yeah - I would say so.
