Saint Moritz
Saint Moritz is one of those places that you already know what it looks like. The frozen lake, the fur coats, the Ferraris parked outside hotels that cost more per night than most people’s rent.
THE VIBE
The fashion alone is worth the trip. I mean this sincerely. Walking through the village on any given morning is a full editorial in motion. Everyone is dressed with an intention that feels almost theatrical, and somehow it doesn’t read as try-hard. It reads as simply the standard. You start adjusting your own outfits by day two without realizing it.
The cars are also very real and everywhere. You round a corner expecting a normal street, and there’s a row of Maseratis parked like it’s nothing. The whole place operates on a frequency slightly removed from reality, which is either exhausting or exhilarating, depending on your disposition. For me, mostly the second.
THE HIGHLIGHT
Brunch at Suvretta House. I don’t say this lightly. The Suvretta is one of those grand old Alpine hotels that has resisted the urge to modernize itself into blandness, and it shows in every detail. The brunch is set in a dining room that feels like a scene from another era, in the best possible way. The food is exceptional, the service is quiet and attentive, and the whole experience has a pace to it that makes you feel like you have nowhere else to be. Which, for a Sunday morning, is exactly right.
FIVE EVENTS WORTH PLANNING AROUND
Snow Polo World Cup — Last weekend of January
Polo on a frozen lake. The setting is completely surreal, and the crowd is exactly what you’d expect. Running since 1985, it has become one of the more iconic winter events in Europe. Go for the spectacle as much as the sport.
White Turf — Three Sundays in February
Horse racing on the frozen lake, including skijoring, where riders are pulled on skis behind galloping horses. It sounds made up. It’s been running since 1907. The dress code leans heavily toward fur, and the atmosphere is somewhere between a sporting event and fashion week. Entry costs around CHF 20, which is about the most affordable option in the whole town.
The Cresta Run — December through early March
A century-old ice toboggan run where riders go headfirst at speeds up to 140 km/h. You can watch, or, if you’re braver than I am, you can actually ride it as a beginner. The kind of experience that Saint Moritz invented, and nowhere else can replicate.
St. Moritz Gourmet Festival — Late January
A week of guest chef dinners, tastings, and culinary events across the top hotels in the region. If food is your main reason for being anywhere, this is the week to come.
Engadin Skimarathon — Early March
A 42km cross-country ski race that draws thousands of participants from across Europe. You don’t need to race to enjoy it. Watching is its own experience, and the energy around the village that weekend is genuinely different.
WHERE TO EAT WITHOUT SPENDING EVERYTHING
The most local-feeling restaurant in the village. Wooden interiors, a charcoal grill at the side of the room, and a long menu of honest food: pizzoccheri, risotto, grilled meat, zabaglione. Nothing revolutionary, all of it very good.
Pizzeria Ristorante Riccardo’s
The best pizza in town, according to essentially everyone. Reliable, unfussy, and the kind of place you end up at twice in one trip without planning to.
A mountain restaurant with a view and food that justifies the stop. Good for lunch on a ski day when you want something proper without committing to a full afternoon off the slopes.
WOULD I GO BACK EVERY YEAR?
No. And I say that having genuinely loved it. Saint Moritz is a place you experience, not a place you return to annually out of habit. It’s expensive in a way that requires justification; the skiing is good, but not the reason to go, and there are other Alpine destinations that would give you more mountain for the same money.But as a winter experience, as something to do with the people you love, it’s worth it.
