Things to do in St Moritz (in less than 24 hours)

When I first started planning my 15-day solo trip around Switzerland, there was one bucket-list experience that I added to my must-do list immediately: the Glacier Express. It’s an epic, full-day, 291-km train ride that connects Zermatt and St Moritz. I decided I wanted to see the latter more, so I started my adventure there and started building out things to do in St Moritz.

Then, I quickly discovered that hotels in St Moritz are, well, ritzy. And with that, my itinerary needed to fit into a one-night stay. But if you’re going to do St Moritz, then DO IT and go full splurge: stay at the great hotel. Enjoy the spa. Eat the great food. Wander the designer shops. You’re already going on one of the fanciest train rides in the country, so why not kick it off in style?

And so I did.

Things to do in St Moritz (in less than 24 hours)

Keep in mind that this post is summer-focused. Winter in St Moritz must be an entirely different vibe with so many more things to do — not least of which would be world-class skiing. Alas, though I hope to bring that info to you one day, today is not that day.

Getting there

My five-hour journey — on a funicular to a bus and then on to three different connecting trains — brought me from Stoos to St. Moritz for a brief stop in southeastern Switzerland. If this turns out to be your route, too, you’ll probably also be fortunate to ride the “ICE” train on your Zürich to Landquart leg, which is a high-speed train reaching speeds of 300km per hour like the Eurostar. I wish I’d snapped a pic of its nose as it was very bullet train-y, but I didn’t know ahead of time that this would be part of my day, so keep that in mind.

On this route, you’ll travel alongside Lake Walen (Walensee, pictured below) for quite a while. Super pretty. And you’ll also come very close to the Liechtenstein border as you pass through Sargans.

On the final train in Landquart, it was the first train I rode in Switzerland with announcements noting guests had to request some stops, like you would on a bus. And it also marked the first time I passed a train with automobiles loaded into several of its open-sided cars!

Quite a bit of this last leg before arriving in St Moritz goes through tunnel after tunnel, but there is a nice section of the Inn River, with what looked like Class II/III rapids, where it narrows and comes together with both the highway and Rhaetian Railway. The Inn River is a 518-km-long river and once it reaches Passau in Bavaria, it becomes the Danube’s largest tributary.

Of course, if you’re not coming from Stoos, you’ll miss a lot of that. If you’re going directly from Zurich, it’s just a bit more than three hours by public transit, while Geneva will take twice as long.

About St Moritz

Italian is the most widely spoken language in this part of Switzerland, so I added some “buongiornos” and “grazies” to my Swiss travels as well thanks to my brief stay in St Moritz. This meant that I’d unintentionally visited three out of the four areas where different languages dominate the country. (Missing: Romansh.)

St Moritz is in a glacial valley that sits at 1,856 metres (6,089 feet), and it’s been a swish resort town since the 17th century. Speaking of resorts, I was happy to visit in summer and not winter; I don’t think my après-ski outfit game is nearly strong enough for this place. 

I stayed at the absolutely incredible, splurge-worthy Kempinski St Moritz property, which has a Michelin Key. That means I got picked up at the train station and chauffeured to the hotel and delivered back again the next day to climb aboard the panoramic Glacier Express. My five-star hotel experiences in Switzerland — here and at The Capra in Saas-Fee — were more luxurious than any I’ve stayed at elsewhere, anywere (including other European countries, Asia and across North America); they’re just extra in Switzerland.

The Kempinski’s nightly price is more than double during the ski season, so if you have your heart set on luxury but your wallet screams “HELL, NAW” faced with $3,000 a night for an entry-level room, then summer might just be the ticket. They’re closed during shoulder seasons, though (yes, completely closed for four out of every 12 months), so plan well.

Located directly on the Mauritius Spring — which is also the hotel’s spa and tap water supply — the building dates back to 1864 and has been a “Grand Hotel des Baines” in some capacity ever since; there are even residences onsite. This natural spring was discovered more than 3,000 years ago and celebrated by Paracelsus, a Swiss physician and alchemist born in the late-1400s, for its curative properties.

Guest rooms are nothing short of perfection. Spacious, beautifully designed, complete with personal touches and thoughtful details:

The communal hotel spaces at the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Baines are also simply stunning:

With just one afternoon to spend in St. Moritz, I dropped my bags after ogling the details in my room (it’s allll in the details here), and headed straight for Via Serlas — the shopping Mecca that would put any of the most upscale shopping areas you’ve visited anywhere else to the test. The Hermès store is a whole house (I have an Hermès watch from my spendier days and I didn’t even dare go in and waste anyone’s TIME…see what I did there?). Prada is an entire block. There are whole standalone stores just for brands like Bogner and JetSet, which usually get a smaller section to themselves in larger shops.

I don’t really buy designer things these days (growing teens are rather expensive, after all), but if I did, I would want to do it here. Cobblestone streets; historical Swiss buildings; a lake view and mountains in the distance. The Instagram shot swinging a Celine or Loro Piana retail bag, sashaying down this street with the mountain breeze blowing my freshly coiffed hair would be jaw-dropping. If this is your reality, please send me the photo so I can live vicariously through you. Sigh. 

If you need a caffeine jolt, my espresso-based beverage from Confiserie Hanselmann was wonderful; I regret not getting a snack there, too. The pretzels looked amazing!

Be sure to check out some of St. Moritz’s other main attractions, like the leaning tower called Schiefer Turm St. Moritz (it leans more than Pisa and is often called the Leaning Tower of St. Moritz as a result) as well as Kirche St. Mauritius and Kirche St. Moritz Dorf, all of which are within easy walking distance of Via Serlas:

 

You’ll also want to watch for panoramic lookout points over the lake, classic Swiss architecture and random street art. And don’t forget your water bottle, of course, because — as per every Swiss city I visited — there’s a fountain in the middle of town:

Finally, be sure you take at least a peek at the legendary Badrutt’s Palace Hotel while you’re downtown:

But with a luxury hotel on the books and limited time, you’re going to want to head back to the resort vibes that await. The indoor and outdoor pool areas are nothing short of lavish. There are also relaxation areas and plenty of saunas and steam rooms — plus an aroma room. Heavenly. And, as seems to be de rigueur in Switzerland, there were also “textile-free” areas; that is, nude-only zones. But this time there was a women’s section, so I went for it. With a towel. I am not prudish by any stretch but I did not feel any more liberated having unlocked this achievement either. 

Dinner at Ristorante da Adriano — which may be currently undergoing renovations since I can’t link to it — at the Kempinski is named after its maître d’hôtel who has been at the hotel for 22 years; it even serves his family’s homemade extra-virgin olive oil from Calabria. It was fine dining at its best and I capped off a gorgeous dinner with tiramisu made at my table. It could have served four people; I had leftovers and I took them on the Glacier Express with me. And while the food was impeccable, Adriano himself was the most memorable part of the experience. I have every confidence that all of the dining experiences at the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Baines would impress even the most particular foodie.

Since the only Glacier Express window seat ticket I could get left at 7:30 a.m. from St Moritz, I sadly missed the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Baines’ breakfast. However, I did let them know at the front desk during check-in that I wasn’t going to be able to take advantage of it and they generously offered to make up a breakfast-to-go box for me, which I picked up just before hopping into my chauffeur-driven car back to the train station at 6 a.m. It was more like breakfast and lunch and it meant I was able to avoid buying food on the train, which is often noted as underwhelming. My boxed food was anything but — though it did make me shed a tear for the breakfast I must have missed at the hotel.

If you have more time in St Moritz, there are summer gondola rides and hiking trails to explore, lakefront lounging to enjoy and even a museum celebrating master painter Giovanni Segantini. But if you have limited time like I did and you’re staying at a hotel that is as important to your visit as the destination itself, then these will also have to wait for next time.

For more Swiss adventures, let me help you plan:

• Swiss Travel Pass price and how to use it
• All about the Swiss Riviera
• An amazing hotel in Saas-Fee
• Things to do in Saas-Fee, Switzerland
• Things to do in Bern
• Things to do in Zurich
• How to give your child or teen an unforgettable Swiss Alps in summer experience

 

 

DISCLAIMER: The Kempinski Grand Hotel des Baines provided a media rate for my stay that I personally paid for and did not prescribe or review any content. All opinions and suggestions are my own.