St. Moritz

Introduction

St. Moritz

© skteddy

St. Moritz is a mountain village in the Swiss canton of Graubünden with around 5,000 inhabitants. Although you can visit it year round, the place is especially popular during the ski season from December to March.

Getting There

By Plane

There is a small airport in Samedan (www.engadin-airport.ch), which is around 5 kilometres/20 minutes away from St. Moritz. It provides flights to the international airports of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Milan, and Munich.

By Train

If you arrive at the International Airport Zurich take the SBB train to Chur and from there the Rhb train over the famous Albulapass to St. Moritz. Trains from Chur to St. Moritz run hourly. The last train from St. Moritz to Chur departs at 21:00.

Furthermore, St. Moritz is the starting point for the famous Glacier Express and the Palm Express.

By Car

If you are coming by car from Switzerland the only pass which is open in winter is the Julierpass. If you come from Davos or Klosters you can take the cartrain from Klosters through the Fluelapass. From Italy you drive over the Bernina or the Maloja.

By Bus

St. Moritz is served by the Post Bus. Buses depart from Chur and Lugano. Reservations may be necessary. The last Post Bus from St. Moritz to Chur leaves at 23:00. Later there are not any bus or train connections from St. Moritz to Chur. On the way, you can admire a lot of Swiss villages and spectacular mountain views.

Getting Around

There is very good public transport around St.Moritz. Biking is also very good around St.Moritz. St.Moritz itself is sometimes a bit steep. Very few public parking places in wintertime.

Sleep

People in St. Moritz are very hospitable and its hotels brought St. Moritz to the top of the world. Here, you can find all types of accommodation from luxurious hotels over holiday apartments, mountain lodges, a youth hostel, to a camping place. The best-known hotels are the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, Badrutt’s Palace, and the Kulm Hotel.

Upscale

Keep Connected

Internet

Switzerland has a high rate of people with their own internet connection and computers, so internet cafes are not as common compared to other countries and compared to the past. But still you will be able to find a computer in the main cities and tourist areas, also at libraries, video rental shops, train stations or tourist information places. Wifi is widely available, though sometimes at a cost. A growing number of hotels, restaurants, coffee bars and fastfood joints now offer free wifi.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Switzerland's country code is 41 and the emergency phone numbers are 117 (police), 118 (fire department) and 144 (emergency rescue service/ambulance). Swiss phone numbers consist of the area code and a local phone number. The area code has three digits and starts with a zero, such as 022 for Geneva. The local phone number has usually 7 digits, but there are numbers with only 5 or 6 digits.

If you stay for some time, it may be advisable to buy a pre-paid cell phone card that you can use in any phone that supports the GSM standard on the 900/1800 MHz bands - they usually cost around 10-40 CHF and are obtainable in the shops of the mobile service providers Swisscom, Orange or Sunrise in most cities. Mobile network coverage is close to 100% by area, even in the mountainous, non-populated areas. There are also a lot of cheap prepaid cards for local calls from other providers. The prepaid cards of the big supermarket chains Migros and Coop for example cost around 20 CHF and include already 15 CHF airtime. The cheapest prepaid card for calls within Switzerland is Aldi Mobile. The cheapest prepaid card for international communication is Yallo. The prepaid cards can be bought online (30 CHF with 30 CHF airtime inclusive), in most post offices (29 CHF with 20 CHF airtime inclusive) or Sunrise shops (20 CHF with 20 CHF airtime inclusive).

Post

Swiss Post is the national postal service of Switzerland and has fast and reliable services. For more information about prices to send postcards, letters and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally, they have a very useful Price Calculator. Domestically, there is priority mail (arriving the following day) and economy mail which takes 2-3 days to be send within Switzerland. Stamps can be bought at the post offices or from shops and kiosks that also sell postcards. In general, post offices are open from 8:00am to noon and 2:00pm to 5:00 or 6:00pm, with a lunchbreak in between. Opening times on Saturdays are usually only during mornings. Larger cities and central post offices might keep longer hours and skp the lunchbreak. If you want to send packages internationally, you might also consider international courier companies like TNT, DHL or UPS.

External Links

• Official Website