St. Moritz lies on the southern slopes of the Albula Alps below the Piz Nair (3,056 m (10,026 ft)) overlooking an astoninglishly flat and quite wide valley with a lake of its own name at its feet: Lej da San Murezzan (Romansh for Lake of St. Moritz). It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948.
St. Moritz is a popular destination for the upper class and international jetset. It is also regarded as the most expensive ski resort in the world, with many luxurious five star hotels and upscale shops.
Thanks to its favorable location, St. Moritz enjoys over 300 days of sunshine a year. Every winter it hosts the "White Turf" horse race on the frozen Lake St. Moritz attended by the international upper class.
Popular pastimes include skiing, snowboarding, and hiking, and nearby there is also the world-famous Cresta Run toboggan course.
The year-round population is 5,600, with some 3,000 seasonal employees supporting hotels and rental units with a total of 13,000 beds.
Main sights
- The Segantini Museum: dedicated to Giovanni Segantini, a painter that lived the last five years of his life in Engadine. The Segantini Museum is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
- The bobsled run: a very rare all-natural venue, typically open by mid-December
- Viewing the glacier landscape: there are a number of notable vistas. Much can be seen by descending from Diavolezza to the Morteratsch Glacier.
- The 3,300 m (10,800 ft) Piz Corvatsch with its ice cave and its lengthy 8 km (5 mi) piste down to St. Moritz-Bad.
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