Where the jet set invented winter tourism — champagne snow
St. Moritz is the original winter resort — the Badrutt's Palace Hotel bet British guests in 1864 that if they came in winter and didn't enjoy themselves, he'd pay their way home. They came, they loved it, and winter tourism was born. The resort sits at 1,856m in the Engadine valley, with the frozen Lake St. Moritz hosting polo on ice and horse races. It's hosted the Winter Olympics twice (1928, 1948), invented the Cresta Run skeleton course (1884), and still draws royalty, financiers, and fashion's elite every January.
St. Moritz has been a spa destination since Celts discovered its chalybeate springs around 3,500 years ago. Paracelsus visited in 1539. But modern St. Moritz is entirely Johannes Badrutt's creation — his winter bet transformed the village from a summer spa into the world's first winter sports resort, establishing the Engadine as the birthplace of Alpine tourism. The Cresta Run, invented by hotel guests in 1884, is still run every winter exclusively by men in the traditional way.