St. Moritz is an international destination wrapped in a tight-knit Swiss alpine village community. There are several bases in the German and Romansch-speaking enclave nestled in the upper Engadin Valley but St Moritz Dorf dazzles as a high-end ideal for Moncler-clad snow masses. But the lifestyle here isn’t just about champagne and caviar and cultivated joie de vivre. This is a place of madcap eccentricity where,sometimes,the sheer joy of doing things is all that’s needed to play in a snow globe. See https://www.stmoritz.com/en
THE SHOP
Locals make pilgrimages to Ludwig Hatecke’s shop filled with marbled meat marvels made from animals that have spent lives grazing at 2500 metres in alpine pastures. The third-generation butcher has refined the trade of butchery into an art form. Using centuries-old recipes and methods for dry-cured beef from Grisons,oblong slabs of premium-grade Bundnerfleisch hang on hooks like sculpted masterpieces in a gallery that’s all glass and black marble,on Via Maistra. Products line the way into a smart coffee bar. It’s a novel concept - meat with a macchiato - but it works brilliantly. See https://www.hatecke.ch/
THE SUIT
From Bulgari to Prada to Louis Vuitton,the who’s who of international brands are firmly anchored in St Moritz village centre,but not everything is out and loud. Suave tailor Silvano Vitalini grew up in the neighbouring town of Samedan. After stints in the UK and studying in Zurich,he returned to the Engadin Valley to start a menswear brand and boutique in 2012. His Engadin blazer - a hard-wearing,traditional Alpine-style jacket made from local materials - has won the fashionable hearts of inhabitants and visitors. See http://silvanovitalini.com/
THE HOTEL
The oldest grand hotel in this hallowed ski spot is the Kulm,the birthplace of winter tourism. Switzerland’s first electric light bulb burned here and a warm inner-glow still extends throughout the gorgeously restored Grunderzeit interiors. Top-notch dining with impeccable service in seven restaurants,a luxurious spa,a slew of newly renovated rooms by the designer Pierre Yves-Rochon and a magnificent view of the surrounding Albula Alps mark the Kulm Hotel as a prominent outpost for winter and summer enthusiasts of all kinds. See https://www.kulm.com/en/hotel/