St. Moritz is not subtle, and the world's most famous winter resort does not intend to be. It sits at about 1,800 metres in the Upper Engadine, on a sunlit shelf above a lake, with ranges of white peaks on every side and a record of sunny days that the tourist board advertises with some pride. Its mineral springs were known in the Bronze Age, and in the Middle Ages pilgrims came to drink the water. Winter tourism, legend says, started in 1864 when the hotelier Johannes Badrutt bet English summer guests that they would enjoy the Alps in the snow. The town has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1928 and 1948, and the Cresta Run, an ice toboggan track, still runs every winter.
Today the centre is hotels, designer shops and some very expensive cars, which makes a dusty motorcycle feel agreeably subversive. It is still worth a stop. Walk the lakeshore, look back at the town from the lower end, and notice how the light makes everything seem sharp and bright. The valley beyond is gentler than many Swiss valleys, with a chain of lakes along the floor from Maloja to Celerina.
For riders, St. Moritz is a star hub for passes. The Julier Pass heads northeast to the Albula valley, and the Bernina road climbs south to a pass of around 2,300 metres before dropping to Italy at Tirano, with the Rhaetian Railway beside it for much of the way. West, the Maloja road descends to Chiavenna through a dramatic series of hairpins. All are well surfaced and have good views, but weather in the high Alps changes fast. Summer is the easy season, and snow can close passes at any time from October through spring.
Fuel is available in the town and nearby villages, though prices are among the highest in the country. Cafés in the centre serve the local Engadiner nusstorte, a rich pastry filled with caramel and walnuts, which is a good reason to stop. Leave time for a short walk beside the lake in the evening.