Pontresina

Pontresina sits at about eighteen hundred metres at the mouth of the Bernina valley, and it developed differently from its famous neighbour: where St Moritz drew society, Pontresina drew mountaineers heading for Piz Bernina, Piz Palu and the Roseg peaks, and the village grew around guiding rather than around fashion. The Bergsteigerschule founded here is among the oldest mountaineering schools in Switzerland. Its hotels are Belle Epoque in the same period style but the tone is different. Val Roseg and Val Morteratsch open directly from the village, both closed to cars, and the Santa Maria chapel above holds thirteenth-century wall paintings including a cycle on the legend of St Mary Magdalene.

What you actually see

• A guiding village - built around mountaineering rather than society.
• Belle Epoque hotels - the period architecture without the St Moritz tone.
• Two car-free valleys - Roseg and Morteratsch opening from the village.
• Santa Maria's wall paintings - a thirteenth-century cycle in the chapel above.

When to go

June to September, or the ski season. Two days.

Honest expectations

Prices are Engadin level, if below St Moritz. Between seasons the village empties and hotels close. The chapel above keeps limited hours. Weather at this altitude is cold well into June.

Nearby

Val Roseg and Morteratsch are on the doorstep; Diavolezza is up the Bernina.