St Moritz offers speed thrills and culinary delights

Passenger rides are available for speed seekers (picture: swiss-image) swissinfo.ch

St Moritz promises to be a feast for the eyes and stomach during the last week of January. It's playing host to the bobsleigh World Cup and an international gourmet festival.

The sport of bobsleighing began life in the Engadine resort, and St Moritz boasts the world’s last remaining natural ice track. It will be the site for the two and four man bobsleigh World Championships.

The 1.6 kilometre-long run subjects athletes to more than five G-forces and the sleighs reach speeds up to 147 kilometres an hour.

The two-man trials begin on January 24 with the World Cup races spread over two days from January 27. The four-man event starts on January 30 with the deciding runs taking place on February 3 and 4.

Participants at the St Moritz Gourmet Festival will be going at a decidedly slower pace. The motto of this year’s culinary event, from January 26 to February 3, is “2001 Nights, Spices and Flavours”.

Leading chefs and their teams from such exotic locations as New York, Singapore, Marrakesh, Cochin and Hanoi will be taking over the kitchens of St Moritz’s best hotels and restaurants.

A “Gourmet package” which includes three nights in a four-star hotel and two gourmet dinners starts at SFr930 ($578). More extravagant types can splurge on a seven-night stay in five-star accommodation, with three dinners included, for SFr2,740 ($1,700).

swissinfo