On the charge in Switzerland

In the summer, when the snows are absent, the extravagant lifestyle remains. As you alight from the train – the famous Glacier Express ends its journey from Zermatt here – one of the first cars you see is likely to be a massive, gleaming Rolls-Royce Phantom. This is not because there’s a dodgy rich bloke keeping a sinister eye on new arrivals but because the vehicle is the shuttle sent to take guests from the station to the Badrutt’s Palace hotel.

That the hotel is at most a 10 minute walk away is of little consequence: this is St Moritz, and if there’s a premium brand that can make your life easier, it’s here.

Much of the town’s publicity material will tell you it’s a shopper’s paradise and it is, provided you have one of those titanium credit cards (the titanium being as important for the status it imparts as for its ability to stand the heat generated by being swiped through countless machines). There may be such things as grocery stores and news agents in St Moritz, but you’d need a guide book to find them, as they’re tucked away off the main drag in order to leave space for outlets where the name on the door tells you if you can afford anything inside or not.

Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Escada and many others offer what to plebs may look like versions of the same thing, while those shops with a larger range, such as United Colours of Benetton, extend their reach to take in the needs of their clients’ pampered pets, with bespoke jerseys, bowls and toys available for the pooch who otherwise has it all.

For those not in the market for an alpaca wool scarf, the immediate impression is that the town is a rather superficial place to be, but glance beyond the shiny display windows of the compact CBD to the lake at the foot of the slope or the surrounding Alpine peaks and it’s possible, with new perspective, to stride condifently into the nearest boutique and ask with a straight face if you can try on some shoes for 2 000 Swiss Francs (about R22 500).