St Moritz, Switzerland

Ski Sunday will be in St Moritz on 23 December at 1630 GMT on BBC Two

Elevation Area: 2026 m - summit: 3600m

St Moritz is more than a world famous winter sports resort.

It has hosted two Winter Olympics, in 1928 and 1948, and a FIS World Championships in 1974.

Historians think that the idea of "winter holidays" in high mountains started in St Moritz at the beginning of the 20th Century.

This is when British tourists, visiting St Moritz in the summertime, were invited to return at Christmas.

It was such a success that they came back with more friends - starting a new business for the hotels that previously closed when the first snow arrived.

Now, St Moritz is one of the most glamorous stops for the international jet-set, and a beautiful ski resort, with no less than five ski areas around the town.

Resources and energy

In 1971, the World Cup stopped here for a make-up race because of poor snow in Wengen.

It was an exciting competition that re-invigorated St Moritz and so hosted the 1974 FIS World Championships.

St Moritz has also been elected as the site of the 2003 FIS World Championships.

The local committee invested resources and energy in designing new racing facilities to welcome back top athletes of the World Cup, and celebrated their comeback in March 1999 with two women's races.

This year, the two women's World Cup downhill races take place on 16 and 17 December.

During a good year, there are roughly 250,000 visitors - about 140,000 in the summer and 110,000 in winter.

St Moritz has a population of approximately 5,600 people and, during the high season, some 3,000 employees come to the resort as well.

The resort offers 5,700 beds, in over 40 traditional hotels, as well as 7,500 beds in holiday apartments - 3,500 of which can be rented.