A vintage ski poster of the Aosta Valley, in Italy.

The Bellevue des Alpes, in Kleine Scheidegg, Switzerland.

*Top,* the view from the Fuchsegg Eco Lodge, in Bregenzerwald, Austria; *above,* the spa at the Cōmodo, in Bad Gastein, Austria.

The Hotel Villa Honegg, in Ennetbürgen, Switzerland.

*Top,* the Hôtel Le Coucou, in Méribel, France; *above,* the view from the Pensiun Aldier, in Sent, Switzerland.

A vintage poster of Saint-Moritz, Switzerland, the birthplace of winter tourism.

Run by 84 Rooms, the 84 Club Chalet is located in the village of Rougemont, Switzerland.

The Icaro hotel, in the Dolomites’ Alpe di Siusi meadow, in Italy.

The Schloss Elmau Luxury Spa Retreat & Cultural Hideaway, in Krün, Germany.

*Top,* another view from the Fuchsegg Eco Lodge; *above,* the Peterhof chalets, in Zwischenwasser, Austria.

*Top,* the Hotel Gasthof Hirschen Schwarzenberg, in Schwarzenberg, Austria; *above,* Mariazell, Austria.

On Top of the World

A new coffee-table book offers a delightful guide to Alpine travel across France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Germany

In September 1864, as the young hotelier Johannes Badrutt was checking out four English guests at the Faller Hotel (now the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz), in Switzerland, he made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. “Come back and spend Christmas in Saint-Moritz,” he said. “It’s sunnier and less rainy than London.”

It wasn’t an instant yes. Winter conditions were known to be severe in the region, and skis, sleds, and horse-drawn carriages were the only ways to get around. Come autumn, travelers fled. But Badrutt guaranteed to cover the foursome’s travel expenses if they couldn’t bask in the sun, in shirt sleeves, in December.