The 10 best ski resorts in Austria

If staying in a picturesque ski resort with a warmly welcoming atmosphere is a high priority, Austria will come up trumps.

Many of its ski resorts have grown up around traditional farming villages with onion-domed churches that benefited from generous long-term grants under the US Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of European economies after World War II. Down the generations, Austrian hoteliers have grown rich on the tourist harvest, but the cosy hospitality embodied by the German word Gemütlichkeit is very much in evidence.

Austrian resorts are famed for foot-stomping, but friendly après-ski that starts on the slopes in the afternoon – traditionally with ski boots on – and continues until the small hours in the most party-orientated resorts. Think everything from convivial times in rustic mountain huts to clashing Steins and Schnapps in lively bars.

By contrast, the ubiquitous hotel spa provides a more soothing alternative – though be warned, the wearing of swimming costumes is not permitted in most sauna and steam rooms. To bare all may not in essence be part of repressed British wellness culture, but in the interests of hygiene and Germanic health rules, we are forced to comply in some of Europe’s smartest spa facilities.

On the slopes, while Austria may not always compete with the giant linked ski areas of France, its traditional villages are backed up by some heavyweight state-subsidised lift systems. Major investment in resorts including St Anton and Saalbach, for example, now mean fewer queuing bottlenecks, better linking and easier travel around these decent-sized ski areas. Improvements this season include new ten-person gondolas in Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis, Gerlos in the  Zillertal, and Schlick 2000 in the Stubaital, as well as two new six-seater chairs in the Jochberg area of Kitzbühel.

It’s difficult now to imagine that back in the 1960s and even 1970s, Tirol and Salzburgerland attracted more British skiers each winter than France. Austria then fell far behind, but the gap between the two is again closing. However, future winter supremacy must surely be down to which country will manage to maintain the most reliable snow cover.

Many resorts have invested in sophisticated snowmaking, and while the low altitude of some villages – 1,000m or less – sounds discouraging for snow security in poor snowfall years, Austrian pastureland requires just a handful of centimetres to become skiable compared to high-altitude rocky crags in France and Switzerland. Resorts with slopes that go above 3,000m, including some on glaciers, also bely Austria’s low-altitude reputation. 

Here’s where to go to enjoy the very best the Austrian slopes have to offer.

Best for beginners

Alpbach

Complete beginners really don’t need the complexity of a large resort, so a novice’s visit to this Tirolean chocolate-box with oodles of atmosphere – it regularly wins prizes as the prettiest village in Austria – should result in a lifetime of piste enthusiasm. 

Resort purists reacted with alarm when Alpbach’s ski area was linked to that of Auffach in the neighbouring Wildschönau valley in 2013, but they needn’t have worried. While the number of pistes and lifts more than doubled, attracting a substantial number of new visitors, Alpbach itself, only a 40-minute drive from Innsbruck airport, has remained remarkably unchanged.

The next generation of adults who perfected their first turns as children in Alpbach now return to explore the respectable 97km of slopes served by 46 lifts in the two valleys that make up Ski Juwel Alpbachtal Wildschönau. The ski area continues to improve –  a children’s area and nursery slope at the bottom station of the Reitherkogel gondola in the Reith sector, reached by ski bus, is one of the more recent additions.

Alpbach has a special relationship with the British that began more than 60 years ago when a Major Billy Patterson came here on leave from his army base in Germany and enjoyed the pistes and the pubs. He told his army friends in the British Army on the Rhine (BAOR) and they told others. Thousands of Britons have since learnt the basics on Alpbach’s slopes, and many return year after year and generation after generation. British regimental ski teams still train here.

The main ski area is a three-minute bus ride, followed by a gondola ride, away from town. But there is also a single nursery slope in the village centre, ideal for practising snowplough turns after lessons. Of the three ski schools in the resort, Alpbach-Inner Alpbach is the original learning establishment, while Alpbach Aktiv and Skischule Alpbachtal also have fine reputations.

Alpbach also offers great value for money – prices are low, even by Austrian standards. Visiting the resort during the dedicated family weeks, when special offers are available to families, makes it even more so.

Where to stay  

Positioned five minutes’ walk from the village centre and nursery slopes is the friendly, family-run Pension Furstenberg. 
From £472 B&B, with Crystal Ski. 

Alternatives

Niederau in the neighbouring Wildschönau valley to Alpbach has similar small-village appeal, along with Kühtai near Innsbruck.

Best for intermediates

Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn

Located a 90-minute drive from Salzburg airport, the two main villages of this all-encompassing ski area, Saalbach Hinterglemm, are at the centre of a magical ring of 2,000m peaks that form a natural circuit of pistes that can be navigated in either direction to give adventurous intermediates a sense they are actually going somewhere each day.

The ski area, which is one of the biggest in Austria, with 270km of slopes accessed by 70 lifts, also encompasses the smaller villages of Fieberbrunn and Leogang, and they all share one of the most sophisticated lift systems in Austria, with new lifts being added each winter. This season the 29-year-old Limberg chairlift has been replaced by a high speed eight-seater.

In 2019 the old eight-seater Zwölferkogelbahn in Hinterglemm was replaced by a high-speed 10-person gondola that increased uphill capacity from the Hinterglemm end of valley to the 1,984m Zwölferkogel peak from 2,400 to more than 3,500 people per hour.

Saalbach village is larger than Hinterglemm, and has a lively centre with bars, designer boutiques and four-star hotels. Hinterglemm is more peaceful and better for families, while straggling Leogang doesn’t have a centre as such, but offers some ski-in ski-out hotels so is extremely convenient for mountain access.

Where to stay

If you want to be in the centre of the action, then a good option is to stay in Saalbach where most of the après-ski is based. Sportpension Enzian is ski-in/ski-out with an in-house restaurant, bar and sauna. From £988, B&B, including, with Heidi. Find more of the best hotels and chalets in Saalbach here.

Alternatives

Ellmau is a pleasant little village in the heart of the SkiWelt, Austria’s second largest interconnected ski area. Bad Gastein in Salzburgerland gives access to around 200km of mainly intermediate runs.

Best for experts

St Anton

The ability to handle the slopes like a god, party until dawn, and still be smiling enthusiastically on the first lift the following morning, makes or breaks a stay in what must be regarded as one of the top resorts  in Europe for serious skiers, snowboarders, and committed night owls.

The first time visitor to St Anton will find it surprisingly small for a destination with such a huge reputation. The core of the village is just one main street – pedestrianised during the day – lined with some fine, old hotels and inns, sports shops and cafés.

It is situated at 1,305m and the Valluga cable car, the highest lift, goes up to 2,810m. In between lies an array of runs that vary from the moderately demanding to the just plain wicked – with waist-high moguls to boot. This is not a place for the faint-hearted – a blue slope here might well be classified dark red in a lesser resort – but the kind of person who feels confident on steepish intermediate runs and is game to tackle blacks will have a lot of fun.

Snow cover is usually reliable and the main action takes place on the Valluga side of the village, on and above the slopes of the Gampen and Galzig sectors. The Rendl ski area on the other side of the valley is more benign (and sunnier). Less accomplished members in the a group can always head to the altogether more friendly slopes of Lech and Zürs, also covered by the regional Arlberg lift pass, and linked to St Anton by lift. The main connecting lift is the Flexenbahn 10-seater gondola, which links Zürs with Stuben on the St Anton side in six minutes. In all, the Arlberg pass covers 85 lifts serving 300km of pistes, including the slopes of Warth-Schröcken on the far side of Lech.

A good day out is the Run of Fame piste circuit, which starts from Warth in the north and goes via Lech to St Anton’s Rendl sector, covering 18,000m vertical. However, when exploring the outer reaches of this enormous ski area, be sure to return in time for the evening action. St Anton is as serious about its more muted, but still lively post-Covid nightlife as it is about its on-slope action.

The off piste offered by the ski area as a whole is one of the major attractions, and an excursion to Zürs off the back of the Valluga is a must for any expert. In good snow conditions its hype is worse than its bite, but what really gets the adrenalin flowing is the fact that those carrying skis or a snowboard are only allowed up the final cable car to the 2,810m summit if accompanied by a mountain guide. Piste to Powder offers expert guiding and off-piste tuition in St Anton.

Where to stay

Chalet Valluga is one of Skiworld’s five chalets in the resort. This chalet-apartment is decorated in a modern Tirolean style and sleeps six. From £919 with SkiWorld. Find more of the best hotels and chalets in St Anton here.

Alternatives

Zürs on the Flexenpass above Lech has plenty of challenges both on and off-piste as do Fieberbrunn and Leogang, both part of the same huge ski area as Saalbach and Hinterglemm.

Best for snow reliability

Hintertux

This is one of the highest ski areas of Europe with glacier slopes that remain open 365 days of the year and gradients – remarkably steep for a glacier – that allow for serious downhill race training by national ski teams during the off-season. In winter the ski area reverts to a playground for all abilities, with 60km of runs (and 13km of marked, but unpatrolled off-piste ski routes), six different ski schools and two terrain parks.

A choice of extended and regional lift passes give visitors access to some or all of the other Zillertal resorts. The Hintertux ski area lies at the head of a remote and beautiful valley beyond better-known Mayrhofen, and the winding road up to it passes through the communities of Vorderlanersbach, Tux, Madseit and Juns before reaching the lift station that gives access to the glacier. Hotels are scattered all along the road and these collectively provide the accommodation base, served by the regular ski bus. Consequently, après-ski is largely limited to hotel bars scattered along the valley.

However, Hintertux is a great destination for families, thanks to the Playarena in the village of Vorderlanersbach at the foot of the Eggalm slopes just down the valley. There’s something here for children of all ages, ranging from babies to 16 year olds, with facilities including a soft play area, bouncy castle, indoor high ropes and climbing wall, kids’ cinema and theatre. Entry is free of charge.

Where to stay

Four-star Hotel Hintertuxerhof is a three-minute walk or a short bus ride away from the glacier lifts. It also has a beginner lift outside the door. Facilities include a wellness area with Finnish sauna and steam bath. From £1,465 with Ski Solutions.

Alternatives

Obertauern is Austria’s best shot at a purpose-built resort, with a strong reputation for reliable cover throughout a long season. Sölden in the Otztal has two glaciers and remains open for much of the year.

Best for charm and romance

Kitzbühel

Watching the annual Hahnenkamm, the toughest of all World Cup downhill ski races, held in mid-January, is breath-taking. At one point, the course plunges away at an angle of 85 degrees.

The funny thing is, the Hahnenkamm isn’t really what Kitzbühel is about. This former medieval mining town, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Wilder Kaiser mountains, is actually one of the softies of the Alpine world. Its slopes are, for the most part, flattering rather than frightening. Even the notorious Streif racecourse, the venue for the Hahnenkamm, becomes a Familienabfahrt – a family run – once the World Cup circus has left town.

The local slopes are divided into three areas – the Kitzbüheler Horn, the much more extensive Hahnenkamm and neighbouring Bichlalm, a little area given over to freeride. Bichlalm is accessed by a chairlift, and there’s a snowcat for continuing the journey beyond the top of the lift. There’s one blue run and a choice of off-piste itineraries back down to the valley.

Apart from its own 205km of runs and 68 lifts in the local area, Kitzbühel links (by a short bus ride) to the 270km of piste and 83 lifts of the SkiWelt area, which includes Westendorf and Söll. The two giant areas are similarly linked from Going across to the Kitzbüheler Alps to Hollersbach in the Hohe Tauern. Kitzbühel and the SkiWelt both have their own separate ski passes, while the KitzSkiWelt Ticket covers the entire area. You are, of course, limited by how much terrain you can cover in a day. Remember to check your watch in the afternoon – taxi rides home from distant corner of the ski area can be expensive. 

The medieval town with its heavily buttressed walls and delicate painted frescoes is one of the most beautiful in all of the Alps. It is also one of those rare resorts that genuinely appeals to non-skiers. Its pretty pedestrianised streets are lined with luxury hotels, upmarket boutiques and cafes.

Where to stay

The four-star Q Hotel Maria Theresia blends modern style with traditional Tirolean, and it has a good spa area. The building is a short walk from the pedestrian centre and four minutes’ walk from the Hahnenkamm gondola. From £1,429 with Inghams. Find more of the best hotels and chalets in Kitzbühel here.

Alternatives

Lech is Austria’s smartest ski destination, but it still retains much of the atmosphere of the farming village that it once was. Seefeld, set on a wooded plateau 25 minutes from Innsbruck, has limited downhill slopes, but cross-country skiing, curling and sleigh rides are popular alternatives for those who want to holiday in comfort in a range of sophisticated four- and five-star hotels.

Best for entertainment

Ischgl

Ischgl is often overlooked by the British – which is surprising, given its history of lively entertainment and high-quality intermediate pistes.

It’s famed for its opening and closing parties featuring some of the world’s most celebrated artists. The concerts started with Elton John in 1994 and have since featured an array of A-list celebrity artists, including Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue.

The resort is an old farming village that has developed over the years into a sophisticated tourist centre, with a collection of smart hotels and traditional B&Bs. In recent years, the resort has shifted its focus from late nights to luxury, so the immediate post-skiing and the evening scene is much more restrained than it used to be.

The 239km of pistes and 46 lifts in Ischgl – the area is linked to Samnaun in Switzerland – offer runs to suit all standards and the lift system is constantly being updated. Intermediates can have a ball here, and while there is an overall absence of truly steep slopes, the off-piste and ski touring opportunities with a guide are excellent.

The Skyfly, two parallel zip-lines from the Silvretta mid-station to the village, is a 2km-long exciting ride that can be done in ski boots with skis attached behind in a harness.

Where to stay

Hotel Val Sinestra is a cosy and traditional Tirolean three-star B&B with 12 rooms on the side of the piste. You can ski back at the end of the day and the centre of town is within a short walk. From £849 with Iglu Ski. Find more of the best hotels and chalets in Ischgl here.

Alternatives

St Anton and Saalbach. At both, the party begins in huts on the slopes before the lifts close for the day.

Best for families

Gurgl

Obergurgl and neighbouring Hochgurgl have rebranded for marketing purposes as plain Gurgl, although the two villages seem to retain their separate names.

If taking young children to the Alps, the ideal is guaranteed snow cover at village level throughout a long season so that a holiday is possible either pre-Christmas or after the latest of April Easters. At 1,930m, very high for a resort at the eastern end of the Alps, Gurgl can happily oblige.

A short transfer and a low-risk environment is also preferable. This traditional village is set around a fine church, an easy one-hour drive from Innsbruck. There’s no through traffic and the ambience is essentially family-friendly.

The resort attracts a loyal band of regulars, who love its low-key atmosphere and well-run, traditional hotels and  scattering of chalets.

The drawback is an undersized ski area, which can irritate those looking for endless action on groomed pistes. The village of Obergurgl is linked by lift to higher Hochgurgl, but together they still only offer 112km of runs and 26 lifts. The off-piste in Obergurgl is good and the spring touring opportunities are renowned.

One added attraction is the Top Mountain Crosspoint at the Hochgurgl end of the ski area, which comprises a table-service restaurant serving authentic local dishes and a 500 exhibit motorbike museum – rebuilt after a devastating fire. This is also the base station of an efficient 10-person gondola.

Obergurgl Ski School has been teaching the basics to children and adults since 1922. Hochgurgl Ski School has less of a pedigree, but a strong reputation. Most instructors speak reasonable English, but don’t expect to learn cutting-edge technique. There’s no non-ski kindergarten, but many of the hotels offer their own child-care.

Where to stay

Hotel Jenewein is ski-in/ski-out, located opposite the Hohe Mut gondola and Rosskar chair lift. The in-house après-ski bar faces onto the slopes and is a popular gathering place for lunch or after skiing. All bedrooms are decorated in an attractive rustic style. From £1,509, self drive including ferry crossings, with SNO. Find more of the best hotels and chalets in Obergurgl here.

Alternatives

Westendorf in the SkiWelt area has free-to-use nursery slopes and claims to have taught more British children over the years than any other Austrian resort, although St Johann in Tirol might well dispute that. Both have gentle local slopes and are charming bases for families.

Best for terrain parks

Mayrhofen

This once-traditional village in the Zillertal – the Ziller valley – was one of the original migration points for British skiers in the Seventies, and its allure has never faded. These days Mayrhofen is equally popular with snowboarders.

Both riders and skiers are drawn to one of Austria’s most highly-rated terrain parks, as well as wide, open slopes above the tree line that are heaven for powderhounds after a fresh snowfall. The main ski area is on the Penken mountain, reached by the Penkenbahn from town, a state-of-the-art gondola with 24-seat cabins that has to be taken both up and down the mountain, but makes quick work of any queues.

The Penken terrain park is set at 2,100m, beneath the Sun Jet chairlift. It’s crammed full of kickers, boxes and rails. It has five separate areas: intermediates, advanced, pro, jib area,  and kids park.

Mayrhofen’s local ski area has 150km of pistes and 52 lifts, but that’s just a fraction of what’s on offer in the region. The lift pass, the Zillertaler Superskipass, gives access to seven resorts, a mighty 487m of pistes in the valley, served by 170 lifts.

Après used to be hectic here, although, as in other resorts, it is more muted these days. In past times, the Dutch tended to lead the way at bars on the mountain, long before the lifts closed for the day. The action then switched to the Ice Bar next to the bottom gondola station.

Each April, Mayrhofen hosts Snowbombing, a sort of Glastonbury-on-snow complete with live bands, DJs and ski and snowboard competitions. The week-long festival acts as a major boost to accommodation and lift pass sales.

Where to stay

The Foersterhaus is a comfortable and good-value annexe of the Alpenhotel Kramerwirt, set above the supermarket, 50m from the main hotel. The property is within a short walk of the gondolas and there is a ski bus stop nearby. From £789 with Inghams. Find more of the best hotels and chalets in Mayrhofen here.

Alternatives

Nordkette on the outskirts of Innsbruck, St Anton and Sölden are also good destinations for freestylers.

Best for value

Söll

It’s not difficult to find low-cost in Austria, if you are prepared to compromise on either the quality or quantity of the slopes. There are dozens of small villages with loads of charm, but limited terrain and lift systems. Söll is a serious exception. It lies at the heart of the third largest ski area in Austria and has plenty of budget accommodation.

It is the unofficial capital of the SkiWelt, a dozen villages with 270km of largely intermediate pistes and 83 lifts. If that’s not enough, the region is directly linked (with a short bus connection) from Kirchberg to Kitzbühel. This adds another 233km of runs and 57 lifts to the tally.

20 years ago Söll was best-known for its nightlife. But with the highest density of hotel beds in the region, it is now trying to appeal to a much wider clientele, including families. Nevertheless, it is best suited to those who want to attack the slopes with gusto or to party – or both.

The traditional Tirolean village with its onion-domed church is set in the middle of a wide valley. The slopes are a kilometre away and best reached by ski bus.

Where to stay

At the Hotel Gänsleit, Austrian Rosi and her English husband Steve combine the familiarity of home with genuine Austrian hospitality and style, and a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The hotel has been beautifully decorated and includes a modern spa and wellness suite. From £818 with Crystal Ski.

Alternatives

St Johann-in-Tirol and Kühtai have a good choice of budget accommodation.

Best for weekends

Innsbruck

Finding a hotel in the Alps that will take bookings of less than a week is not always easy. Not so in Innsbruck with its huge choice of urban accommodation. This is one of Austria’s most beautiful cities, boasting a medieval old town of narrow cobbled streets and colourful buildings along the banks of the River Inn. The short transfers and regular flights – the airport’s just a 16-minute drive from the city centre - make the Tirolean capital one of the most convenient of all hubs for weekends.

Apart from being the capital of the Tirol, Innsbruck is a ski resort in its own right. It’s possible to be on the slopes within an hour of leaving the airport as the Nordkette ski area is reached by a funicular and a cable car from the city in 20 minutes. The Hungerburg funicular runs from across the river in the centre of Innsbruck to the base station of the Nordkette ski area at Hungerburg (860m) in just eight minutes.

After reaching the Hungerburg station, visitors can take a cable car up to Seegruben (1,905m) and then another cable car to the top of the Nordkette area at Hafelekar (2,256m), where novices can admire the city and Alpine views and experts can tackle Karrinne, a truly challenging off-piste run.

This is one of the Tirol’s steepest ski areas with plenty of spectacularly gnarly off-piste terrain for experts. There are 5km of marked off-piste runs here and 11km of mostly red pistes, but even these are steep by other resorts’ standards. There’s also a good terrain park, Skylinepark, with kickers, rails, rollers and boxes.

Nordkette is part of the Ski Plus City pass that covers 296km of piste in 13 ski areas within reach of Innsbruck, including Axamer Lizum, Kühtai, the Stubai Glacier, Muttereralm and Patscherkofel. These are all easily reached by free ski bus.

Where to stay

The four-star Hotel Weisses Kreuz dates back to 1465 and is located in the pedestrian centre of Innsbruck, close to the famous Golden Roof and the Imperial Palace. Facilities include a loft bar. From €138  per room/per night B&B, excluding travel, booked direct. Find more of the best hotels in Innsbruck here.

Alternatives

Zell-am-See, Fugen, and St Anton are also suitable for short winter getaways.

Unless stated otherwise, package prices are per person, based on two sharing a double or twin room, half-board, for seven nights, including flights and transfers.

Where is your favourite place to ski in Austria? Leave your tips in the comments below.