An expert’s honest review of every (major) Austrian ski resort
There are roughly 440 ski resorts in Austria. But the majority of these are small mountain villages, with only one or two T-bar lifts ridden obsessively at weekends by local kids dreaming of World Cup and Olympic glory. Typically, they offer vertical descents of 50-200m and are not ideal holiday destinations.
For British skiers, the real fun in Austria is on giant linked ski circuits scattered mainly across the Tirol and Salzburgerland regions. Many of these offer opportunities for huge daily mileage and the chance for all levels of skier to experience a rewarding sense of progression on the pistes. The trick is to find the most convenient village in which to base yourself. Here’s my pick of the top 40.
Alpbach
This quintessential Tirolean village has been frequented by generations of British families for over 60 years, mainly because of the absence of tourist-driven razzmatazz. The skiing takes place a five-minute bus ride away on the Wiedersbergerhorn and is linked to Auffach to form Ski Juwel, with 113km of piste served by 45 lifts.
Axamer Lizum
The setting for key ski events at the 1964 Winter Olympics is one of the best of the 13 resorts covered by Innsbruck’s Ski Plus City pass, which covers 296km of piste. It’s also a top snowboarding destination. Slopes tend to be almost deserted during the week outside holiday time, but are busy at weekends.
Bad Gastein/Bad Hofgastein
The adjoining historic spa resorts, along with Dorfgastein and Sportgstein, a 90-minute drive from Salzburg, provide substantial and varied intermediate terrain. The spa duo destinations are ideal for non-skiers who enjoy hot-water swimming, winter walking and eating, plus a foray to the casino. Strauss and Schubert were both inspired to compose here.
Badkleinkirchheim
Franz Klammer, Austria’s greatest sporting hero, was born near this remote spa and ski town in Carinthia, close to the frontier with Slovenia. The skiing is linked to St Oswald, with enough intermediate pistes to keep most of us happy for a week. You can book First Tracks with Klammer this season, on dates in January and February for €195.
Ellmau/Going
Both these villages are at the quieter end of the giant SkiWelt circuit, which links a dozen villages with 82 lifts that serve 270km of primarily intermediate pistes. They provide easy mountain access and offer some of the most sophisticated accommodation in the region. Ellmau has a wider choice, but Going is home to the fabulous Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt, which has Austria’s only private Lipizzaner horse stud with an indoor riding school.
Fieberbrunn
This village, famed for freeride skiing and snowboard, is at the Salzburgerland end of the clumsily-named Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn. With 70 lifts and 270km of slopes, this is the second-largest linked area in Austria. It’s a less busy place to base yourself and is in the heart of more challenging terrain, both on- and off-piste.
Flachau
Flachau is the core of Ski Amadé, a giant piste network reached in 90 minutes from Salzburg. It covers 12 peaks and five valleys around the cathedral city of St Johann im Pongau, with 270 lifts serving 760km of groomed terrain. To me, this is the best place to stay, but alternative bases include Alpendorf, Wagrain, Altenmarkt, Kleinarl and Filzmoos.
Gurgl
This is the marketing name now given to Obergurgl and Hochgurgl, its glacial adjoining sister resort, 90 minutes from Innsbruck and at the end of a valley. Both are charming family destinations with a season that lasts until late April. The spring ski touring is exceptional, but the downside is that the pistes are best suited to beginners and low intermediates.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Obergurgl.
Hinterglemm
This is the most family-friendly village in the 270km Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, with plenty of reasonably priced accommodation close to the ski school and lifts. Nightlife is much more muted – in stark contrast to Saalbach, its more lively neighbour. However, the lift system gives equal access to an intermediate ski circuit that can be followed in both directions.
Hintertux
Hintertux, located beyond Mayrhofen in the Zillertal, is home to a well-developed and surprisingly steep glacier where skiing continues throughout the year. Indeed, it is the only European glacier that allows trainers to simulate (almost) downhill conditions. It has 20 lifts and it’s open 365 days a year.
Hopfgarten
Hopfgarten is a traditional village on the 270km SkiWelt area, dominated by the twin yellow towers of its church. It provides a convenient base for exploring the region on skis, but thanks to a cluster of keen Antipodean powderhounds who frequented it back in the 1970s, the village is more popular with Australians and New Zealanders than the British.
Igls
This small village is located 7km from the centre of Innsbruck. Its claims to fame are the Patscherkofel Olympic downhill course used in the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, and the bobsleigh/skeleton track. The latter is open to anyone who dares to go down in a guest sleigh with a professional pilot and brakeman. You’ll reach speeds of up to 120kph.
Innsbruck
American consider the Tirolean capital to be one of Europe’s top ski destinations. Strangely, Britons don’t. It’s got its own international airport 15 minutes from the centre, beautiful architecture and a plethora of fine hotels and restaurants. Not only can you easily reach a dozen resorts covered by its Ski Plus City pass, but it also has its own challenging ski area of Nordkette that can be reached by mountain railway from the city centre.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Innsbruck.
Ischgl/ Galtür
Ischgl is considered – at least by its most popular German market – to be Austria’s second most important resort after St Anton. It has an immaculate and constantly upgraded lift system, superb snowmaking and 239km of pistes for all standards. The après-ski and nightlife are more muted these days, but the place still rocks. Galtür is a pretty village 10km away, with its own family-friendly 43km ski area and a snowpark.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Ischgl.
Kaprun
The traditional resort of Kaprun lies only 8km from the slopes of Zell am See, with which it shares a lift pass. It has its own beginner and family area on the Maiskogel, and there is lift access to the 3200m Kitzsteinhorn glacier at the end of the valley where skiing continues throughout most of the year. Good snow cover – at least in winter – is guaranteed.
Kirchberg
This attractive Tirolean village is often unfairly dismissed as a cut-price Kitzbühel overflow. It’s linked on piste to its famous neighbour and is only 7km away by road. However, it’s also the staging post between Kitz’s 233km/58 lifts and SkiWelt’s 270km/82 lifts. A three-minute ski bus ride links the area, and two regional lift passes cover both areas (SuperSkiCard and KitzSkiWelt Tour). Distances are huge – keep an eye on the time.
Kitzbühel
The most beautiful medieval ski town in Austria is synonymous with the annual Hahnenkamm, the most challenging of all the World Cup downhills. But the area is by no means confined to experts. When not prepared for racing, the Streif racecourse is marked as a family run. Much of the extensive ski area is on undulating pastureland and is suitable for all standards.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Kitzbühel.
Lech
Lech is close to my heart because it’s where I learned to ski. Down the decades, the village has changed surprisingly little: it remains centred around an impressive onion-domed church and has a close-knit community. The slopes on both sides of the valley are less challenging and more user-friendly than those of St Anton, which is part of the linked ski area.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Lech.
Leogang
This drawn-out village in the heart of the giant 270km Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn doesn’t have much to offer in the way of nightlife or shopping. However, it has several comfortable hotels with doorstep access to superb pistes and the famed off-piste terrain around Fieberbrunn.
Lermoos
This is the best-known of the seven linked villages, located next to the German frontier, that form the 49-lift Tiroler Zugspitz Arena. The area as a whole offers gentle, scenic skiing and reasonable prices. Lermoos is the best-known of the bases, with its famous all-suite Hotel Post. The other villages include Ehrwald, Berwang, and Biberwier. There are 40 mountain restaurants in the area and the lift pass also covers Garmisch and two other resorts in Germany.
Maria Alm
The Höchkonig ski area, part of Ski Amadé, links Maria Alm, Dienten, and Mühlbach with 120km of slopes. Maria Alm is the largest of the three villages with a church spire that is the highest in Salzburgerland. It provides a gateway to varied and snowy intermediate pistes and makes a perfect relaxed base from which to explore.
Mayrhofen
Mayrhofen became enormously popular with British skiers in the 1970s, and its star has never faded. Both snowboarders and skiers are drawn to its internationally rated terrain park and wide, open slopes above the treeline. The 24-person gondola up to the main ski area has to be taken in both directions, but queuing is minimal. Its own 150km ski area is impressive but it is just a quarter of the exciting terrain found in the Ziller Valley.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Mayrhofen.
Nassfeld
Close to the Italian frontier is one of Carinthia’s largest resorts, with 110km of terrain for all standards served by 29 lifts. The village is largely unknown in the UK, but Austrians consider it a top 10 destination. Famously, some 15 years ago, one of its three ski schools offered lessons in nappies for non-potty-trained kids. The experiment proved wet and chilly for the participants, and these days the minimum beginner age is four years.
Neustift
Neustift is a popular village located 24km from Innsbruck. It is also the gateway and accommodation base to the Stubai Glacier where skiing continues most of the year. You can also ski in nearby Schlick 2000, which has 10 lifts, but the real attraction is the high-altitude snowsure terrain on the glacier.
Niederau
Generations of British holidaymakers have taken their first steps on skis on the limited slopes above this charming little village in the Wildschönau Valley. However, after a few days, you run out of fresh terrain. But in 2012, the valley linked with the neighbouring Alpbachtal to form Ski Juwel, with 45 lifts sharing a single lift pass. Some of the best intermediate skiing is reached on the Wildschönau side of the ridge from the village of Auffach, which makes an alternative base. A regular ski bus service runs the length of the valley.
Obertauern
This is Austria’s best shot at a purpose-built resort, famous for the ski scenes in the 1965 Beatles’ film Help! which were shot here. Located 90km south of Salzburg in the Niedere Tauern mountain range, it has a favourable micro-climate, which allows for a long and snowsure season. I met my half-Austrian wife here for the first time in an April blizzard.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Obertauern.
Saalbach
This is the principal village of the 270km ski circus, setting for the 2025 Alpine Ski World Championships. The circuit within Hinterglemm can be skied in either direction and is a satisfying and scenic intermediate workout. But half the fun of coming here is for the wild après-ski and nightlife. It begins on the mountain in many of the 70 huts and continues into the small hours.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Saalbach.
Scheffau
This is a quieter and more sophisticated base than Söll, from which to explore the giant SkiWelt area with high-speed access by gondola. There’s a good choice of shops and restaurants in the village, which is also a popular summer resort with sunbathing and swimming at its scenic Hintersteiner See, said to be the cleanest of all Austrian alpine lakes.
Seefeld
This attractive town, close to the border with Bavaria, has a wealth of smart hotels and is the cross-country ski capital of Austria. There’s downhill skiing for the less experienced, but its scope is limited. Visitors come here not just for the 280km of Langlauf but for an all-round winter holiday, complete with skating, sleigh rides and tobogganing.
Serfaus
The three linked villages of Serfaus, Fiss, and Ladis, located on a plateau above the Upper Inn valley in the Tirol, offer 128km of pistes plus a further 28km of unpatrolled ski routes served by 38 lifts. It’s a substantial, attractive and sophisticated destination popular with Austrian, German and Dutch families, but not with the British.
Sölden
Located in the Ötztal Valley, an hour’s drive from Innsbruck Airport, Sölden is a high-altitude resort suited to all standards. Two glaciers offer snowsure skiing for much of the year. The strung-out village along the main road is no great beauty, but it’s renowned for its jolly après-ski scene.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Sölden.
Söll
This is the unofficial capital of the 270km SkiWelt circuit. It’s a good-value destination set around an onion-domed church a kilometre away from the lift station reached by a regular ski bus. Back in the day, it had a reputation as a mustering point for British and Dutch youth who did more drinking than skiing. However, it has long since shrugged off its laddish image.
St Anton
First-time visitors are constantly surprised that Austria’s most famous resort, the village that is to skiing what St Andrew’s is to golf, is surprisingly small with just one main street. But the same can’t be said of the ski area that it shares with St Christoph, Stuben, Zürs, Lech and Warth-Schröcken (the snowiest place in Austria). The skiing, along with its fabled nightlife, is challenging. Less confident skiers tend to spend their time at the Lech end of the mighty 300km Arlberg ski area.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in St Anton.
St Johann in Tirol
This pretty unpretentious Tirolean town is close to Kitzbühel and has a life beyond skiing and tourism. Its frescoed buildings and ancient coaching inns lend oodles of traditional charm. It has its own extensive intermediate ski area but is also a convenient base for reaching nine other resorts within a 30-minute train ride. If you buy the Kitzbüheler Alpen AllStarCard instead of the local pass, you have access to 1,000km of skiing in the region.
St Christoph
Once a safe haven for travellers and pilgrims crossing the high Arlberg Pass, the hamlet developed into a ski resort in its own right with links to St Anton, and these days to Zürs and Lech. It’s a peaceful alternative to the razzmatazz of St Anton and is dominated by the five-star Arlberg Hospiz Hotel, which houses the world’s largest private collection of Claret in its network of cellars.
Wagrain
Along with Flachau, Kleinarl, Altenmarkt, Alpendorf and St Johann in Pongau, Wagrain is an important village in the 760km Ski Amadé area south of Salzburg. The immediate circuit covers some 120km of linked skiing over rolling summer pastures, which are best suited to intermediates looking to clock up a high daily mileage.
Westendorf
The ski school in this quintessential Tirolean village claims to have taught more British clients to ski than anywhere else. It used to be part of the giant SkiWelt, but was linked only by bus to the shared ski area with the other eight villages. However these days it’s an integral part of the circuit, as well as being linked by piste to the outskirts of Kirchberg. A short bus ride gives access to the Kitzbühel ski area.
Zell am See
This lakeside town has medieval buildings and cobblestone streets and is as popular in winter as in summer. It is dominated by the Schmittenhöhe mountain with 77km of piste served by 28 lifts. These days it’s linked via the hamlet of Viehhofen and a short ski bus ride to the giant Saalbach ski circuit stretching to Fieberbrunn in Tirol. Zell also shares a lift pass with nearby Kaprun and the high-altitude Kitzsteinhorn glacier.
Read our expert guide to ski holidays in Zell am See.
Zell am Ziller
Mayrhofen hugs the tourist stage in the long Ziller valley, but there are also three other large ski areas here with a total of 542km of piste. All are covered by the Zillertal Superskipass. The small town of Zell in the Zillertal is gateway to the Zillertal Arena, with 150km of groomed runs served by 52 lifts connecting Zell with Gerlos, Wald-Königsleiten and Krimml. Ski buses and a train run the length of the valley.
Zürs
This smart little village with its superlative clutch of five and four-star hotels is connected on piste to Lech in the Arlberg, and is the cradle of modern skiing. Pioneer Viktor Sohm gave the first course of ski lessons here in 1906, and the first
drag lift opened here the following year. Its popularity amongst European royalty – Princess Caroline of Monaco led the way – gave it an exclusive reputation in the 1970s and 1980s.
