A winter guide to Austria, from cities to mountains

With their centuries-old Alpine towns surrounded by farmland and their cosy chalet hotels offering open fires and comfort food, Austrian ski regions are the postcard perfect counterpoint to the big, purpose-built resorts in neighbouring France. And yet the skiing is as good as it gets, with some of the world’s most advanced lifts and huge, linked areas. 

Salzburger Sportwelt, for instance, connects seven resorts and 155 miles of skiing. It’s also part of Ski Amadé, a network of more than 500 miles of slopes and 270 lifts accessible via one single lift pass and featuring such standout areas as Hochkönig, connecting the villages of Maria Alm, Dienten and Mühlbach. Many of Ski Amadé’s resorts are within easy daily reach of Salzburg, and a free bus to Flachau for lift-pass-holders makes it easy to savour the colourful city — visitors can ski by day, then, by night, take in a black-tie concert during the late-January Mozart Festival. For more of the same, there are plenty of city-and-ski experiences on offer in Innsbruck, the Tyrolean capital (see p.40), where the Ski Plus City Pass covers 13 resorts, including the Stubai glacier, offering more than 200 miles of pistes and routes.

The second-most-popular destination for British skiers, ranking behind France, Austria hits the spot with culinary travellers, with its locally brewed beer, schnapps and hearty mountain fare — think potato-and-meat fry-up gröstl, bowls of goulash, apple strudel and kaiserschmarren (shredded pancakes). 

Perhaps the best-known Austrian resort is St Anton, in Tyrol, revered both for its serious skiing — particularly off-piste — and its serious partying. If you fancy dancing on a table wearing ski boots, this is the place to do it. But there’s a stately side to it, too. St Anton is part of Ski Arlberg — along with St Christoph, Stuben, Zürs, Warth, Schröcken and Lech, the latter once popular with members of the British royal family — Austria’s largest connected ski resort, comprising more than 180 miles of pistes and 120 miles of off-piste trails. 

Meanwhile, Kitzbühel, also in Tyrol, is more refined, known for its Hahnenkamm Races, one of the most prestigious FIS Alpine Ski World Cup events. The local KitzSki area has 145 miles of well-tended-to pistes and is now linked to SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental, offering 170 miles of runs. Different again is lakeside spa town Zell am See-Kaprun, south of Salzburg, with its wondrous views. A charming place to ski in itself, it’s also now connected with the wider Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrun winter sports area.

Visiting late in the ski season might mean there’s less of a guarantee of snow, but it’s a great time to enjoy Austria’s myriad spring festivals. It can also offer a more relaxed ski experience, with warmer temperatures likely from April — although last season, conditions were winter-like right through to Easter.

New this season is a joint lift pass for two smaller areas, Kappl and See, their collective 55 miles of runs united by shuttle bus. Both are also included in the Silvretta ski pass, which covers big-time Ischgl, but this is a good-value option for families who don’t need the full area. 

The country already has some of the Alps’ most high-tech lifts and Stuben, in the west, is following suit, replacing its 1983 two-seater chair with an eight-person gondola. There are also moves to make skiing in Austria greener — Saalfelden-Leogang, for instance, now uses plant-based fuel to run its piste-grooming machines, reducing CO2  emissions by 90%. 

A day trip to Kühtai

The bus is filling up for its 9am departure from Innsbruck: a couple in vintage ski gear and bobble hats, a pair with curly-edged wooden sledges, a woman in a box-fresh all-in-one ski suit — and me. Here for the week, I’m keen to sample some of the 13 ski resorts included in the city’s Innsbruck Ski Plus City Pass, specifically Kühtai, a resort 20 miles — or a 45-minute bus journey — to the west.

One of the nice things about the sunny plateau of Kühtai, I soon find out, is that it’s small and faff-free. The bus drops me within walking distance of the lifts and, even with the commute, I still manage to fit in six hours of skiing.

At an altitude of 2,020 meters, Kühtai is among Austria’s highest ski villages, meaning it’s a tempting spot for those seeking snow-sure options. It also has a simple layout, making it doubly attractive for those, like me, who struggle with piste maps and chairlift names. The high street is the epicentre of the bowl-shaped resort and the pistes are numerically labelled, making the whole place wonderfully easy to navigate.

I begin my attack on the resort’s red runs with the Drei-Seen-Bahn lift, which whisks me up to 2,410 meters, and then work my way around Kühtai’s seven chairlifts in a clockwise direction, stopping only for a beer and a delicious serving of noodle soup in Zum Kaiser Maximilian  halfway around. The slopes are wide and sweeping, but most of them end with a steepish descent into town, where you can choose your next lift up. 

Due to its compact size (it has just 27 miles of pistes), Kühtai is well-suited to families and beginners. If you do choose to stay overnight, there are plenty of ski in, ski out self-catering accommodation options, plus a play area for children. Hourly ski passes are available, too, allowing fledgling skiers a taster session.

The neighbouring resort of Hochoetz is included in the Kühtai ski pass and accessed by free shuttle. This, along with the freestyle, snowcross and ski touring options, widen Kühtai’s attraction as a week-long destination. But for now, I end my day with some runs off the HochAlterBahn lift — Kühtai’s highest point. Piste number one is floodlit for night skiing, but my bus back to town is calling.

12 hours in Innsbruck

Breakfast
Take tram 1 to Bergisel to scale the Zaha-Hadid-designed Olympic ski jump (nicknamed The Cobra) for breakfast at Bergisel Sky. Perched at the mouth of the serpent-like structure, the restaurant offers dizzying views of the city below.

Mid-morning sightseeing
Book a private, English-speaking guide for an introduction to the city’s highlights, including the Hofburg palace, the Hofkirche church, the cathedral, the Goldenes Dachl (‘Golden Roof’), the city tower and the old town. 

Lunch
At Kaiser Max, on Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse, the sheepskin-covered chairs have an unrivalled view of the Nordkette mountain chain. It doesn’t get more Tyrolean than a plateful of gröstl — sautéed potatoes, beef and onions topped with a fried egg and served with coleslaw on the side.

Afternoon
Take bus J from Maria-Theresien-Strasse towards Patscherkofel. Alight at Igls Dorfmitte, outside the disused cable car station, and follow the well-marked 5.5-mile Heiligwasser circular hike through some of Europe’s oldest and tallest pines. You’ll make steep climbs and the odd dash across a snowy piste and be able to admire the views from a pilgrimage church.

Cocktail hour
The 12th floor of Adlers Hotel is the perfect spot from which to watch Innsbruck’s lights twinkle, a glass of Aperol spritz in hand. 

Dinner
Restaurant Lichtblick, a glass cube atop the RathausGalerien, has 360-degree views of the city and serves modern international cuisine. Seasonal highlights include baked potato salad, saddle of salt meadow lamb with herb crust. 

3 more peaks to visit in Austria

1. Hinterglemm

Best for families 

Part of the vast Skicircus region, this quiet resort just outside Saalbach has excellent nursery areas and lots of gentle pistes, plus the option to head to Zell am See for a full day out. The Gartenhotel Theresia is a stylish hotel that offers children’s spa treatments, a crafts club, tobogganing, a swimming pool and childcare options. What’s more, the ski school is just outside. Seven nights from £1,619 per person, full board, including flights and transfers. 

2. Bad Gastein

Best for spas

A historic town with natural hot springs that have been tempting visitors for centuries, Bad Gastein is home to the Felsentherme complex, featuring a 32C indoor pool set into prehistoric rock, plus sauna, steam rooms and children’s pool. The Alpentherme Gastein, in Bad Hofgastein, just along the valley, is equally impressive and has two outdoor thermal lakes available for swimming year-round. The town’s excellent ski area links the two. Seven nights at pretty Chalet-Hotel Tannenburg costs from £753 per person, including flights, transfers, ski guiding and wine with dinner. 

3. Gurgl

Best for snow-sure skiing 

Gurgl is the new collective name for high-altitude Obergurgl and Hochgurgl in Tyrol’s Ötztal Valley, barely an hour from Innsbruck. The former sits at 6,330ft, the latter at 7,050ft. Skiing reaches an altitude of 9,940ft (also the site of the futuristic Top Mountain Star bar, overlooking Italy) and is all-but-guaranteed from well before Christmas until late April. Seven nights in Obergurgl’s Apartmenthaus Madeleine from £815 per person, self-catering, including flights and transfers.