1) Alpbach

Atmosphere is the name of the game at Alpbach, and boasts absolutely gorgeous scenery for beginners and pros alike. While Alpbach is more tailored for those new to the sport, good snow conditions will pose a challenge for skill sets of all levels. A nursery slope is a mere five minutes away from the main ski area, perfect for practicing snowploughs after a tough lesson, so bring the kids!

A view from Alpbach ski resort, Austria by mapryan

2) St Anton

There are a few reasons why St Anton is one of the top 3 ski resorts in all of Europe, but don’t be lured in by the beauty of this place. St Anton is primarily for serious skiers, and is not recommended for those new to the sport. However, there are a few resorts for the less-serious just a short bus ride away, so don’t let that stop you from encouraging a few of your beginner friends to tag along.

Skiing in St Anton, Austria by vuorikari

3) Kitzbühel

Kitzbühel is known primarily for its beauty and charm. While the annual Hahnenkamm — one of the toughest downhill courses in all of Europe — is held here, what Kitzbühel is really known for is its charm. Warmly welcoming skiers of all skill levels, Kitzbühel is both gorgeous and family-friendly. Even the non-skiers will enjoy their stay here, as the streets are lined with quaint boutiques, luxury hotels, and other trappings that rarely show up at an Austrian ski resort.

Skiing in Kitzbühel, Austria by Mahmut

4) Ischgl

Ischgl is for all you party people out there that love the nightlife just as much as your pair of skis. While Ischgl is not the cheapest of ski resorts, the atmosphere from late afternoon into the early morning hours is electric. Jovial and amicable people dance around every corner, making Ischgl party-central as far as Austrian ski resorts go with some great Austrian ski chalets that you can stay in and recover after the nights activities.

Ski slope in Ischgl, Austria by Leo-setä

5) Obergurgl

Last on the list is the family-friendly Obergurgl, the best Austrian ski resort to take the little ones to. At an extremely high elevation of 1,930m, Obergurgl guarantees snow for a longer season that most ski resorts you’ll find in Austria. While the ski area is somewhat small which will likely irritate experienced skiers, this cozy resort will always have your children within eyesight.

Skiing in Obergurgl, Austria by BeardyRob

There you have it! The five best Austrian ski holiday resorts — now get out there and hit the slopes!

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Rob Alter

Chamonix provides skiing in a variety of central areas, which are linked by an efficient bus service, and because the resort shares its peaks with neighbouring Courmayeur, a full lift pass gives skiers access to nearby Italian slopes as well. Beginning with Les Houches and le Touchet, beginners can enjoy a broad variety of nursery slopes to find their rhythm before progressing to tougher pistes.

Intermediate skiers can make steady progress in the well-known Vallée Blanche (with a guide) and enjoy the variety and scenery in Flégère before moving on to off-piste, red and black runs. Advanced skiers can hone their skills at the Grands Montets in Argentière, at Brévent, Flégère and le Tour, while all the runs offer some of best powder skiing available in the country.

Not forgetting snowboarders; there are drag lifts in the beginners’ areas, and plenty of on and off-piste terrain for intermediate and advanced boarders at Brévent, Flégère and le Tour, providing opportunities for jumps and gullies.

Chamonix is also a part of France’s mountaineering heritage, perfectly situated for hikers and climbers to explore the local terrain. The untouched countryside, red squirrels, chamois and deer, and magnificent views across Mont Blanc, provide a harmonious atmosphere. Chamonix is also well-equipped with sporting and leisure facilities, including exciting nightlife, and comes highly recommended as one of France’s best-loved places to ski.

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Ötztal Valley Resorts have a total of more than 300 km of ski slopes, which lie at an altitude ranging from 1377 to 3340 meters above sea level and thus can boast an elevation of nearly 2,000 metres. The most famous ski resort of Ötztal is exclusive Sölden, which offers about 150 kilometers of ski slopes, spreading partially on two glaciers and three peaks with a height exceeding 3,000 meters above sea level. This makes Sölden really a unique ski resort in Austrian Alps. More than 100 kilometers of slopes has another luxury resort Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. But Ötztal is also suitable for cross-country skiers as you can find here around 185 kilometres of cross-country trails.

Ski pass prices and opening hours
Lifts in the Ötztal runs from 8:30 to 16:30. One-day ski pass costs €45 in the most popular resorts like Sölden and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, and six-day ski pass costs about €230.

Also an offer of après-ski activities is on a high level in Ötztal. In addition to restaurants, bars, shops, you can try out all sorts of winter sports and the icing on the cake is a luxury aqua park situated in the town Längenfeld.

For further info visit oetztal.com website.

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Ski Serra da Estrela is a small ski resort in Portugal. It is located in the central part of the country in the mountains of Serra da Estrela, at an altitude of 1851 – 1988 metres above sea level. Serra da Estrela is the highest mountain in Portugal’s mainland and does not have any highest summit, but instead of that it is a plateau, known as Torre (Tower), measuring 1,993 meters. However the highest point of Portugal is situated on the island of Pico in the Azores and it is called Mount Pico (2,351 metres). The entire Serra da Estrela mountain range belongs to Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela.

On the highest point of Serra da Estrela is the radar station, the old observatory, and 7 m high monument in order to reach an altitude of 2000 meters. At the top you can also find a store, where you can buy mainly cheese and ham (prosciutto).

Below the mountains, on the east, is a great city of Guarda, on the south is the ski town of Covilha with an information centre of the natural park. The best starting point for hiking is the village of Manteigas situated in the middle of Natural Park.

Ski Serra da Estrela has 9 pistes with a total length of 7.7 km. There is 1 black, 4 red, 2 blue and 2 green slopes. Transportation is provided by 4 lifts and a chair lift with a total carrying capacity of 2000 persons per hour. The ski area of Serra da Estrela has also a snowpark.

The skiing season starts here usually in December and lasts to April. One-day ski-pass in high season costs €25 and €15 off-season. You can also find here a restaurant, 2 bars, ski school and ski rental services. Among favorite after-snow activities are snowshoeing, sledding and snowmobile riding.

For further information about Serra da Estrela ski resort with actual snow conditions visit official website skiserradaestrela.com.

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Resort St.Anton-St.Christoph-Stuben offers a total of 115 km of ski slopes, which are located at an altitude ranging from 1304 metres to 2811 meters above sea level. 49 kilometres are ski slopes of blue difficulty, 53 km are of red slopes and 13 kilometers of tracks boasts black level. Additional 100 kilometres are off the groomed slopes.

There are a total of 38 lifts in operation here (5 cabins, 17 chair lifts, 16 poma lifts). They can transport over 58,000 skiers per hour. Of course there is a number of snow parks and a ski schools and you can even use approximately 40 km of cross-country ski trails.

Lifts in St.Anton-St.Christoph-Stuben runs from 8:45am to 4:15pm. Adult daily ski pass costs €45.50, and six-day ski pass costs €219.

An offer of après-ski activities in the village of Stuben can not even compare to the well known and famous St.Anton, the legendary town, which is the main site of an area. But anyway Stuben is still very nice and suitable for all types of skiers and offers really nice skiing in Austrian Alps with great view of the surrounding peaks.

For further information visit an official site of Stuben ski resort.

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Photo by Zugspitze.de

The resort in the valley of Loisach river offers a completely ideal ski conditions and hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1936, World Cup in downhill skiing in 1978, FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2011 and many others. It is ideal both for lovers of challenging downhill skiing as well as cross-country skiers. In addition, Garmisch-Partenkirchen resort offers a skating track, slopes for alpine skiing and other winter sports.

Popular resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is divided into two areas; Garmisch Classic and Zugspitze.

Garmisch Classic has 40 kilometers of slopes at an altitude ranging from 700m to 2050m and consists of winding slopes leading below the peaks Hausberg, Kreuzjoch and Osterfelderkopf. Here you find both family slopes and killer black slope called Kandahar, which is the most difficult slope of all in the area.

Slopes on the Zugspitze glacier are situated at an altitude ranging from 2050m – 2962m and are mostly red, nicely rugged. The peak of the highest German mountain offers spectacular views over the surrounding Alpine peaks. Since this area is situated on the glacier, it provides a good snow conditions from November to May

Photo by Zugspitze.de

Ski pass prices and opening hours
You can buy Top Snow Card which allows you to use the extended range of up to 87 lifts in 215 km of slopes in the Garmisch-Partenkirchen resort and the wider area. Two-day ticket costs €72,50 for adults and €43,50 for children from 6 to 15 years. Seven-day card costs €218 and €131 for children.

The area also offers a top-level service and luxury hotels and atmosphere of a real mountain resort. You can find here also a ski school, rental equipment and a variety of wellness services.

For further information visit Zugspitze.de.

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Area of Via Lattea boasts in total 400 km of ski slopes, which are situated in the mountains at an altitude of 1350 – 2823 meters above sea level. There are 200, mainly red, interconnected pistes, from which you definitely should not miss the Olympic slopes located in Sestriere or Sansicariu. Another resort of Pragelato is a place of the Olympic cross-country trails. You can try a total of 79 lifts here that are able to transport more than 105,000 skiers within an hour.

Via Lattea offers several snow parks, ski schools and have over 30 restaurants directly on the slopes. An offer of après-ski activities in the area of ​​Via Lattea is fully sufficient thanks to shops, bars and restaurants where you can taste the specialties of delicious local cuisine. Those, who are even after returning from the skiing day still full of energy, can skate on ice rinks in the areas of Sestriere, Sauze d’Oulx and Claviere.

One day ski pass costs €20, if you are coming for more days, it is better to buy a ski pass that can be used on all of the 400km of slopes. For such 6-day ski pass you should pay €231.

For further details visit official site of Via Lattea.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Cristian Bortes

Funicular Kaprun – Kitzsteinhorn peak has the highest mast in the world with a height of 120 meters. Kaprun ski resort, which is situated at an altitude of 2000 m can be reached only by cable car from the village below. Once there was also a funicular train, which led through a tunnel in the rock, but it had an accident on 11 November 2000, when the fire occurred inside the tunnel and claimed the lives of 155 people and only 12 survived.

Kaprun ski resort with Kitzsteinhorn glacier is ideal place for winter holidays but offers a wide range of sporting activities even in the summer. The charming town of Kaprun is situated at an altitude of 786 metres above sea level and forms a gate to the National Park Hohe Tauern.

During the winter holidays you can try many fun activities in Kaprun. You can take nice walks around, ice skating, snowshoe hiking, sledding or a horse drawn sleigh ride through the winter wonderland. This charming place offers a wide range of accommodation from comfortable hotels, through apartments and guest houses to chalets.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Cristian Bortes

The big advantage of this resort is that you can ski all year round on Kitzsteinhorn glacier. Glacier at a height of more than 3000 meters is ideal for skiing also in the warm season. A huge number of beautiful slopes for beginners and advanced skiers attract also snowboarders. If you arrive with the cross-country skis, you enjoy a beautiful trail with a total length of 200 km.

Zell am See and Kaprun are the popular resorts in the sports centre of Europa Sportregion. 58 most modern lifts and funiculars will take you to the tops like Kitzsteinhorn (3,203 m) or Schmittenhöhe (1,965 m). There are already 130 km of beautiful slopes waiting for you. It is ideal both for lovers of the fast and also quiet skiing. There are also pleasant, not too difficult slopes, ready for families with children.

Season on the Schmittenhöhe, which is slightly lower than the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, lasts from December to May.

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The history of the city and its monuments
The first mention of the town Bovec dates back to the 11th century. Perhaps the most valuable historical monument in the town of Bovec is the Church of St. Leonard from 15th century, which has recently been renovated. Other sights of the city were extensively damaged during the World War I. As the memory of this period there is a museum dedicated to objects of the World War I, situated right in the city centre.

Sports activities and excursions into the beautiful natural attractions
Bovec is mainly a winter resort but also an important starting point for many hiking trails leading trough the Julian Alps. A ski resort is situated on the slopes of Kanin mountain (2587). Even in summer the local lift is in operation. You shouldn’t miss a tour to the nearby waterfall Boka, which is – with its height of 1000 meters – one of the highest waterfalls in Slovenia. It is located 5.5 km from the town of Bovec. In summer you can additionally try here such as canoeing, rafting on the emerald-green Soča River, skydiving, horseback riding, playing tennis and fishing, or even hang-gliding from the Bovec airport.

Tourist information
There are many accommodation facilities in the town of Bovec. In addition to guest houses and hotels there is also a campsite available. You can use the post office, pharmacy, wellness center and ski services as well.

To Bovec you can get using air transport. The nearest international airport is located in Ljubljana. Another option is by bus or car. Train connections are not possible here.

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Sella Ronda is rare, about 37 km long ski slopes around the circuit on the Sella massif and the Kronplatz. It offers not only the great skiing but also breathtaking views of the most beautiful parts of the Dolomites, and therefore great opportunities for photography. You can pass the circuit in both directions. Following Orange mark in a clockwise direction (senso orario) – a route is 36.6 km long. Or the second option is to go in the opposite direction (senso antiorario) following green mark. This route is 38.7 km long. Each of these two destinations offer something else. Orange one offers a range of challenging slopes and is therefore suitable for more experienced skiers. Sella Ronda route takes all day to an average skiers, including the breaks for refreshments and relaxation. The circuit can be passed also within 3 hours, thanks to the local Express lifts.

Sella Ronda ski area offers in total 550 km of slopes, for all levels of skiers. There are many opportunities for the curving, freeride, alpine skiing and cross country skiing. Transport is provided by 215 lifts, whose carrying capacity is 240 000 persons per hour. Starting point to the Sella Ronda area are: Campitello and Canazei from Val di Fassa, Arabba, Colsfosco, Corvara and Val Gardena. There are also many amusement parks for children and snowboarders. You can also enjoy night skiing – in Val di Fassa (Pozza di Fassa).

In Sella Ronda there are ski school, nursery school, you can rent or buy ski equipment here. There are lots of accommodation possibilities and refreshments. There is also a range of other activities like skating, tennis, squash, bowling, paragliding, tobogganing, and much more. High season usually lasts from December to April. If you go to the Sella Ronda ski area, you must buy a lift pass Dolomiti SuperSki because special pass only to the Sella Ronda does not exist. SuperSki Dolomiti Ski Pass is wider and offers a total of 1,200 km of slopes.

Sella Ronda ski area is also famous for the race Gardenissima, which is the longest giant slalom in the world. The race was attended to not only professionals but also amateurs.

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