The Alps form part of France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania but only Switzerland and Austria can be considered true Alpine countries.
Due to the mountainous terrain, Alpine skiing is a prominent sport in Austria. Austrian skiers such as Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Hermann Maier, Toni Sailer, and Marcel Hirscher are widely regarded as some of the greatest alpine skiers of all time. Austria has been the number one nation in alpine skiing in the Winter Games, FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, and the Alpine Ski World Cup.
Austria is a world-class skiing destination. From mythical mega-resorts with big reputations, like St. Anton am Arlberg, Kitzbühel, and Sölden, Austria's ski resorts await you with guaranteed snow, modern lifts, legendary après-ski, and Austrian hospitality will make your winter holiday unforgettable.
Snow guarantee is crucial when choosing a winter destination, and the Austrian Alps boast a long and plentiful snow season. Austra is widely recognized as one of the world's best snow-guaranteed ski destinations.
Austria has some of the best winter sports infrastructure in Europe with perfectly groomed pistes suitable for all ages and skill levels and state-of-the-art lift and cable car installations.
Austrian service and hospitality are guaranteed to leave you with life-long memories. Plenty of Cozy rustic mountain huts and restaurants next to the slopes serving hearty local food. Most of Austria's hotels and guest houses are family-run, adding to the homely atmosphere and a more authentic experience.
Austria is well known for its Après-Ski. From big events, -like the Top of the Mountain Concert in Ischgl-, and rocking beats into the night in the valley to friendly gatherings outside a mountain hut, Austria has an enviable and unrivaled après-ski culture.
Austria’s skiing regions offer no end of a variety of ski runs, activities, and stunning scenery. If you're looking for a big ski area and prefer not to ski the same slope more than once during your stay in Austria you will find some of the biggest ski resorts in the world.
With the opening of a then-new lift connection in the 2016-2017 season, Ski Arlberg officially became the largest connected ski area in Austria. 305 kilometers of pistes and more than 200 ski itineraries offer infinite skiing possibilities to experience the legendary Arlberg in all its facets and immerse yourself in a unique winter paradise. From St. Anton, St. Christoph - a must-see is the legendary Hospiz Alm -, Stuben to Zürs and Lech to Schröcken and Warth.
Ski Arlberg has a modern network of 88 lifts, including the Galzigbahn, a funitel built by Doppelmayr and CWA located in a glass and steel building created by the architect Georg Driendl.
St. Anton is undoubtedly one of those places that every lover of skiing and winter sports must visit at least once in their life. This Austrian town is considered the birthplace of modern skiing.
If we add to the skiing tradition and the quality of the facilities an average annual snowfall of 7 meters of snow, we can easily understand why we are facing one of the most mythical ski regions in the world.
The SkiWelt is Austria's second-largest interconnected ski area. In 1977, the mountain railways from six locations between Brixental and Wilder Kaiser merged: the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental was born.
The SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser-Brixental covers nine villages, Brixen im Thale, Ellmau, Going, Hopfgarten, Itter, Kelchsau, Scheffau, Söll, and Westendorf, from where the ski domain is accessible by ski lifts.
The ski area reaches up to a snowsure altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level, with the slopes located further down in the valley serviced by a network of snowmaking machines to ensure top conditions throughout the season. It has 90 Ski lifts, 280 Kilometers of pistes and ski routes, and more than 80 cozy mountain huts.
Ischgl is a different kind of alpine ski resort. If you are looking for a peaceful, bucolic site, a place to rest and enjoy staring at the sublime nature of the mountains, please don´t go to Ischgl. Here life is frenetic. People think and live in superlatives. In addition to action-packed winter sports, partying is another core activity.
From Ischgl you can access the Silvretta Arena Ski Paradise, -the third-biggest ski area in Tirol-, thanks to an alliance between two Companies (SilvrettaSeilbahn AG and BergbahnenSammaun AG) and two ski resorts (Ischgl-Sammaun) from two different countries (Switzerland-Austria). A true Ski Paradise in Tirol with 239 km of perfectly groomed slopes, 45 lifts, and guaranteed snow from November to the beginning of May, thanks to the ski resort's high elevation and 1,100 snowmaking guns.
The Kitzbühel / Kirchberg ski area nestles between the Kitzbüheler Horn and the Hahnenkamm, and also the Pengelstein and Resterhöhe, between 800 and 2000 meters altitude. From the legendary 'Streif' ski run to pistes ideal for beginners, the ski area around Kitzbühel has 57 cable cars and lifts giving access to 234 km of pistes, including 119 covered by a modern snow-making system, and 36 km of ski routes. As well as variety-packed pistes, countless 'gmiatliche' (= cozy) ski lodges right at the ski runs tempt you in for some drinks and local dishes.
Sölden is Austria's main ski destination and one of the most visited ski resorts in the world.
Its ski terrain is formidable, with a season that begins in October, -since 1993 Sölden has hosted on the Rettenbach glacier the first race on the calendar of the Alpine Ski World Cup-, and runs until May.
Sölden has 144 kilometers of slopes and 31 ski lifts that allow access to the slopes without waiting.
To guarantee the practice of skiing in the entire ski area from October to May Sölden has a modern artificial snowmaking system that covers 77% of the ski domain.
One of the great attractions of Sölden is the possibility of accessing and skiing down, three mountains higher than 3000 meters: Gaislachkogl (3058 m), Tiefenbachkogl (3250 m), and Schwarze Schneide (3340 m), and 2 glaciers, the Rettenbach and Tiefenbach glaciers.
The Skicircus Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn, with its 270 kilometers of slopes, 70 ski lifts, and more than 60 mountain huts, is one of the largest ski areas in Austria.
In 1991 it hosted the World Championships and the FIS Council awarded on October 3rd, 2020 Saalbach Hinterglemm as the venue for the Alpine Ski World Championships 2025.
With the addition of Fieberbrunn, in the neighboring region of Tyrol, the Skicircus has become a true mecca for freeride with miles of ski routes in the stunning scenery of the Kitzbühel Alps.
Fieberbrunn is one of the stops on the Freeride World Tour, the most important Freeride competition in the world. In 2020 the ski resort celebrated its 10th anniversary as the headquarters of the FWT.
Finally, we would like to propose something different, an experience that allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the country while skiing in the ski resorts frequented by local skiers and where some of the most glorious pages of Austrian Alpine Ski were written.
In Innsbruck, winter sports can increasingly be positioned as a city experience due to the short distance to the mountains. More than hardly any other place in the world, Innsbruck offers the urban feel of a city, but in the shadow of a mountain landscape. If you want to transform your skiing holiday into a unique experience, you can combine the best of both worlds in Innsbruck's Ski Paradise. The Capital of the Alps is the gateway to the mountain. Only in Innsbruck, you can go from the city center to winter on the mountain in 20 minutes.
If you are planning to spend your winter holidays in Innsbruck, you can take advantage of one truly unique offer: the SKI plus CITY Pass Stubai Innsbruck. Skiing, swimming, culture, shopping, sightseeing ... all with one ticket.
The SKI plus CITY Pass Stubai Innsbruck includes 12 ski areas (Stubai Glacier, Axamer Lizum, Schlick 2000, Kühtai, Hochötz, Muttereralm, Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen, Serlesbahnen, Elferbahnen, Patscherkofel, Oberperfuss - Rangger Köpfl, and Glungezer), 291 km of slopes and 48 km of ski routes in 5 ski destinations. The four skiing areas in the Stubaital, including the Stubai Glacier, the Bergeralm in the Wipptal, the Glungezer in Tirol’s Hall area, the Axamer Lizum, and the Kühtai in the Innsbruck area as well as the Hochoetz skiing area in the Ötztal Valley.
The SKI plus CITY Pass Stubai Innsbruck also includes 22 city experiences, 3 indoor pools, the use of the entire ski bus network as well as the Innsbruck Sightseer hop-on, hop-off bus tour.
