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Ski Resorts in Austria

Getting a Canada ski packages is the dream destination for outdoor-lovers, especially skiers and snowboarders. When most people think of Austria, they think of skiing in the Alps. Although the country has given birth and played host to many cultural icons: Mozart, Handel, Freud, Schiele and many more, skiing is the one thing that really ticks in the mind of the average person when thinking about Austria.

And why not? There are many fine ski resorts in Austria each boasting their own particular story and character. Generally speaking, Austrian ski resorts aren’t quite as popular as French ski resorts, or quite as revered as the high class offerings available in expensive Switzerland, but the ski resorts in Austria offer their own particular Alpine charm that simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.

Two of the most popular of these resorts are Mayrhofen and Kitzbuhel. Mayrhofen is notable in particular for its excellent apres ski scene, and many party loving skiers often end up here. Particularly interesting about Mayrhofen is that it is one of the only ski resorts in the world to feature a world class music festival. Taking place in April, the Snowbombing music festival attracts world famous headline acts performing for your pleasure against a backdrop of snowy mountains, with the opportunity to head off for a quick ski or snowboard whenever an act you’re not so keen on crops up on stage.

Kitzbuhel on the other hand is the perfect picture of a medieval Tyrolean village. One of the lower ski resorts you’ll encounter, Kitzbuhel has been dogged in the past by lack of snow. The steady implementation of snow cannons over the years has meant that this is no longer a problem, and ironically, in January 2005 there was too much snow.

Aside from providing a stunning backdrop for intermediate skiers (there is little to really challenge experts in Kitzbuhel), the ski resort does offer what many consider to be the best World Cup downhill ski race.

The town itself is absolutely beautiful, and Kitzbuhel is one of the few ski resorts that justifies a visit even to non-skiers, a claim that very few ski resorts can make.

Just as Austria is famous for more than skiing, there are of course many more ski resorts in Austria worth looking into for anyone thinking about heading off on a skiing holiday to Europe, but Mayrhofen and Kitzbuhel are certainly good places to start.