Austrian Alps

The Alps are Europe’s major mountain range and a considerable part of it lies in Austria. The clean air, peace and tranquillity and spectacular scenery ensure holiday destinations within the Alps are popular with tourists. Extreme climatic conditions such as heavy snowfall provide excellent conditions for a range of winter sports. During the summer, warmer temperatures and sunshine enable visitors to enjoy local wildlife and many outdoor activities. Lakes, glaciers and remote villages provide a picturesque backdrop whereby you can holiday in beautiful surroundings.

Mount Grossglockner is Austria’s highest peak and provides a 50km road to enjoy panoramic views during summer months when it is accessible. Skiing is very popular with visitors to the Austrian Alps, as is snowboarding and other extreme sports. The most famous recreational activity throughout recent Austrian history, ski resorts here attract international visitors keen to participate within a national pastime. Many local towns have developed infrastructure to promote themselves as ski resorts to accommodate visitors. Ski lifts, better roads and more hotels were constructed while retaining a distinct alpine charm. Austrian ski resorts tend to be traditional and pretty, in keeping with local heritage.

Alpine valleys are interconnected so skiing becomes easy to navigate and ski tracks are supervised, orderly and generally safe. Many resorts showcase ski tournaments and resorts such as Innsbruck also provide annual snowboarding tournaments, attracting many fans and worldwide media.

Salzkammergut is a jewel in the Austrian Lake District and is a lovely area to entertain the family. The waters are historically renowned for their vitamin rich healing properties, so when mum takes a tingly dip or indulges in a thermal spa treatment, dad and the kids can get up to all kinds of mischief on top of the water. All kinds of water sports, boating and fishing are available. If you tired of splashing around, then tours of the salt mines or beautiful illuminated ice sculptures in the deep underground caves of Dachstein are available. This is the perfect example of what Austria can offer; family fun, personal wellness and amazing glimpses of past culture are all available across the entire country.

The Austrian Alps provide a wonderful backdrop to an entire year’s worth of activities. Hikers, bikers and swimmers will obviously want to walk, cycle and swim their way through the extremely hot summer months of June to August, when the snow gives way to lush greenery. If you're in the mood for more comfortable temperatures, then it's best to aim for the couple of months either side of the summer period. Most music and cultural festivals take place between May and October, so there will always be plenty to do no matter when you visit. Skiers and snowboarders should remember that the winter high season falls between December and March.