Salzburgerland – so much more than a skier's haven

Arrival

Salzburg is a city full of history and character, nestled at the foot of steep sided hills and towering mountains.

Aside from the city’s most well-known exports – Mozart and The Sound of Music – Salzburg lays claims to a bustling arts community and a host of traditional and contemporary restaurants and bars located on quiet side streets.

With classical music wafting down the market street, out of concert halls and beside the fast-flowing Salzach River, the city upholds its musical tradition that Mozart could only be proud of.

Sports

Aside from culture, Salzburg also lays claim to a prolific football team in FC Red Bull Salzburg. One of the top teams in the Austrian Bundesliga, the relatively young club, which was founded in 1933, has risen to top of European football.

Having reached the UEFA Cup Final in 1994, FC Salzburg are now a regular team in the UEFA Champions League, hosting high profit clubs such as Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Skiing

One of Salzburgerland’s hidden gems is the small ski resort of Obertauern. Known as the setting where the Beatles filmed the snow scenes in Help! back in 1965, the resort boasts a reputation as one of the best ski-in, ski-out resorts in Europe.

Located 90km south of Salzburg and sitting amid 100km of slopes at 1,740m, this is Austria’s snowiest winter sports destination with 26 cableways and ski lifts spread over ten entry points, carrying skiers up to a high point of 2,313m, with jaw-dropping picturesque views in every direction.

Accessible via car and train (Radstadt is the nearest station, with a 20km bus journey), the slopes in Obertauern offer variety to skiers of all abilities.

Although Obertauern’s terrain is best suited to the all-round intermediate, this is a very good choice for beginners with the wonderful wide nursery slope by the village virtually guaranteed snow through the season.

With over 100km of run, almost two thirds (61km) are deemed easy blue trails, with 35km as medium red trail and 4km declared as difficult black runs.

For the more seasoned skier, as well as the superb pistes providing ample mellow skiing, Obertauern is also a freeride Mecca with some challenging steep trails with cliffs and has a number of racetracks with time measurements.

For added excitement there is night skiing, snow-kiting, ski jumping and cross-country ski options available.

Other activities

If skiing isn’t for you, there are still plenty of things to do in Obertauern.

Helicopter sightseeing tours and transfers Helicopter SennAir offers sightseeing flights for up to five people lasting 15 minutes to an hour.

Gourmet and adventure flights to Annaberg are on offer, with a culinary stopover at Winterstellgut as well as transfer flights from Salzburg, Munich, Venice or a departure point of your choice to Obertauern.

Thrill seekers can still get their kick from taking on the 1.5km toboggan run, ice climbing, winter Segway tours around the resort and airboarding.

Headfirst on their stomach, airboarders shoot down towards the valley on shock-absorbing high-tech air-pillows.

Accomodation and apres ski

You will be spoilt for choice when it comes to accommodation, with around 150 hotels, inns, guesthouses and holiday apartments to choose from, as well as six youth hostels to suit every need.

Since 1942, hotels and other resort buildings have grown up along the rather desolate and treeless Tauern Pass.

The benefit of this is that the majority of accommodation offers skiing on the doorstep, and Obertauern ski resort village has dozens of cafés and restaurants, most serving high quality Austrian cuisine.

The resort is also known for its “après ski mile” - no fewer than 25 ski lodges are lined up to tempt you to stop by, be it by day for some culinary treats or on the large sun decks in the evening.

Tea dancing at the Latsch’n Stubn or Lūrzeralm cafe or tavern is particularly popular and later the Römer Bar or Hotel Edelweiss are bustling in peak season, with live music on occasion.

The Lurzeralm keeps the crowds all night being home to one of several late-night spots, and discothèques which give night owls more choice than the norm after midnight in the Alps.

Obertauern - Ski Hire:

There are nearly two dozen recommended outlets for ski hire in Obertauern, which you can check out on the resort’s own website, including Freudenhaus, Sport Erika and globally-recognised snowboard specialist shop Blue Tomato, who also run their own snowboard school.

Obertauern - Ski School:

There are seven ski and snowboard schools in Obertauern, including the Sylvia Grillitsch Ski School, the Krallinger Ski School and the Koch Ski School.

So, if you are looking for a holiday destination that covers everything, look no further than Salzburgerland.

To find out more, visit www.salzburgerLand.com.