While many visitors to Vienna enjoy a unique bird’s eye view of the city from atop its landmark 200m Giant Ferris Wheel, another unique vantage point can be had on two wheels along Vienna’s 1200km of cycle paths.

This ‘best of’ experience in the Austrian capital gives you access to Velo-city 2013. Held at the impressive city hall, this is the largest international conference on cycling, bringing together some 1000 participants ranging from planners and architects to social marketers, environmentalists and industry representatives. Highlighted themes this year include ‘cycling cities’ and ‘cycling benefits’, along with the newly introduced topic of ‘cycling cultures’.

What better way to toast Vienna’s rich cycling traditions than with a fine award-winning wine! Treat yourself to a spot of wine-tasting at Heuriger Wieninger, a traditional Viennese wine tavern, where your third-generation host Leo Wieninger will guide you through the tavern’s wine cellar and offer you a taste of authentic Viennese wine. And did you know that Vienna is only city in the world that boasts vineyards fully within its boundaries? We say a hearty ‘cheers’ to that!

Enjoy a dinner at Vestibül Restaurant, impressively set within Vienna’s ornate Burgtheater, serving fresh and innovative new twists on well-loved Austrian specialties. Follow with an overnight stay at the Boutiquehotel Stadthalle, the world’s first city hotel maintaining a zero energy balance. Your ‘best of’ experience concludes the next day with a guided cycling tour through Vienna, passing by some of the city’s most celebrated sights.

And this is just one of your choices…

by Jennifer Lewis

Following up from our earlier post about finding the right place for you, we have now selected another three top ski resorts which are best suited for a particular type of skier or snowboarder. Winter sports are big in Austria, and the country really does offer such a wide variety of different ski areas and levels of accommodation that pretty much any requirement can be met.

On a Budget

For the budget-conscious skiers and snowboarders out there, a week’s stay in Austria doesn’t have to cost the earth. In fact, there are some resorts where you can get very good value for money hotels and eat at reasonably priced restaurants, so you won’t have to always be checking the exchange rate to the Euro. If you decide to travel to Söll for your ski holiday, you should find yourself with a bit of extra travel money once you have got the essentials out the way. Why is it cheaper than neighbouring resorts? Well, it’s part of the SkiWelt and has the most hotels in the entire region, resulting in prices being better than elsewhere because of the competition. Also, it is sometimes deemed a less desirable resort because it is a 1km ski bus ride to the lifts. These two factors make finding a cheap hotel or chalet to stay in much easier. While skiing and snowboarding in Söll is not the best on offer in Austria, there is plenty of choice to keep even the most ardent skier or snowboarder happy. The SkiWelt area is the biggest connected ski area in Austria and consists of somewhere in the region of 250km of ski trails. There is something for everyone here, whether you want blue runs or black runs, so if you need to tighten your belt then Söll is the place for you.

Pushing your Limits

For ski and snowboard professionals looking for a resort where they can push their skills to the limit, Galtür provides the perfect venue. You might be surprised to hear that a resort with just 40 km of prepared pistes could offer such a challenge, but it is not on the groomed runs where skiers and snowboarders should put themselves to the test. The resort is located at a high altitude within the Silvretta Mountains, and offers some truly awesome off-piste opportunity, along with leg burning touring routes and expert only black runs. One of the great things about Galtür is its size. It just a small alpine village with a population of below 1000, and there are only 3 chair lifts and a gondola if you don’t count the small drag lifts. It all makes for a quiet scene where serious skiers and snowboarders can really get on with the business of carving through virgin snow or zip between the tress in mountain side forests. There is a particularly good route to try, called the Alp Trida, which takes you through a valley and into a small duty-free enclave called Sauman in Switzerland. If you really want to get the most out of your stay in Galtür, it is well worth hiring a guide. These guys will show you exactly where the best, most challenging routes on the mountain are, so that you can get on with pushing yourself to the limit.

The Best Snow

If you simply have to have the best snow while skiing or snowboarding in Austria, then your best bet is to head to one of the high altitude resorts. Sölden is one of these resorts, located at 1,350 meters, with lifts that take you to a top elevation of 3250 meters. There are three mountains to ride here, Tiefenbachkogel, Gaislachkogel, and Schwarze Scheinde, all of which stand tall at over 3000 meters. To add to that, there are also two glaciers conveniently liked into the well-connected ski area. All of this makes Sölden a great choice when it comes to choosing a resort with a great snow reliability record. With 34 lifts servicing the 134km of pistes, most of which are intermediate slopes, you might have to venture off-piste for a challenge, but you will surely find some untouched powder snow somewhere between the groomed runs.

by Jennifer Lewis

What is great for one person can be terrible for another, so choosing where you want to spend your precious time off in the snow needs some consideration. There are some great ski holiday deals leaving the UK out there, all you need to do it know which of the various ski resorts is right for you. With a couple of months left before the snow starts to melt for the summer, what better time to take a look at the many different ski resorts peppered across the Austrian Alps. Every resort is a little different, from ones with small village charm to others full of bustling bars and restaurants, but the one thing that they all have in common is the abundance of fresh air and picturesque scenery that comes hand in hand with being in the mountains. No matter what you are after out of a ski and snowboard holiday, you can find it here in Austria, so read on to find out which resort will suit you best.

Taking the Kids
If it’s a perfect family ski holiday you are after then Alpbach ticks pretty much all the boxes. A charming village ski resort full of traditional wooden chalets and a quaint village church, with a spattering of modest restaurants and bars to feed and water the visitors. The village still has its roots in farming, so it is not completely reliant on ski tourism, which is a good thing. Aside from the excellent skiing well-suited for beginners and intermediates, and the special children’s ski areas, children can join in all of the fun at Juppi Kid’s Club and give you a short break to spend with your other half. Tobogganing and indoor or outdoor ice skating are a couple of the other fun activities you can rely on to keep the kids entertained.

Weekend Warriors
If you can’t get the time off work for a full week of skiing, then why not treat yourself to a long weekend on the slopes. At many resorts it can be tough booking a hotel for less than a week, but in Innsbruck there is plenty of accommodation catering for the short stay skier. It is the perfect destination if you need to get your ski fix but are short on time. Being a large ‘ski resort’ city surrounded by mountains and having its own international airport means that you can be on the slopes just an hour or two after stepping off the plane. You are spoilt for choice when it comes to terrain here, with nine separate ski areas all coming together to form the enormous Olympia SkiWorld Innsbruck. 90 lifts transport you around 300km of groomed pistes, and there are snow parks, half pipes and ski jumps to cater for snowboarders and freestyle skiers. Even if you stay close to the city centre, just take the free shuttle bus to any of the ski areas.

Après Ski a Priority
Often overlooked in favour of more famous resorts like St. Anton, Saalbach has a very much underrated après ski scene. If drinking and dancing is as much a part of your ski holiday as actual skiing is, then Saalbach’s après ski could be the one for you. The bars on the hillside provide convenient rest stops during the day, but by the end of the afternoon everyone is speeding down the slopes to cram inside of the bars and discos in the resort. By 4pm the good times are thoroughly underway. For the wildest time, head to Bauers Skialm and join the raucous masses revelling with their jugs of beer. If you need a break from the crazy partying here, head over to nearby Spitzbub and hang out with the slightly less drunk crowd this place attracts.

Day two

When Alfred said I was ready to head up the mountain, I really did hope he was right. Yet as the cable car swayed towards the Nockalm at almost 2000m, I was reminded of occasions when I have barely been able to get out of the cabin and walk, let alone “Pizza” over the edge. It had been snowing all night and the winds were up as we trudged towards the drag lift at the far end of the mountain top. Pro that I had been on the nursery slope, this was not a ride you grab hold of, but a dish you jam between the legs. Alfred shot ahead, confident I would follow; three dishes and a shove from the lift attendant later I joined him at the top. Everything I learnt on day one vanished as my legs refused to follow the skis and my upper body wanted nothing but to cling onto the mountain side above. “No problem, we were a step ahead of ourselves”, Alfred reassured as we travelled back down to the nursery slope; I’ve never been happier to be reunited with a bunch of screeching kids.

The afternoon was dedicated to cross-country skiing and I loved it from the minute it became clear that this winter sport takes place on the flat. The front of your boot is locked into narrower, lighter skis and you use longer sticks to push forwards with adrenaline-fuelled moments that include doing a duck walk up little bumps and whooshing down the other side. “That’s the black slope,” the instructor joked and I chuckled, secretly hoping he wouldn’t get talking to Alfred at the bar. Despite having a reputation as the sport that “retired” skiers acquire, I’m telling you that cross-country skiing is fab! It’s like jogging with double the distance coverage across landscapes that put Brockwell Park to shame, working 95% of the body without knackering your knees. If I was a door-to-door sales person, I’d flog it to you; if tomorrow I don’t get my Learn to Ski in 3 Days certificate, this feisty activity will be what gets me back to the slopes.

Anna is learning to ski in Bad Kleinkirchheim from 16th – 18th January 2013. Keep your eye on the Austria Blog to follow her progress and like Visit Austria on Facebook for the latest updates.

Getting geared up

And so the New Year is here, with less than 2 weeks until I head for Austria to learn how to ski. The running has increased to 45 minute stints (the trick is not to stop, regardless of bicycles, traffic lights or unusually large pedestrians), the flights have been booked, and a white and pink ski jacket now radiates through the blue and grey depths of my belongings. Asides from a previously mentioned aversion to feeling cold and getting too high (off the ground, you understand), assembling the kit would have been the factor that made me think twice about booking my first ski trip. But how much hassle and cost really is involved before you finally make it to the slopes?

Based on the Learn to Ski in 3 Days offer I will be testing in Bad Kleinkirchheim, 4 nights with a 3-day ski course start at €246pp (approx. 200 GBP). This would be for a farm stay with breakfast, but depending on budget you could bump your accommodation all the way up to a 5* hotel with half-board.  The great news is that the equipment (skis, sticks, boots, helmet) and ski pass are included in the package, so the only additional cost is the ski wear you take along. I treated a Decathlon employee to some post-Christmas cheer with the task of kitting me out (no doubt he handed his notice in by New Year’s Day), and have put together a list of items the virgin skier must acquire:

1. A good base layer (the dreaded ski underwear – trousers, top and socks).

2. The mid layer (fleece or under jacket).

3. Your outer layer (ski jacket and pants, topped off by goggles and gloves).

Opting for mid-range quality, the basic gear should set you back no more than 150 – 200 GBP. Once you have this, the only expenditure left to think about is flights. Bad Kleinkirchheim is especially convenient for Londoners, as nearby Klagenfurt airport is served by Ryanair from Stansted. My booking came in at 92.98 GBP return including luggage, and there are flight connections of similarly good value to most Austrian resorts.

So to sum up, you could get away with a total of 500 GBP per person for your first ski holiday in Austria. And hassle? Heck, I had a personal shopper for an hour in a store where every single item of clothing fit!

Anna will be learning to ski in Bad Kleinkirchheim from 16th – 18th January 2013.
Keep your eye on the Austria Blog to follow her progress and like Visit Austria on Facebook for the latest updates.