Ski museum, St Anton Verwallstube, St Anton
ASK AN EXPERT
Jodie Perkins, Inghams: “At Inghams, we use Friedrichshafen
as a gateway to four Austrian resorts over the winter. Three are in the Arlberg area: St Anton, which is great for challenging skiing and après-ski, the pretty traditional village of St Christoph, and Lech, one of Austria’s most exclusive resorts. New for this winter and also accessed via Friedrichshafen in one hour and 15 minutes are Brand and Bürserberg. Situated in the Vorarlberg region, Brand is well known as a family-friendly resort, and it is now linked with Bürserberg by a high-altitude cable car.”
70 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 2 July 2015
and it’s just a short stumble to the bars. The vibe is young and sporty, and the nightlife matches, with renowned spots MooserWirt and Krazy Kanguruh catering to the Jägermeister and table-top- dancing crowd. We opted for the more relaxed Underground on the Piste, where the live music is a
little quieter and the surroundings – a candlelit wooden chalet – feel Austrian, even if the owner is an Aussie, albeit one who’s been running the joint for 20 years and is a St Anton institution. Skiers visiting at the start of the season will get the benefit of the Christmas market, with wooden stalls snaking up the hill and plenty of glühwein flowing. Alpine skiing was born here, along with the father of modern skiing Johann Schneider, who conceived the techniques we use today. The ski museum relates this history and more, all housed in a pretty turn-of-the-century chalet. Make the most of the gorgeous historic building – it was used as Bill Nighy’s luxurious home for the movie Chalet Girl, much of which was filmed in St Anton – and dine in the restaurant, where the food is local and hearty. For more intricate fare, you can’t beat Verwallstube, a sophisticated spot at the top of the Galzig gondola, so the views are as spectacular as the food.
l DAVOS Transfer time: 2 hrs Most famous for hosting the World Economic Forum, Davos is no beauty architecturally – think blocks of hotels and office buildings rather than a cute Alpine village. However, it’s one of the highest-altitude towns in Europe and has 200 miles of pistes with skiing suitable for all levels, although it’s much better suited to intermediate skiers than beginners. The après-ski is livelier than you might expect, with a surprisingly wide choice of bars. Hotels tend to the four and
five-star bracket which, combined with Switzerland’s usual rather challenging price point, means this isn’t a choice for skiers on a budget. However, the slopes are excellent, and non-skiers can enjoy walking, ice skating, sledging and other snowy activities. We tried out eisstock, a cousin to curling that involved sliding discs over the ice, trying to get as near as possible to the puck. TW
PICTURES: TOURIST ASSOCIATION ST ANTON AM ARLBERG;
SWISS-IMAGE.CH
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84