St. Anton am Arlberg, a wonderful mountain village, Sankt Anton Am Arlberg, Austria

    Another top ski resort that is at everybody’s reach is St. Anton am Arlberg, a mountain village with only about 2500 residents set at an elevation of 1304 m, a village that has kept its Tyrolean originality and added to it great skiing facilities and top accommodation and dining. Since its beginnings the resort has attracted tourists with its charm.

The community has done a great job preventing the village from being spoiled by modern buildings and roads, so you won’t see buildings with more than 5 floors and cars are allowed only outside the village centre. There is enough parking space though but a bit expensive and you get to pay 7 Euros per day. Freedom of all that represents the big and crowded city has a price, but it is one that it is definitely worth paying, the fresh mountain air and the outdoor activities will help you unwind and build up your health.

The resort is easily reachable and you can get here by train as all the international express trains stop here. You can fly in too and the nearest airports are Innsbruck at 100km and Munich at 200 km.

The resort can be traced back to the 19th century when St. Anton am Arlberg was just an old village that soon turned into a world renowned winter sports centre with the help of publicity and pioneers like Hannes Schneider who promoted the image of the village by both starring in films and developing modern skiing techniques thus attracting tourists who began to learn how to ski and soon a great competition was held here. Skiers were so satisfied with what they learned and lessons were so efficient that the school produced many great skiers leading to the school being ranked as some of the best in the world.

Nowadays the school has kept it good reputation and it prides itself with almost 300 instructors that are among the world’s best.

But the good ski school is not enough to make it one of the best ski resorts, it needs good slopes, plenty of snow and lifts and St Anton has them all. There are 270 km of slopes and 184 km of deep snow slopes, more than 80 lifts and cable cars that take you at every slope in the best conditions safely and comfortably. A very important feature to mention is the card you can use as a ski pass that you show at the ski lifts entrance and it opens them.

The best slopes, the best lifts, the best instructors and above all the best snow in the Alps, that’s what attracts the best skiers and if you go there you’re sure to meet some of them. But what attracts the most tourists is not necessarily its fame as the best ski resort but its fame as one of the most beautiful. And one that offers a variety of entertainment possibilities including snowboard fun parks, an ice skating rink, nice meeting places, the wellness and sport centre and carving areas. In the wellness and sport centre the non skiers can both relax and work out as there are swimming pools, saunas, gym and a solarium. They can continue outside by visiting the Village Park, New Station and St James Parish Church.

Being a resort that welcomes families with kids having great facilities for them makes it very appealing as parents can enjoy all that the resort has to offer to the full. They can leave the kids at the kindergarten or the children’s ski school where they can learn how to ski from expert instructors and take part in other fun activities.

Austria - overview

1. Jan 6, 2008 Great ski resorts in the Austrian Zurs and Lech (Zurs)
2. Jan 9, 2008 Zurs, the home of winter sports (Zurs)
3. Feb 2, 2008 My favorite Austrian ski resort (Hintertux)
4. Feb 2, 2008 Hiking and white snow in Zell am See und Kaprun (Zell Am See)  ( 2)
5. Feb 5, 2008 Zauchensee, a great ski resort in Austria (Altenmarkt/Zauchensee)  ( 3)
6. Feb 7, 2008 St. Anton am Arlberg, a wonderful mountain village (Sankt Anton Am Arlberg)
7. Feb 7, 2008 Come to ski in the charming Villach (Villach)
8. Feb 8, 2008 Ski vacation in Austria (Obertauern)
9. Feb 13, 2008 The best ski resort in Austria (Radstadt)

Start from beginning | 1 - 9          Journal overview


Read about Sankt Anton Am Arlberg in our travel-guide
Skiing in Austria? It's Arlberg