Hallstatt, its church spire and wooden houses on the still lake below wooded mountains in autumn
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Beyond the Mediterranean · Luxury in The Alps

Austrian Alps

From Kitzbühel and the Streif to Lech, Zürs and St. Anton on the Arlberg, with Salzburg and the lakes beyond: the Austrian Alps in winter and summer, chosen by one rule: first class or not at all.

Hallstatt on its lakePhotograph: Leonhard Niederwimmer

Grüß Gott

Where the world learned to ski

Austria taught the world to ski. In 1921 Hannes Schneider opened his ski school in St. Anton am Arlberg, and the Arlberg technique he taught spread across the Alps and on to America. Kitzbühel has raced the Hahnenkamm down the Streif since 1931, and Lech, a farming village that became the winter retreat of royal families, limits the number of skiers on its slopes each day.

Beyond the slopes this is a country of music and lakes. Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756, and the Salzburg Festival, founded in 1920, fills the city every summer; on Lake Constance the Bregenz Festival plays opera on a stage in the water, and Hallstatt and Fuschl sit on quiet lakes below the mountains. In the huts, lunch ends with Kaiserschmarrn, and in the towns with coffee and cake.

This guide brings together only the first class: the resorts, the five-star hotels and chalets, the starred tables, the festivals, the clinics and the airports that bring you in.

A few words of Austrian German
EnglishAustrian GermanSay it
Hello (polite)Grüß Gottgroose GOT
Hello (informal)ServusZAIR-voos
PleaseBitteBIT-teh
Thank youDankeDAHN-keh
Good eveningGuten AbendGOO-ten AH-bent
The bill, pleaseZahlen, bitteTSAH-len, BIT-teh
Enjoy your mealGuten AppetitGOO-ten ah-peh-TEET
GoodbyeAuf Wiedersehenowf VEE-der-zay-en
The church of Kitzbühel and green hills below the snow-capped Kitzbühel Alps in spring
Kitzbühel in spring

Where to go

The best ski resorts in the Austrian Alps

When to go, the one best hotel and restaurant, and how to arrive by private jet or helicopter.

Kitzbühel

A medieval town in Tyrol and home of the Hahnenkamm, one of the most famous downhill races in skiing. It combines town life, a long season and a strong summer of golf and tennis.

When to goWinter, October to April; summer, June to September. Signature events: the Hahnenkamm races in January, and the ATP tennis tournament in summer.

  • Stay
    Grand Tirolia Kitzbühel

    Two MICHELIN Keys.

  • Dine
    Les Deux Kitzbühel – Brasserie & Bar

    One MICHELIN star, at Schwarzer Adler.

Arrive privately
By private jet or helicopter
Innsbruck (INN/LOWI), about 1 hr 15 by road or 25 min by helicopter; Salzburg (SZG/LOWS) is also used.

Lech and Zürs am Arlberg

Two small, snow-sure villages in Vorarlberg at the heart of Ski Arlberg, the largest linked ski area in Austria, known for discretion and a limit on daily lift tickets. Lech has two two-star kitchens, Griggeler Stuba and Rote Wand Chef's Table.

When to goWinter, early December to April; summer, late June to September. Signature events: Der Weiße Ring ski race in January, and the Philosophicum Lech in September.

  • Stay
    Hotel Almhof Schneider

    Lech, two MICHELIN Keys.

  • Dine
    Griggeler Stuba

    Two MICHELIN stars, at Burg Vital Resort, Oberlech.

Arrive privately
By private jet or helicopter
Innsbruck (INN/LOWI), about 1 hr 30 by road; St. Gallen-Altenrhein (ACH/LSZR) on Lake Constance and Friedrichshafen (FDH/EDNY) are about 1 hr 30 to 2 hr by road.
The blue Nasserein gondola station of St. Anton below the jagged Arlberg peaks in early summer
The Nasserein gondola, St. Anton am Arlberg

St. Anton am Arlberg

The Tyrolean side of Ski Arlberg and the cradle of modern ski teaching, with some of the most demanding terrain in the Alps. Its leading hotel, the Tannenhof, holds two MICHELIN Keys, and its restaurant two MICHELIN stars.

When to goWinter, December to April; summer, late June to September. Signature event: Der Weiße Rausch race at the end of the season in April.

  • Stay
    Hotel Tannenhof

    Two MICHELIN Keys.

  • Dine
    Gourmetrestaurant Tannenhof

    Two MICHELIN stars, under chef Dennis Ilies.

Arrive privately
By private jet or helicopter
Innsbruck (INN/LOWI), about 1 hr 10 by road.
The chalets and hotels of Lech deep in snow below the forest and the peaks
Lech am Arlberg in winter

Stay

Luxury hotels and chalets in the Austrian Alps

The grand hotels at our standard, and the officially five-star hotels.

The grand hotels

Each holds two or three MICHELIN Keys or a Forbes Five-Star rating, or is a palace of the great resorts.

See all 13
  • Rosewood Schloss FuschlLake Fuschl (near Salzburg)

    A former archbishops' hunting castle on a peninsula on Lake Fuschl, run by Rosewood; three MICHELIN Keys. Visit website ↗

  • Das Edelweiss Salzburg Mountain ResortGroßarl

    A large spa resort in the Großarl valley, gateway to the Ski amadé area; two MICHELIN Keys. Visit website ↗

  • Familien Natur Resort Moar GutGroßarl

    A family resort built around a working farm in the Großarl valley; two MICHELIN Keys. Visit website ↗

  • Hotel Schloss SeefelsTechelsberg (Wörthersee)

    A lakeside castle hotel with 67 rooms and more than 200 works from the Haselsteiner art collection; two MICHELIN Keys. Visit website ↗

  • Falkensteiner Schlosshotel VeldenVelden (Wörthersee)

    The lakeside castle in Velden, a Leading Hotels of the World member known from the television series "Ein Schloss am Wörthersee"; two MICHELIN Keys.

The five-star hotels

The 72 confirmed, officially five-star hotels in the Austrian Alps and their lakes, area by area.

See all 72 hotels

St. Anton am Arlberg (Tyrol)

Lech and Oberlech (Vorarlberg)

Zürs

Kleinwalsertal

  • A-ROSA Ifen Hotel Kleinwalsertal

    Five-star; all year. A design hotel in Hirschegg, in the Austrian valley reached by road only from Oberstdorf in Germany.

Ischgl and the Paznaun valley

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis

Ötztal (Sölden, Obergurgl, Längenfeld)

Tannheimer Tal

Seefeld and the Mieming plateau

Stubaital (near Innsbruck)

Achensee

Zillertal and Tux

Alpbachtal

Kitzbühel and the Kitzbühel Alps

East Tyrol (Lienz)

Salzburg city (Salzburg Land)

Fuschlsee (Salzburg lake district)

Zell am See, Saalbach and Leogang

Gastein valley

Großarl valley

Obertauern

Wörthersee (Carinthia)

  • Hotel Schloss Seefels

    Five-star superior; all year. A lakeside castle hotel in Techelsberg with 67 rooms and more than 200 works from the Haselsteiner art collection. Visit website ↗

  • Falkensteiner Schlosshotel Velden

    Five-star; all year. The lakeside castle in Velden, a Leading Hotels of the World member famous from the TV series "Ein Schloss am Wörthersee."

Villach and Gerlitzen

Bad Kleinkirchheim

A table laid with glasses, tea and a dessert at a window high above the mountains
A table above the mountains

Dine

The best restaurants in the Austrian Alps

The finest tables and the chefs who cook in your chalet.

Two MICHELIN stars

  • Ikarus✦✦Salzburg

    Two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 Austria guide; the restaurant in Red Bull's Hangar-7 at Salzburg Airport, where a different guest chef from the world's top kitchens cooks each month. Visit website ↗

  • Obauer✦✦Werfen

    Two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 Austria guide; the brothers Karl and Rudolf Obauer's restaurant and hotel in the Salzach valley below the Hohenwerfen fortress.

  • Döllerer✦✦Golling

    Two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 Austria guide; Andreas Döllerer's family inn and restaurant south of Salzburg, known for "Alpine cuisine".

  • Rote Wand Chef's Table✦✦Lech am Arlberg

    Two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 Austria guide; a small chef's table at the Rote Wand hotel in Zug above Lech.

  • Griggeler Stuba✦✦Oberlech

    Two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 Austria guide; the gourmet restaurant of the Burg Vital Resort in car-free Oberlech above Lech.

  • Gourmetrestaurant Tannenhof✦✦St. Anton am Arlberg

    Two MICHELIN stars in the 2026 Austria guide; the restaurant of the suites-only Hotel Tannenhof, under chef Dennis Ilies. Visit website ↗

Lunch at a mountain hut: bacon dumplings on sauerkraut in an iron pan, and a sweet bun with cream
Lunch at a mountain hut

On the mountain

Lunch on the slopes, the way the Alps do it best.

  • Hospiz AlmSt. Christoph am Arlberg

    MICHELIN-selected in the 2026 Austria guide; ski hut by day and fine dining by night, above a cellar of about 3,000 large-format bottles begun by Adi Werner in 1988. Visit website ↗

Private chefs and catering

For a chalet, a wedding or a party.

  • Oxford Ski Companyacross the Alps (Courchevel, Val d'Isère, Verbier, St. Moritz, Zermatt, Gstaad, Kitzbühel)

    Luxury ski specialist established in 1998; many of its chalets include a private chef who prepares meals to the guests' preferences. Visit website ↗

  • The Arula ChaletsLech

    Two privately run chalets, Arula One (sleeps 22) and Arula Two (sleeps 8), with spas, pools and in-house chefs. Visit website ↗

  • DO & COKitzbühel and Vienna

    Vienna-based hospitality group that caters the VIP areas of the Hahnenkamm races in Kitzbühel every January and the Formula 1 Paddock Club worldwide since 1992; its event team also plans private parties. Visit website ↗

A red Gletscherjet gondola and a piste groomer high on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun, with snowy peaks beyond
The Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun

Ski

Skiing in the Austrian Alps

The ski schools of Kitzbühel and the Arlberg, and heli-skiing at Lech Zürs.

Ski schools and private instructors

  • Ski School Kitzbühel "Rote Teufel"Kitzbühel

    The "Red Devils" have taught in Kitzbühel for about a century and are among Austria's largest winter-sports schools, with up to 250 ski instructors, mountain and ski guides, snowboard and cross-country instructors. Visit website ↗

  • Skischule ArlbergSt. Anton am Arlberg

    Founded in 1921 by Hannes Schneider as Austria's first ski school and the home of the Arlberg technique; about 300 certified instructors and guides, private guiding, and a dedicated children's area with Hoppl's Kindergarten. Visit website ↗

  • Skischule LechLech am Arlberg

    Founded in 1925 by Ludwig Schneider and Engelbert Jochum with two instructors, it is now one of the largest ski schools in the world, offering group courses and private instruction.

Heli-skiing

  • Heli-skiing at Lech Zürs

    The only heli-skiing in Austria: Wucher Helicopter flies from the Flexen Pass or Kriegerhorn to Mehlsack (2,652 m) and Schneetäli (2,450 m), on weekdays only from December to May, booked through the local ski schools with a certified guide. Visit website ↗

A cable car above the green summer slopes of the Kitzbüheler Horn, with Kitzbühel in the valley below
The Kitzbüheler Horn in summer, Kitzbühel below

Summer

Summer in the Austrian Alps

Lake Constance by historic paddle steamer. The great summer festivals of Salzburg, Bregenz and the Schubertiade are in the calendar under Experience.

The lakes and their boats

  • DS HohentwielHard

    Built in 1913 by Escher Wyss of Zurich for King Wilhelm II of Württemberg, the paddle steamer was restored by a cross-border effort and has sailed under the Austrian flag since 1990; she is a listed cultural monument.

Innsbruck and the Inn valley in snow at dusk, seen from the Nordkette
Innsbruck at dusk, from the Nordkette

Travel

Private jets, helicopters and first-class travel in the Austrian Alps

The airports of Innsbruck, Salzburg and Klagenfurt that take private jets, and the airlines to Munich, the long-haul gateway.

Private jet airports

  • Innsbruck Airport

    The jet airport for Lech, Zürs, St. Anton and Kitzbühel, best suited to smaller jets; slots are required and crews need simulator training for low-visibility approaches. Visit website ↗

  • Salzburg Airport

    A 2,750 m (9,022 ft) runway with a Category III landing system serves Kitzbühel, the Salzburger Land resorts and the Salzburg Festival; private arrivals need prior permission from mid-December.

  • Klagenfurt Airport (KLU/LOWK)

    The gateway to Carinthia's lakes and ski areas: Velden on Lake Wörthersee is about 20 km away, and Bad Kleinkirchheim about 70 km. Visit website ↗

Airlines to Munich, the gateway to the Austrian Alps

First and business class.

See all 17
The flower beds and baroque statues of the Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg, under a blue sky
The Mirabell Gardens, Salzburg

Experience

Events and things to do in the Austrian Alps

The Austrian Alpine year: the great events, month by month; each event's own website gives this year's dates.

Farmhouses below snow-laden forest in an Austrian Alpine valley, with cloud on the hills
Winter in an Austrian Alpine valley

Museums

  • Kunsthaus BregenzBregenz, Lake Constance

    Peter Zumthor's glass-clad "daylight museum", opened in 1997, presents international contemporary art, much of it made for the building. Visit website ↗

  • Schloss AmbrasInnsbruck

    Archduke Ferdinand II's Renaissance castle above Innsbruck, run by the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna since 1950; it holds the only Renaissance Kunstkammer still in its original place, the Habsburg Portrait Gallery and the Spanish Hall. Visit website ↗

Music

  • Grosses FestspielhausSalzburg

    The Great Festival Hall, opened in 1960, is the largest stage of the Salzburg Festival (founded 1920), held from late July to the end of August. Visit website ↗

  • FelsenreitschuleSalzburg

    A former riding school cut into the rock of the Mönchsberg, converted into a Salzburg Festival stage in 1926. Visit website ↗

  • Haus für MozartSalzburg

    Rebuilt from the original 1925 festival hall and reopened in 2006, the Salzburg Festival's house for Mozart opera. Visit website ↗

  • Great Hall of the MozarteumSalzburg

    The concert hall of the International Mozarteum Foundation, opened in 1914, seating up to 800 and known for its acoustics; home of the foundation's Mozart Week each winter and a venue of the Salzburg Festival and Easter Festival. Visit website ↗

  • SeebühneBregenz Festival, Bregenz

    The floating stage on Lake Constance, with a 7,000-seat open-air amphitheatre, is the setting for the Bregenz Festival's large opera production every July and August; the festival was founded in 1946.

  • Festspielhaus ErlErl, Tyrol

    Delugan Meissl's festival hall, opened in 2012 beside the 1959 Passion Play theatre, hosts the Tiroler Festspiele Erl's winter season of opera and concerts in December and early January, as well as summer performances. Visit website ↗

  • Angelika-Kauffmann-SaalSchubertiade, Schwarzenberg, Vorarlberg

    The hall in Schwarzenberg that is the main stage of the Schubertiade, founded in 1976 on the initiative of the baritone Hermann Prey and one of the largest Schubert festivals, with around 80 chamber concerts, song and piano recitals and readings each year in Schwarzenberg and Hohenems. Visit website ↗

A dish of braised beef with mashed potato on a white tablecloth in a traditional Austrian restaurant
Braised beef in a traditional restaurant

Medical and longevity clinics

  • Lanserhof Lansnear Innsbruck

    The original Lanserhof, founded in the 1980s in the village of Lans above Innsbruck and renovated by architect Christoph Ingenhoven, with detox therapy based on Mayr medicine and personalised daily treatments. Visit website ↗

  • MAYRLIFE Medical Health ResortAltaussee

    Formerly VIVAMAYR Altaussee, an adults-only medical resort on Lake Altaussee in the Salzkammergut with a 1,500 m² medical spa, offering Modern Mayr Medicine with personalised nutrition and medical diagnostics. Visit website ↗

Spas

  • Spa at the Interalpen-Hotel TyrolTelfs

    The spa of the five-star superior Interalpen-Hotel Tyrol, a grand mountain resort on a 1,300-metre plateau above Telfs, among the largest spa hotels in the Alps. Visit website ↗

Golf

  • Kitzbühel golf: Eichenheim and Schwarzsee-ReithKitzbühel

    Two 18-hole courses close to town: Eichenheim, a championship course by Kyle Phillips, and Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith, set between the Hahnenkamm, the Kitzbüheler Horn and the Wilder Kaiser. Visit website ↗

Weddings and celebrations

After dark

  • Kitzbühel Country ClubKitzbühel

    A private members' club founded in 2010, with dining, accommodation and a members' calendar. Membership terms are set by the club on application.

Salzburg Cathedral and the old town, seen through a window of the fortress
Salzburg from the fortress

Shop

Luxury shopping in the Austrian Alps

Kitzbühel's Vorderstadt, the town's old shopping street.

Shopping streets

Fuschl am See in winter, its houses in snow along the dark blue lake below the Schober
Fuschl am See in winter

Live

Living in the Austrian Alps

A home in the Austrian Alps: branded residences in Kitzbühel, residency, and private healthcare.

Branded residences and new developments

  • Six Senses Residences Kitzbühel AlpsKitzbühel Alps

    10 villas and 30 apartments in Austrian chalet style beside the Six Senses resort near the Wasenmoos nature reserve, with architecture by IAW and interiors by Martin Brudnizki. Visit website ↗

Residency and tax

  • Settlement permit for people of independent means

    Austria has no lump-sum tax for the wealthy; non-EU nationals with independent means can apply for a settlement permit that bars any paid work. Visit website ↗

Private healthcare and air rescue

  • Sanatorium KettenbrückeInnsbruck

    A private hospital in Innsbruck, the gateway city of the Tyrolean Alps, on the contract lists of Austria's private health insurers.

  • Privatklinik HochrumRum (Innsbruck)

    A private hospital run by the Sisters of the Holy Cross (Kreuzschwestern) on the edge of Innsbruck, also on the private insurers' contract lists.

  • Privatklinik Wehrle-DiakonissenSalzburg

    A private hospital in the city of Salzburg, the gateway to the Salzburg Alps, on the private insurers' contract lists.

  • ÖAMTC Christophorus air rescue

    The Austrian automobile club's air-rescue service, founded in 1983, flies its Christophorus emergency helicopters from 18 year-round bases across Austria, with further bases in the ski regions in winter. Visit website ↗

Lake Zell in winter below the snow-capped mountains, Zell am See
Zell am See in winter

Plan your trip

Luxury travel in the Austrian Alps: your questions answered

When is the best time to visit the Austrian Alps?

Kitzbühel: Winter, October to April; summer, June to September. Signature events: the Hahnenkamm races in January, and the ATP tennis tournament in summer.

Lech and Zürs am Arlberg: Winter, early December to April; summer, late June to September. Signature events: Der Weiße Ring ski race in January, and the Philosophicum Lech in September.

St. Anton am Arlberg: Winter, December to April; summer, late June to September. Signature event: Der Weiße Rausch race at the end of the season in April.

Where are the best luxury hotels in the Austrian Alps?

Kitzbühel: Grand Tirolia Kitzbühel, two MICHELIN Keys.

Lech and Zürs am Arlberg: Hotel Almhof Schneider, Lech, two MICHELIN Keys.

St. Anton am Arlberg: Hotel Tannenhof, two MICHELIN Keys.

How do you arrive in the Austrian Alps by private jet?

Kitzbühel: Innsbruck (INN/LOWI), about 1 hr 15 by road or 25 min by helicopter; Salzburg (SZG/LOWS) is also used.

Lech and Zürs am Arlberg: Innsbruck (INN/LOWI), about 1 hr 30 by road; St. Gallen-Altenrhein (ACH/LSZR) on Lake Constance and Friedrichshafen (FDH/EDNY) are about 1 hr 30 to 2 hr by road.

St. Anton am Arlberg: Innsbruck (INN/LOWI), about 1 hr 10 by road.

Do you tip in Austria?

Round up to about 10 per cent and hand the tip to the server as you pay, rather than leaving it on the table.

What should you wear in the Austrian Alps?

On the mountain, ski clothing is the norm at mountain restaurants and après-ski. The dirndl is the expected dress for women at many cultural events and at weddings, and in rural areas many women also wear it in daily life.

A Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad and a green salad on a white plate
Wiener Schnitzel

Customs and etiquette

Customs and etiquette in Austria

How Austria does things.

Language
German is the language of the Austrian Alps, from Kitzbühel and Lech to St. Anton and Ischgl. Local dialects are strong, but Standard German is used with visitors, and English is spoken in the leading hotels.
Greetings
"Grüß Gott" is the standard polite greeting, often heard as "griaß di" or "griaß eich". "Servus" is the informal hello and goodbye among friends.
Dress
On the mountain, ski clothing is the norm at mountain restaurants and après-ski. The dirndl is the expected dress for women at many cultural events and at weddings, and in rural areas many women also wear it in daily life.
Dining and shopping
Most shops close on Sundays under a federal law of 2003; weekday shop hours run from 6 am to 9 pm and Saturday hours to 6 pm. Bakeries, petrol stations, shops at railway stations and airports, and businesses in designated tourist zones may open on Sundays, and restaurants and bars open as usual.
Tipping
Round up to about 10 per cent and hand the tip to the server as you pay, rather than leaving it on the table.
Mountain etiquette
On the pistes the international FIS Rules for Conduct apply. In mountain huts, book beds and meals ahead, carry cash, keep quiet from about 10 pm and take all rubbish back down to the valley.

Every list on this page is checked by hand and dated: last checked October 2026. Hotels, restaurants and events link only to their own official websites, where confirmed.

A small fire burning on a granite rock above the snow, dark forest and a stormy sky behind
A fire above the snowfields

The Mediterranean Season Letter

Where to be, every season

Four letters a year, one for each season: the Mediterranean from spring to autumn, and Beyond the Mediterranean, into the Alps, in winter. The one best hotel to book, and the events worth crossing a sea for.