Kitzbühel Ski Resort

One of skiing's most famous names; Kitzbühel is an attractive resort with a long-standing reputation as one of the biggest and best ski areas. Famous mountains including Hahnenkamm, the site of the famous annual race, and the Kitzbüheler Horn rise up around the traditional Tirolean-styled buildings that make up most of the small town.

Although synonymous with skiing, the first downhillers having arrived here in the early 1880s, Kitzbühel's history dates back for millennia before the arrival of snow sports. Today, as one of the lowest major ski areas in the Alps, the resort is often sited as one of the first that may have to cope in an era after winter sports, if global warming continues to take hold. However, the resort has produced statistics showing it’s getting as much snow as it ever did, although perhaps a little more concentrated in the middle of the season.

Perhaps with this reputation partly in mind, the resort has been spending heavily on new lifts that make accessing the highest slopes easier than ever, as well as on snowmaking and non-ski facilities such as a sports centre and a casino.