Used to France? The Austrian ski resorts with the snow, the village and the après
The Ski Snug teamUpdated 12 October 20267 min read
We always go to Val Thorens, or Tignes, or Val d'Isère. This year we fancy Austria. We are not giving up snow we can count on, but for once we would like a proper village to come back to, and a bit of après at the end of the day.
If that is you, the short answer is Ischgl. Its season runs from late November into May, the same shape as the French high resorts you know, it is snow sure, and nightlife is the first thing on its list of what it does best. What it cannot give you, and nowhere in Austria can, is a village as high as the ones you are used to.
Here is how we got there.
The numbers, with the resorts you know alongside
The French resorts are on this table as your yardstick, not as options. The last column is our own short read of each place, because two thirds of your question is about the village and the evenings.
| Resort | Village | Highest lift | Season | Our read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Val Thorens | 2,300 m | 3,230 m | Late November to early May | Buzzy and high |
| Tignes | 2,100 m | 3,456 m | Late November to early May | Practical and high |
| Val d'Isère | 1,850 m | 3,456 m, on the Tignes side | Late November to early May | Lively and upmarket |
| La Plagne | 1,800 m | 3,250 m | December to April | Practical and friendly |
| Ischgl | 1,377 m | 2,872 m | Late November to May | High energy and snowy |
| Lech | 1,450 m | 2,811 m | December to April | Refined and snowy |
| St Anton | 1,304 m | 2,811 m | December to April | Energetic and social |
| Sölden | 1,368 m | 3,340 m | Late November to May | Sporty and lively |
In Austria, the altitude is up the mountain, not in the village
This is the tension. Of the thirteen Austrian resorts we cover, not one has a village as high as La Plagne's 1,800 metres, the lowest of the French villages on the table. The highest are Obertauern at 1,740 metres and Zürs at 1,720. Our four picks sit between 1,304 and 1,450 metres, which is 350 to almost 1,000 metres below the villages you know.
So in Austria, snow you can count on comes from the lifts, the season and the snow record, not the village. That is how we chose.
And the two highest villages? Obertauern runs into May, but its lifts stop at 2,313 metres and we measure 74 kilometres of piste. Zürs is exclusive and quiet, the opposite of a bit of après.
What you gain is the village. Val Thorens, Tignes and La Plagne were built for the skiing. The Austrian picks are old villages that grew into ski resorts, which is what you are coming for.
Ischgl: the snow and the après
- VillageVillage
- 1,377 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 2,872 m
Ischgl: 152 km of piste we measure. 43 km blue and easier 28%83 km red 54%27 km black 18%
Plus 11 km of marked off piste itinerary, kept out of the piste total.
Ischgl is the closest thing in Austria to what you already have, with the evenings turned up. Its lifts reach 2,872 metres, and when we match resorts on altitude, size, terrain and character, Ischgl is the Austrian resort closest to Val Thorens, and the second closest to Tignes, Val d'Isère and La Plagne.
We measure 152 kilometres of piste around the village, a little less than the 158 we measure around Val d'Isère. More than half of it is red, and the reds are kind: they average a gradient of 20.7 percent, gentler than the reds at any of the French resorts on the table. There is more steep ground overall, though. Thirty four percent of Ischgl's piste is steeper than one in four, against 25 percent at Val Thorens and Tignes.
The village is a real one, and our own one line on it is big, snow sure skiing and legendary nights out. If "a bit of après" means a bit, that may be more than you asked for. If it means a village that is properly lively after dark, it is exactly right.
The Arlberg, from Lech or St Anton: the village, or the night
Lech and St Anton share a lift pass, so this is one ski area and two very different weeks. Choose the village by the evening you want.
Lech is the proper village answer. At 1,450 metres it is the highest of our four picks, it is snow sure by reputation, and its character is refined, with understated luxury top of its list and nightlife nowhere on it. If Courchevel is your French resort, Lech is the Austrian one, and on our matching it is also the closest Austrian resort to Val d'Isère and La Plagne. We measure 175 kilometres of piste around the village and 56 kilometres of marked off piste itinerary, the second most of any resort we cover.
St Anton is the après answer. Its character is energetic and social, nightlife is one of the things it does best, and it is known for its snow record. It has 70 kilometres of marked itinerary, more than any other resort we cover. If the off piste is why you go, this is the one.
But be honest about your group. Forty three percent of St Anton's piste is steeper than one in four, the most of any Austrian resort we cover, against 29 percent at Val d'Isère and 25 at Val Thorens. Its reds average 25.8 percent, steeper than the reds at any of the French resorts on the table. Its village, at 1,304 metres, is also the lowest of our four. For a strong skier, the steep is the point. For a group that cruises Val Thorens all week, it is a lot.
Zürs, next to Lech, is the highest Arlberg village at 1,720 metres. Same lift pass, different village, and a quiet, exclusive one.
The Lech and St Anton figures are our own measurements around each village, and they overlap, so do not add them together.
Sölden: the altitude answer
- VillageVillage
- 1,368 m
- Highest liftTop lift
- 3,340 m
Sölden: 135 km of piste we measure. 77 km blue and easier 57%40 km red 29%19 km black 14%
If snow security is the part you will not bend on, Sölden. Its lifts reach 3,340 metres, the highest of any Austrian resort we cover. That is higher than Val Thorens at 3,230 or La Plagne at 3,250, and below only Tignes and Val d'Isère at 3,456. It has two glaciers, and its season runs from late November to May.
We measure 135 kilometres of piste. Its reds average 23.7 percent, almost exactly a Val Thorens red at 23.5, so the grades will feel familiar, and 30 percent of the piste is steeper than one in four.
The trade, again, is the village: 1,368 metres, and sporty and lively by our read, with nightlife among the things it does best. A good week for snow and a night out. Not the postcard.
One that does not make the list. Our matching puts Hintertux closest of all the Austrian resorts to Tignes, and it has a glacier open every day of the year and lifts to 3,250 metres. But our own description of it is snowy and no frills, and you asked for a village and après.
A red is a red. The mountain is steeper
In Italy, the grades are kinder than they look. In Austria they travel almost exactly. Measured from the gradient of every piste we hold:
| Average gradient | Blue | Red | Black |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 16.2% | 24.3% | 29.6% |
| Austria | 16.4% | 23.4% | 30.3% |
So an Austrian red is, on average, a French red. What changes is how much of the mountain is steep. Across all 55 resorts we cover, the typical one has 26 percent of its piste steeper than one in four. Your French resorts sit around that line: 25 percent at Val Thorens and Tignes, 27 at La Plagne, 29 at Val d'Isère. Every one of our Austrian picks is above it: Sölden 30, Lech 33, Ischgl 34 and St Anton 43.
This is average gradient, and a run's grade is set by its steepest pitch, not its average. But if your group skis France comfortably and no more, Austria will ask a little more of them, and Ischgl's gentle reds start to look like a feature.
Who should ignore all of this
Anyone for whom the village itself has to be high.
If sleeping at 2,000 metres or more is the point, there is no Austrian equivalent of Tignes or Val Thorens. Stay in France.
Anyone whose picture of an Austrian village is Kitzbühel.
It is medieval, traditional and lively, but the town sits at 800 metres and the lifts stop at 2,000. That is a long way from snow you can count on. It is a different article.
So, which one
you want the season you are used to, snow you can count on, and evenings that are a big part of the week.
the village matters most: refined, snow sure and the highest of the four, with the big nights left to St Anton.
the après is not negotiable and your group skis well, or if the off piste is why you go.
altitude and snow security come before everything else, and a sporty village will do.
It keeps the season you are used to and adds the evenings you came for.