Small but perfectly-formed, Austria is heaven for outdoor enthusiasts, with skiing in the Alps and the Salzburgerland, wonderful hiking in the summer months, and some world-class thermal spas. There are more urban pleasures too; cities such as Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg boast elegant Hapsburg-era architecture, world-class art galleries and musical heritage that encompasses everything from Mozart to the Sound of Music.
As a non-natural skier, if I'm going to hurtle down a mountain at speed, it has to be Austrian. Nowhere in the Alps offers the same levels of hospitality, with many hotels owned by the same families for generations. A post-piste gluhwein and plate of kasepsatzl (Austrian macaroni cheese) in a mountain hut is one of my favourite things on a ski holiday, while in the summer months, a night at the alfresco Bregenz Festival, with its stunning lake stage, is an annual treat.
2 holidays match your criteria.
A musical voyage through Habsburg heartland via Europe’s most sublime waterway.
Build up fitness with the choice of two levels of walks each day and plenty of alpine swimming on Ramblers Walking Holidays 7 night Austrian spa resort escape ‘Bad Hofgastein’. Complementing hikes through alpine vistas to high peaks, remote lakes and wild flowers adorned pastures with refreshing lake and thermal dips.
