Kaprun

Read our guide to Kaprun in the Europa ski area. With amazing skiing and snowboarding in Austria, this is one of those Austrian ski resorts that oozes tradition and a picture-postcard village. Great all round conditions for all abilities especially easy and intermediate.

Where?

A traditional Alpine village, ski Kaprun and get a great choice of slopes for skiing or snowboarding on the Maiskogel mountain or for the sake of a quick bus ride, the Schmittenhöhe above Zell am See. Part of the Europa Sport region, there are 130km of pistes available, 50km (or 21 runs) of which are local. You also have the Kitzsteinhorn glacier available by lift, 15 minutes away. Access is fairly simple, with Salzburg and Innsbruck within easy reach - although 90 minutes and 2 hours respectively.

On the slopes

You can ski Kaprun safe in the knowledge there's more pistes just around the corner. With Zell am See and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier all within striking distance, there's more than 130km of piste available to you. Close to the resort there are excellent nursery slopes on the Lechnerberg and some great easy and intermediate runs. Although you can't ski back down to the village itself due to the terrain.

If you venture into the Europa Sport Region, up on the glacier the snow is good and there are some excellent powder bowls to get stuck into. This provides the advanced and expert skiers with some good runs and some challenging pistes - something they won't get close to Kaprun. There are seven black runs up on the glacier, while Zell am See's Schmittenhöhe Mountain has some awesome terrain. This is also a favourite resort for boarders, with great terrain and a positive attitude to boarders, and regularly plays host to the annual 'Snowboard UK' board test. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier actually offers three top-class snow parks with more than 70 obstacles. So you can see why so many boarders and freeriders head here year round.

Ski area

If you ski Kaprun you are also in the ski region of Europa Sport.

Off the slopes

A traditional Austrian village ski resort, Kaprun has over 25 restaurants offering everything from fondues to burgers. The nightlife is restrained, but there are still plenty of choices - a local favourite is the lively Baum Bar. As befits a year-round resort, there's a good variety of off-snow activities including a sports centre, gym and pool, a variety of spa options (sauna, hot tub), while the more adventurous can try hang gliding or parapenting.