The perfect ski holiday in Austria’s most surprising resort, Zell am See-Kaprun

The town of Zell am See, sandwiched between a big lake and the Schmittenhöhe mountain, has grown around a medieval car-free centre of cobbled streets and ancient buildings. There are a few ski-in/ski-out hotels but most visitors can expect a short walk or bus ride to and from the lifts.

While the Schmittenhöhe ski area is small (77km of pistes), it has something to interest all standards from beginner to expert. It’s also linked to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier via the neighbouring town of Kaprun, around 8km away.

A gondola on the back of Schmittenhöhe also links the resort to the 270km Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn ski area in the next valley, and the wider Skicircus ski area beyond that. All these slopes (a vast 408km of pistes that suit all standards) are covered by the Ski Alpin Card.

Stay on track with the essential facts from the resort below, and scroll down for our insider guide to a day on the pistes, expert ratings and advice. For further Zell am See-Kaprun inspiration, see our guides to the resort’s best restaurants and après ski.

In this guide:

Resort guide

Zell am See is a town rather than a village. It has a year-round population of about 10,000 and its suburbs spread over quite a distance. It was originally founded by monks in the 8th century and the small car-free medieval centre has a splendid Romanesque church with a 36m tower that dominates the skyline.

The old centre has narrow streets, colourful buildings, some comfortable hotels, and lively bars and shops that cater for locals as well as tourists. It is also very close to Lake Zell, which makes a lovely backdrop to the scenery from many of the slopes.

Most hotels are a short walk or bus ride from the Schmittenhöhe slopes and lifts. However, there are some ski-in/ski-out options, both near the centre and 2km away at the foot of the main access lifts, two cable cars and a gondola at Schmitten. A little further away is another gondola into the slopes from the town of Schüttdorf, where there is accommodation too.

Kaprun is around 8km away from Zell am See, and has its own small ski area of Maiskogel and the glacier, Kitzsteinhorn. The wide pistes of Maiskogel are linked from Kaprun’s town centre to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier ski area, thanks to the 3K K-onnection gondola. Previously the Kitzsteinhorn could only be reached from a lift base a further 6km up the valley.

All this adds up to a good variety of slopes to suit every standard – plus it’s easy to reach the slopes at Saalbach in the next valley, adding another 270km of easily accessible slopes.

All these slopes are covered by the Ski Alpin Card, as are the ski buses that link them and run until 5pm or 6pm. From the 2025/26 season, the Epic Pass (offered by Vail Resorts in the USA) will cover the Skicircus, including Zell am See-Kaprun.

For active après ski, there’s floodlit tobogganing until 10pm and a good leisure centre with pools, saunas, steam room and indoor ice rink. There’s also a casino in the Grand Hotel, as well as plenty of lively bars.

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Piste guide

Zell am See’s local slopes on the Schmittenhöhe mountain are accessed by the CityXpress gondola near the centre of town or by alternative lifts at Schmitten or Schüttdorf, both a bus ride away. The lift system is good – mostly gondolas, cable cars or fast chairlifts.

For a small area, Schmittenhöhe has a great variety of steepness. Except at the very top, the slopes on the front side of the mountain are wooded (which means good visibility when it’s snowing) and mostly wide.

Snow quality can suffer on the front face of Schmittenhöhe because of its sunny aspect and relatively low altitude (755m to 2,000m). But grooming is good and the back side is shadier. And there’s normally guaranteed good snow on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, where pistes start at 3,000m.

Beginners

For beginners there are nursery slopes at valley level at Schmitten and Schüttdorf and a couple higher up the mountain too, easily reached by gondola lifts. The short gentle blue runs off the back of the mountain make good progression runs and there are longer blues along the ridge on the front face.

There’s a good choice of ski schools and English is widely spoken. The biggest is Ski School Zell am See, which was founded in 1945. With some 120 instructors, it is one of the biggest schools in Austria.

Intermediates

Timid or early intermediates will enjoy the blue runs too. More advanced and confident intermediates will prefer the red runs in the Sonnkogel area, to the right of the ski area looking at the piste map, as well as red piste 21 down to the mid-station of the ZellamSeeXpress gondola.

The more advanced can follow a route from the mid-station (which is marked on the piste map and avalanche controlled but not groomed or patrolled) down to the Glemm valley, then take a short ski bus ride to Vorderglemm, where the Schönleitenbahn gondola goes up into the 270km of slopes of the Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn Skicircus.

Those who don’t fancy the ski route can continue their descent down to Viehhofen on the ZellamSeeXpress gondola and catch the bus from there.

From the top of the Schönleitenbahn gondola it is easy to get to the Leogang sector of the Skicircus, which has great intermediate slopes and some of the best quality snow in the area because of its north-facing orientation.

The long blue run 168 back to Viehhofen from the Saalbach slopes goes away from all the lifts and meets the ZellamSeeXpress gondola with heated seats for the ascent back up Schmittenhöhe.

Experts

The longest and steepest black run on Schmittenhöhe is number 14 (also called Trass) on the map – it is over 4km long with 1,000m vertical and up to 70 per cent gradient. It’s great fun in good snow and when freshly groomed first thing in the morning. There are also several more ski routes scattered around. For true off piste, the best area locally is in small glades on the back of Schmittenhöhe.

In Kaprun, experts and intermediates will enjoy the good snow on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier ski area, where there are also black runs (the steepest is Black Mamba), ski routes and off-piste. Plus there’s some steep stuff (on and off-piste) over in the Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang-Fieberbrunn area.

Snowboarding

The terrain park at the top of the Hochmaisbahn chairlift on Schmittenhöhe has beginner and advanced lines, and there’s a 1.3km fun slope with tunnels, banked turns and lots more. Keen freestylers should head for near the top of Kitzsteinhorn, where Glacier Park at 2,900m has both easy and expert lines and a 160m-long superpipe.

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Who should go?

While the local ski area is small, there is something for all abilities. Mile-hungry intermediates will enjoy the link to Saalbach and beyond, where there is more than enough terrain to satisfy their appetite. As a town, Zell am See is justifiably renowned for its lively après ski and numerous bars, so party animals will be sufficiently entertained too.

Where to stay

There’s a wide choice of hotels in Zell am See-Kaprun, mainly family-owned, three- and four-star properties, including some high-end options. Apartments can be booked locally but aren’t featured by many UK tour operators. The best place to stay is in or near the picturesque car-free medieval centre of Zell am See, a short walk from the central CityXpress gondola and the local Schmittenhöhe ski area.

There is also some accommodation outside town near the main access lifts, and further around the lake at Schüttdorf, where there is another gondola into the ski area. Both these areas are close to nursery slopes.

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How to get there

Plenty of hotels are featured by mainstream UK tour operators. Those who offer affordable packages include Crystal (crystalski.co.uk) and Ski Solutions (skisolutions.com), both with upwards of two dozen properties on their books, and Inghams (inghams.co.uk) which offers eight hotels. I-ski (i-ski.co.uk) also operates a handful of hotels here. The closest airport is Salzburg, around 90 minutes away via bus or private taxi transfer. A direct train service connects Salzburg Hauptbahnhof to the resort. Ski buses operate in the resort, free with a valid ski pass.

When to go

Thanks to the glacier (at 3,029m), skiing in the Kitzsteinhorn Maiskogel-Kaprun region starts in October, with the Zell am See-Schmittenhöhe area opening by early December. Because of its south-facing, sunny aspect and relatively low altitude, snow quality can vary on the front face of Schmittenhöhe later in the season, but grooming is good. Winter highlights include a programme of advent events in the run-up to Christmas, including markets and illuminations. There’s also a hot air balloon night with ski and snowboard acrobatics between January 31 and February 8, 2026.

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Know before you go

Essential information

• British Embassy Vienna: (00 43 1 713 1575; gov.uk), Jauresgasse 12, 1030 Vienna

• Emergency services: Dial 112

• Tourist office: See zellamsee-kaprun.com, the website of the Zell am See-Kaprun Tourist Board, for weather reports, lift status, webcams, traffic details and local event listings. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the offices in the centre of Zell am See near the train station or Kaprun on the main highstreet.

The basics

• Telephone code: Dial 00 43

Local laws & etiquette

• Formal greetings are the norm when meeting someone, and you’ll hear ‘Grüss Gott’ (greeting the almighty), or the more worldly ‘Guten Morgen/Tag/Abend’, just about everywhere you go, and it’s customary to return the salutation. Locals love their titles, so if you are meeting someone who has a university degree, not only are you expected to know this fact, but you’re expected to use the title whilst shaking hands e.g ‘Grüß Gott Herr Doktor’ in cafés and restaurants the waiter will expect to hear a ‘Herr Ober’ (Mr. waiter) from guests seeking attention.

• Tips are not included, nor is it usual to leave them on the table. After the waiter has given you the bill add roughly 10 per cent and ask for it to be added to the total.

• A simple thank you is ‘Danke’; ‘Bitte’ means both ‘please’ and ‘you’re welcome’.

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