Traditional spa resort with a huge ski & snowboard area.

The Gastein valley isn’t widely known internationally. It deserves better. Its slopes are impressively extensive, and mainly quite challenging. This is great for intermediates who are happy on real red runs.

With its grand hotels, trinket shops and cramped gorge-like setting, central Bad Gastein itself is a far cry from your standard chalet-style Austrian village. However, staying above the center near the lifts offers a more normal winter sports experience. You should consider both Bad Hofgastein and Dorfgastein as a base. They are each a few miles down the valley.

To make the most of the valley you need a car. With five spread out mountains, of which only two are linked, the valley needs a first-class public transport system, and it doesn’t have one. Traveling from one end of the valley to the other can take over an hour and may involve a couple of changes.