Zell am See is an unusual resort – not a rustic village like most of its small Austrian competitors, but a lakeside town with a charming old center that seems more geared to summer than winter visitors. It’s a pleasant place, and – since a tunnel now takes through traffic to Schüttdorf – less plagued by traffic.Zell’s slopes have a lot of variety and challenging terrain for a small area, but not enough to keep a keen intermediate or better happy for long, especially if, as some reporters have found, there’s a lack of snow. Zell is very near the Kaprun glacier, but so are many low-altitude resorts, all of which run buses there if snow is in short supply. The result can be horrendous liftlines.

Zell makes an attractive base for holidaymakers who enjoy travelling around. Having a car makes it easy to visit numerous other resorts – including Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Bad Gastein-Bad Hofgastein, Wagrain, Schladming and Obertauern.