Hello, I would like your suggestions as to a beautiful, classy village to stay that has skiing, nice restaurants ,sleigh rides along with nice accomodations.I hear the Tirol region is very nice. Thank you for your help.Mark

We love Kitzbuhel. It has great skiing, a chaming village, nice hotels and guesthouses and good restaurants. While there ae many tourists there, I think it's because the village has so much to offer. There are lots of locals on the slopes as well, and there is skiing for all levels makking it a good family area.

I would recommend Ischgl.
It fills your wish list and much more. A< good ski circus- even ski into Switzerland.
Excelent hotels and restaurants yet retains a small town atmosphere.
But perhaps most important - due to its higher altitude excelent ski conditions including runs back to the town

their web site

www.ischgl.com

Three years ago, my family spent Christmas in Innsbruck. It was magical. Transportation up to the Stubai glacier was easy, traveling through picturesque Tyrolian valleys to incredible skiing on the glacier, Day trips to St. Anton were also available. We had the best of both worlds being in a "city" with good shopping and great restaraunts. We stayed at the Hotel Goldener Adler - 600 years old in the Old Town of Innsbruck all put together through Moguls Mountain Travel. We live in Colorado ski town, and were amazed how inexpensive it is to ski there. Have a great time!

Zell em See, just breathtaking!

This message is for Molly Martin about Innsbruck. How did you find the time it took to get to the slopes from Innbruck. I am also staying in Innbruck and are looking to ski the Glacier, St. Anton and Kitzbuehl. Did the slopes get busy early? How much time should I leave myself to get to the slopes. I have a car so I will not be waiting on the bus. Any info on Innsbruck and the skiing will be great. We are leaving Feb 16th for a week.

Try Lech, it's one of the most picturesque alpine villages in Austria and has some great hotels.

Classy? Well, Princess di used to go there - so if it's good enough for her....

I second Zell am See; it's got the advantage of the beautiful lake, it's very walkable, with nice accommodations, restaurants and you can get places from there easily by train (Kitzbuhel, Salzburg, Innsbruck)....

This is in response to "Frankdaddy".

You can plot your drive times to the various ski towns on:
htttp://www.mappy.com (or)
http://www.viamichelin.com

Your drive time to the Stubai Glacier from Innsbruck (if the secondary roads are clear), is about 1 hour on a weekday. There is plenty of parking at the glacier.

The parking situation in St. Anton is not plentiful. If you don't get there by 8:15am, you may not find a parking space. St. Anton is a long drive from Innsbruck, and is a lot of "mountain".
(I don't know if I would be comfortable with a 9 year old on St. Anton's runs.)

If you are going to make that long of a drive for a good day of skiing, I also would recommend Ischgl over St. Anton. Great ski circus, well-groomed terrain, snow sure, lively town, and tons of parking lots.

The ski lines (particularly in Ischgl and Kitzbuhel) do not get heavy until after 9:00am---In Ischgl it is probably closer to 10:00am!

If you should be in Innsbruck on a Tuesday and Wednesday--
1. There is a free Lantern Walk in Natters (a village about 5 miles southwest of Innsbruck) every Tuesday night. The evening includes a walk through the woods with an Alpine guide that ends at a small inn where typical Tyrolean instruments are played and dinner and beverages can be purchased.

2. On Wednesday evenings, there is a Tyrolean party night at the Hotel Seiler in Innsbruck. Music, dancing, yodelling, etc.---a very good, if somewhat touristy, show.

Kitzbuhel is at a much lower altitude than Stubai and Ischgl. Check the ski conditions before you make the drive.

Another alternative would be St. Johann in Tyrol. It has been getting some good snows this season.

You can check snow reports at:
http://www.skicentral.com

We have skiied these areas before, and will be returning on 2/2/06.

This trip we will be sharing our time between Davos, Ischgl, Stubai and the Kronplatz in northern Italy,

Wow what great information Georgine. Thank you for the information on St.Anton. I would like your opinion on skiing 3 days in Innsbruck like Stubitai Glacier and the slopes around the 3 day Innsbruck ski pass. What would you suggest we should ski the other 2 days in Innsbruck? We will look to ski the other ski locations. How about skipping Kitzbuehl and skiing Ischgl and St.Anton. How does that sound? We skiied Cortina with my 9 year old last year and he took it very well. Are the Red runs there in St Anton more challenging than Cortina Reds which he skiied very well? Also, if you had 5 days of skiing from Innsbruck which slopes would you ski? Let me know your choices. I have a car so driving is no problem. What is the drive time from Innsbruck to Ischgl and St. Anton? I look forward to your answers