My son and I will be in Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Zurich, to name a few cities, in January. Which of these cities is our best bet for trying to get to a ski area for a few hours? Neither of us ski, but I guess if I'm ever going to try I'd like to say it was while I was in Europe. And a picture is worth a thousand words...We'll be in Prague and Budapest for several days each, and Vienna and Zurich for a couple. Thanks so much!

*bump*

If you are in Vienna, the next ski area is 100 km away, 1 hour by car or train: Semmering / Stuhleck. There is a ski school and I am sure you may rent some skis.

www.semmering.at
www.stuhleck.at

Hi sugarpike,

From Zurich, the nearest ski area (I think!) is at Engelberg (http://www.engelberg.ch/en/index.php) about two hours by train from Zurich.

There may be closer ski hills, but most tourists like us would not know about them. If you have a hotel in Zurich already confirmed, you may want to e-mail them to ask -- locals would know!

However, if you really want that "European ski" experience, I think you ought to go to Wengen (www.wengen.com) in the Berner Oberland, stay one or two nights, and really do it right. Wengen is just over three hours from Zurich by train.

Hope this helps --

s

I live in Switzerland. This may be more work than you think, as you are staying in cities and not ski areas. I agree with the above poster that if you really want to ski, plan a few days in the mountain areas of Switzerland (or Hungary, the Czech Republic or Austria. ) I would not try to do this as a day trip. To get to a ski area for a day by public transport, then rent skis, then figure out the ski runs which you can do make for a VERY long and tiring day with probably only a few actual hours of skiing. Renting a car for the day may save you a little bit of time, but you need to figure out directions and parking. The nearest ski area to Zurich is Flumserberg, which is about an hour by car; you can also get there by a combination of train and bus via the town of Flums, which would probably take you 1.5 - 2 hours. Go to http://www.flumserberg.com/en for info on Flumserberg.

If you have never skied, I am not sure a city vacation in Europe is the place to start. January is generally the coldest month in the mountains, so keeps you plans flexible in case it is too cold to ski (they shut lifts at certain temps and wind speeds) or if you don’t want to ski in below 0 C temps. You also have to bring a lot of warm clothing which you may otherwise not want or need in the cities (ski gloves, hat, long underwear, eyewear, etc).

As mentioned above, the Bernese Oberland would be a good place to consider spending a few days. Wengen or Murren have excellent skiing. You could also go to Zermatt which has great skiing and more sun than other resorts, plus you would also get to see the Matterhorn. Take a look at rail.ch for train times to various destinations.