Hey! - These mountains are for more than just SKIING DOWN!... (Kitzbühel)

Member Name: CaptainD

Product:	Kitzbühel
Date:	22/07/05 (840 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic scenery, good transport links, not too expensive - if you know where to go . . .

Disadvantages: Too tourist - oriented, expensive shops

Well, I've never been to Kitzbühel in the snow. But it seems extremely odd to me that, with the very beautiful natural surrounds of Kitzbühel, with the majestic Wilder Kaiser mountain range in the background and the impressive Hahnenkamm and Kitzbüheler Horn on opposite sides of the valley, the only interest some people have in them is throwing themselves down it on one or two small pieces of carbon fibre (or whatever it is they make snowboards and skis out of these days). What's all the hurry?

It took us three hours to climb up the Hahnenkamm, and I'm glad to say that for once we were not overtaken by any old German ladies steaming up there on zimmer frames. (It's happened before… far more frequently than I'd like to admit!!), but every second of it was well spent. Going to the cable-car station at the bottom of the Kitzbüheler and getting a Sommerfriepass is definitely a good idea - for a little over 50 Euros, you can have unlimited access to all of the cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts, and buses in the Kitzbühel region (though you can only go on each ride once per day) for a week. And yes, if you get the winter version, it will give you access to the ski lifts too -but I expect it'll cost you a bit more than the summer pass.

In fact, once the skiing season starts, I suspect that everything goes up in price. Shopping-wise Kitzbühel very much caters for the rich and fashionable (i.e. more money than brains), and is quite limited for the rest of us. However, a quick bus ride to the nearby St Johann is all you need for a wider range of shops that are cheaper (this is important). I find that Kitzbühel is a little too tourist-oriented for my liking, though most of my family disagree. However, you get a much better reaction from the locals if you are prepared to at least try and speak a little German - though a lot of them speak English better than you do!

As far as facilities go, there are plenty of restaurants, cable cars, and a nice swimming pool. But a word of warning - until around the middle of June, many things are shut. We went at the end of May, and there were still a number of lifts and restaurants that would not be open for 3 or more weeks. A slight warning about the buses too - while they are very reliable and punctual, there aren't very many of them. Often there's only one per hour to a particular destination, and on bank holidays you can just forget it.

The hotels in the region vary, but we've mostly been very happy with the service, facilities, and food, and on our most recent visit we stayed at the Gasthof Hasslesberger (very close to the cablecar station at the bottom of the Hahnenkamm), which I would give 5 stars any day - it was superb in every way. We normally go for family-run 2/3 star establishments (we tend to go through Inghams, which we have found far better than Thompson, Chrystal, and Enterprise, the other tour operators that we've been to Austria with), and these normally provide just the right level of quality, inexpensiveness, and unobtrusiveness. (Ingham's reps tend to be less pushy than most too, but are there when you need them.)

If you want to go on a hiking / rambling holiday, Kitzbühel is perfect due to the wonderful surroundings and plentiful chair lifts etc if you find yourself suddenly too tired to walk down the mountain you've just climbed up. Obviously a good map is useful!

The weather in Austria is very variable, almost as temperamental at times as in England… This can be a bit of a nuisance as there's not a great deal to do and see in the town itself once you've had a look round a couple of times, but thankfully Kitzbühel has excellent access to transport links - most notably the train station, which can get you to Innsbruck, for instance, in little more than an hour.

Sadly, the evil that is McDonalds has infiltrated even this haven of natural beauty, but I guess that for some people this may even be a plus. (Much worse is that a large casino and even "Americ-style table dancing" has found its way there.) I think Austrian food is fantastic, but then I've got very cosmopolitan taste buds. It's also got rather a reputation for being vegetarian un-friendly, even though they have the most wonderful salads there. (Often the main meal salads - particularly the famous "Baurnsalat" [Farmer's salad] - do have meat with them as well.) There seem to be some attempts being made to introduce more vegetarian food in Kitzbühel, but it's not exactly a priority for them. Food is relatively inexpensive (at least before the main holiday season in July/August!), and you can always get a "Kaiser Brot", "Speck Brot", or "Shinken Brot" (literally "Cheese / Ham / Bacon Bread") cheaply. This might not sound appetising but can be very nice, basically just bread and cheese / meat, probably a bit of salad and gherkin on the side - try it even if the thought of it doesn't particularly inspire you, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised! Just as a side-note, in Austrai the bread tends to be rye bread, which doesn't taste quite like what you're probably used to. Another dish well worth trying is the Tirolean speciality, Tiroller Gröstl, which is a dish of fried ham and potatoes in herbs, typically served with a fried egg on top. As with most areas, if you want to find the best restaurants, look for the places the locals go to.

Another thing to be aware of is that most shops are shut between noon and three in the afternoon, and not many stay open late - none of this 24/7 (or nearly 24/7) opening that's becoming so prevalent in the UK and US!

Wheelchair access to the cable cars etc is amazingly good - certainly they must have improved it over the past few years since I've been there. Unfortunately, due to the fact that you are, after all, in the mountains, you may still find it rather difficult if you are disabled. Some of the mountain tracks are very narrow and can be quite steep, which can be a challenge even for able-bodied people! You know your limits better than anyone else, of course, but a bit of specific research into the area you're going to would be a good idea. You're travel agent / the Austrian tourist board should be able to help.

Well, that just about wraps up my review. I like Kitzbühel very much, my sister loves it to bits. To me there are enough negatives to prevent me from giving it a 5-star rating, but I'd still give anyone a recommendation to go there. It really depends what you want out of your holiday, of course, but I would say that for a hiking holiday without too many people around, your best bet is to go towards the end of May or in June, when most things will be open, and there won't be too many people around.

You pays your money, you makes your choice.

Thanks for reading!

CaptainD

Summary: A great place to holiday. It has its bad points, but they're in the minority.