  Airport
About Zell am SeeAn idyllic medieval town perched on the edge of a stunning lake, Zell am See isn't you're usual Austrian resort, and is the perfect retreat for those looking for a winter holiday in peaceful, scenic surroundings. Giant mountains surround the resort and its cream-coloured buildings. When the lake freezes, people jump into action - fishing through the ice, going ice-boating, curling or skating right across the surface to Thumers-bach village. Joined with neighbouring Kaprun, the resort is a part of the Europa Sport Region, and the mainly intermediate-friendly skiing is spread over three mountains - Schmittenhöhe, which you can access straight from Zell am See, Maiskogel and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier in Kaprun which are accessed by a short bus ride. For beginners
Beginners are well looked after at Zell am See, with wide gentle slopes and good nursery areas. About 20 percent of the trails here are rated for beginners. Head first to the beginner area on the Schmittenhöhe mountain directly behind Zell am See. After that, you can try the various nursery slopes at Lechnerberg behind Kaprun village centre. When you've mastered a couple of turns, you can try out the good snow on the easy runs on the glacier. For intermediates
Cruise all over the place as an intermediate at Zell am See. You'll find a whole lot of diversity to keep it interesting here, with different types of runs, chutes and bumps everywhere. Try the blue runs at the Glocknerlift, or choose any part of the 50 km of red and blue runs to speed down, including the Schutt, which descends the full 1,200m vertical back down to the resort. For the advanced
There are a number of sharp black pistes to try out here, with some varied and difficult reds as well. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier is snow secure and offers some great red slopes. Behind Zell am See, the Schmittenhöhe mountain offers about 80 kilometres of piste, including some good terrain for expert skiers. Adventurous skiers can also test their skills on challenging World Cup Downhill courses. However this isn't a major expert's resort, you may want to look to one of the neighbouring resorts for black terrain after a few days skiing. Ski school
There are great ski schools for every level both in Zell am See and spread across the whole Europa Sport region. For kids, Schmidolin Club is an award-winning favourite - a friendly snow dragon who helps children have fun while they learn their fist moves on the snow. The cross country schools are also excellent. Ski School Franz Oberlader Après Ski
Enjoy a buzzing nightlife in Zell am See. It's a great place to meet people with lots of friendly bars and lively pubs and clubs. Try the overly decorated cocktails at B-17, or check out live music at the massively popular two bars at Resi. Also recommended - Diele, Hirschenkeller, Karambar and Bierstadl. Take your pick of 40 plus restaurant serving everything from French to Italian and Chinese, as well as local Austrian specialties. There are cosy bistros and loud boisterous restaurants. For good Italian, head to Giuseppe's, and for authentic local cuisine Traubenstüberl is a good choice.
Off the Mountain
Zell am See is a buzzing town with lots to do and see when you're not skiing. When the lake freezes, you can try ice-sailing, ice-dinghying, ice-surfing and snow kiting upon it. There's snow buggying at the Winterpark in Kaprun, a fitness centre, wellness and beauty treatments, panoramic flights, bowling, cinema, swimming, flood-lit tobogganing, horse-riding, sleigh and llama rides, snow-hiking, curling, caving 1600m below the surface in Europe's longest cave passage, paragliding, parachuting, aeroplane flights and gliding, tennis and squash. Just walking around the town is worthwhile as well - see the historical shopping streets, check out open air art galleries. Tour the lake on the old slow train or visit the local museums. Getting there
By air
The closest airport to Zell am See is Salzburg (82 km). . There is a direct bus from the airport to Zell Am See which runs twice a day, or alternatively, you can catch a bus into the city centre and take a train to the resort. In addition, Salzburg airport offers car hire with all of the major operators. There are also many international arrivals into Munich airport, and some regular flights to Innsbruk airport. Airport transfers
If you choose to hire a car from Salzburg airport, head south on autobahns A-1 and A-10, then turn right on to the B-311 for Zell am See. Kaprun is a farther 15 minutes along the same road. Holiday Autos (Car Hire) By train
To travel by train from the UK to Zell am See, catch a Eurostar train departing from London's Waterloo station twice daily for Paris. From Paris, trains run to Munich and Zürich. From either destination, it is possible to catch connecting trains to Zell am See via Innsbruck or Salzburg. Austrian Railways By car
If you opt for driving from the UK, take a car ferry or the Chunnel train service across the Channel. Once in France, it is a two-day drive from Calais to Zell am See / Kaprun (over 1,200kms) via the cities of Reims, Metz, Stuttgart, Munich and Salzburg.
Resort rating and reviews
12 November 2008
Traveller rating:
  The best thing about Zell is the setting, right on the side of a lake ...
View full review 
Resort ratings out of 10
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Skiing Holidays in Zell am SeePhoto
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