Apres Ski in Alpbach
Alpbach Village
Voted the most beautiful village in Austria, Alpbach is situated on a sun-drenched plateau at 1,000 metres above sea level with splendid views of the ski area on the Wiedersberger Horn on the opposite side of the valley.
A farming community since the 12th Century, from the early 15th to mid 19th Centuries the main economic activity in Alpbachtal besides farming was the mining of copper and silver deposits on Gratlspitz and Schatzberg. The 20th Century saw steady growth in the number of visitors to Alpbachtal, but farming remains important with over 100 farms in and around Alpbach, many of which have been worked by successive family generations for the last 200-300 years.
While tourism is now the main source of income, Alpbach is still a small village with limited bed stock for around 3,300 guests per night in Alpbach and a further 2,000 beds nearby in Reith, mostly in private guesthouses as well as a few 3-star and 4-star hotels. Tourism to Alpbachtal is more or less equally divided between winter and summer with a majority of visitors coming from Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In recent years, Alpach has also benefited from an increase in tourism from Poland and the Czech Republic.
Famed for its traditional style of architecture, the harmony of its timber buildings and floral decorations, Alpbach was voted “Austria’s Most Beautiful Village” in a once only contest organised by Austrian Television in 1983 and the winner of the “Most Beautiful Floral Village in Europe” award in the 1993 Entente Floral Competition.
Shops in the village include a butcher, a baker, possibly somewhere even a candlestick maker, a souvenir shop, a few small ski and sports equipment shops and a bank in the centre of the village, but nothing to keep shopaholics busy or entertained for more than a few minutes. There’s also a small supermarket located just before the entrance to the village and convenient for self-caterers.
A free ski bus ferries guests to and from three main ski lifts. The nearest of these is the Wiedersberger Horn gondola about 1km from the centre Alpbach with two more main ski lifts 3km away at Inneralpbach, the Poglbahn gondola also to Wiedersberger Horn and last, but not least, a new gondola from Inneralpbach to the Schatzberg ski area above Auffach in Wildschonau.
Alpbach Apres Ski Bars & Restaurants
Apres ski in Alpbach may be quiet in comparison to some better known Tirolean ski resorts, but there are plenty of mountain huts and the bars, restaurants and hotels in the village deliver good apres ski for all age groups, and in an enchanting traditional village setting,
Alpbach Apres Ski Bars
Postalm Tel: +43 699 127 55 926
Waschkuchl Tel: +43 650 591 83 35
Gondalm Tel: +43 5336 5177
Alpbach Cafés
Messner’s Internet Café Tel: +43 5336 5171 17
Dorfcafe Tel: +43 650 330 70 36
Alpbach Restaurants
Gasthof Berghof Tel: +43 5336 5275
Achenwirt Tel: +43 5336 5783
Gasthaus Jakober Tel: +43 5336 5171
Gasthaus Rossmoos Tel: +43 5336 5305
Hotel Alpbacherhof Tel: +43 5336 5237
Hotel Alphof Tel: +43 5336 5371
Romantik Hotel Boglerhof Tel: +43 5336 5227
Hotel Galtenberg Tel: +43 5336 5610
Hotel Wiedersbergerhorn Tel: +43 5336 5612
Hotel Post Tel: +43 5336 5203
Restaurant Zirmalm Tel: +43 5336 5107
Flo’s Restaurant Tel: +43 5336 5240
Alpbach Other Activities
Alpbach is a perfect location for families and couples seeking a relaxed skiing holiday in idyllic surrounds. Apart from skiing and boarding, other activities in winter include cross-country skiing, tobogganing, walking and snowshoeing.
Cross-Country Skiing in Alpbachtal
Alpbachtal offers cross-country skiers a mix of classic and skating trails including 21km in Aplbach itself. There are two classic trails (21km) in the immediate vicinity of Alpbach, a trail at Reith im Alpbachtal (5km) and both classic (6km) and skating (4km) trails in Inneralpbach for more advanced cross-country skiers.
Tobogganing in Alpbachtal
Alpbachtal offers a choice of three toboggan runs: The 4km long Bischhofer toboggan run, floodlit at night with Almdisco and traditional music at the Bischoferalm (Tel: +43 676 504 96 75), the 5km long Faulbaumgartenalm toboggan run in Inneralbach with a small hut for food and drink (Tel: +43 669 111 39 936) and more challenging 6km long Reitherkogl toboggan run from the top of the Reitherkogl gondola to the Hub chapel on the outskirts of Reith.
Winter Walking in Alpbachtal
Alpbach is a perfect destination for hiking all year round with 24 defined walking trails in the Alpbachtal and Seenland totalling 120km of which 50km are in Alpbach, 40km in Reith in and 30kin the Inntal valley in and around Kransach. Walks are of between 1 hour and 4 hours duration and are well-signposted.
Snowshoeing in Alpbachtal
Guided snowshoe tours in Alpbach are available from 10:00am every Thursday in winter for a minimum of three and a maximum of 15 persons including hire of snowshoes and walking poles. For more information and to register, contact the Tourist Office in Alpbach (Tel: +43 5336 20094).
Paragliding in Alpbach
Tandem paragliding from the Wiedersberger Horn are of approximately 15-20 minutes duration. For more information and to book contact Skyhigh Raven (Tel: +43 664 4700 200). Tandem flights with state qualified pilots are also available through Conny’s Sport. For more information contact Markus (Tel: +43 664 126 59 86) or Peter (Tel: +43 676 930 61 02).
Spa & Wellness in Alpbach
For spa and wellness including massage and beauty treatments the 4-star Romantikhotel Boglerhof (Tel: +43 5336 5227) is highly recommended. For massage only, contact Hotter Maria (Tel: +43 5336 5514-11), Mathias Scwarzenauer, Physio 1000 (Tel: +43 5336 20057) or Beauty & Pureness at the Hotel Galtenburg in Inneralpbach (Tel: +43 5336 5610).
Swarovski Kristallworld
Swarovksi crystal shops can be found in towns and cites the world over, but when visiting Alpbach you are just 36km from the Swarovski’s Kritsallworld at Wattens – the second most visited tourist attraction in Austria – which is well worth visiting. Open 9am to 6:30pm daily, last entrance 5:30pm. Swarovski Kristallworld is located at Kristallweltenstrasse 1, 6112 Wattens, Tirol. Tel: +43 5224 51080. Web: www.kristallwelten.swarovski.com.
Alpbach Congress Centre
Breaking with the tradition of dark-wooden chalet style buildings, the Congress Centre Alpbach is an imposing contemporary building on the outskirts of the village. Home to the prestigious European Forum Alpbach, the 1,585 m² congress facilities include a plenary hall with seating for up to 500 delegates, five seminar rooms for 35-195 people, spacious foyers, a coffee shop and restaurant, and a spiral shaped feature gallery with floor-to-ceiling glazing and superb mountain views. Congress Centre Alpbach, A-6236 Alpbach 246, Tirol. Tel: +43 5336 600 100. Email: [email protected]. Web: www.congressalpbach.at.
Alpbachtal Tourist Office
For more information contact the Tourist Office in Alpbach:
Alpbachtal Tourism
A-6236 Alpbach, Tirol
Tel: +43 5336 20094
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.alpbachtal.at