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Resort Guide

Suitability	Resort height: 1635m
Families:		[Yes]
Glacier:		[No]
Beginners:		[3]
Intermediates:		[4]
Advanced:		[3]
Snowboarding:		[3]

Galtur is a small but well equipped village in the Silvretta-Paznaun region of north-western Austria, not far from the Swiss and German borders. The resort is the highest in the area and one of the highest traditional villages (not specially built for ski holidays) in the Alps, with a good snowfall record.

GaItur has a medium-sized ski area of its own, and participates in the Silvretta ski region pass which includes three other ski areas in the valley, including the largest, which links Ischgl to Samnaun over the border in Switzerland.

The ski area has a great variety of terrain for its size, divided in to different zones. There has been a good deal of investment in lift infrastructure in the last few years including the recently opened eight passenger gondola. On the alternative route up from the village, the six passenger Birkahnbahn chair has new leather upholstery and pull-down weather-protection bubble covers for maximum luxury!

Everyone staying in Galtur receives a guest card which entitles them to free use of the local bus service and various discounts in certain establishments.

Beginners

Galtur's friendly and professional ski schools offer beginner lessons at a special area in the village known as the Sammelplatz, which has a number of lifts of its own.

Once the basics have been mastered, the nearby Soppalift can be used to access slightly longer easy blue runs and then the Alpkogelbahn will take you up to some lengthy blues where you can really start to enjoy your new found ability on skis!

The ski school offers a "Beginners' Luck" package which includes rentals, tuition and lift ticket for a discount on the total cost off buying these items separately.

Intermediates

Galtur's slopes provide enough to keep early intermediate skiers happy for at least a week. More advanced intermediates will probably want to purchase the Silvretta area pass and jump on the free (for area pass holders) bus for two or three days in the week and head down the valley to explore some of the neighbouring areas that are included on the ticket.

This extends the skiable area to cover 230km (nearly 150 miles) of runs, including altitude skiing to nearly 3000m at Ischgl, and more than 40km (25 miles) of tough black rated terrain. Back in Galtur 2.2km of piste is open on Wednesday evenings from 7.30 – 10.30pm, weather permitting.

Advanced

Galtur may not appear an obvious choice for experts when you look at the basic stat, but there is in fact a lot to challenge those looking for more than just black piste on the doorstep. The resort has rather a limited choice in that category, with two black runs, the tougher the Ballunab piste number one. There is of course much more advanced terrain in the region which is easy to reach if you have the Silvretta Pass.

However, if you'd like to venture off piste you don't need to leave Galtur to find some hidden gems. The sunshine hits the slopes before it reaches the valley each morning and in February and March the whole valley is in sunshine virtually all day.

This means runs accessed from the long Breitspitzbahn route located on the northern slopes of the Ballunspitz become skiable, including the challenging Kosper Jochl and Zeinis routes. Ski touring courses are also offered by the mountain guides, who lead tours for those already experienced, with March and April key months for ski touring.

Snowboarding

An early adopter of snowboarding when many other resorts were less enthusiastic about this new sport, Galtür has hosted boarding contests since the early 1990s. The resort has its own terrain park and the excellent chairlift and gondola provide fast and comfortable access to freeride terrain.

As with skiers, the Silvretta area ticket provides a free bus link to much more terrain and more parks in Ischgl, Samnaun (one of Europe's largest) and Kappl.

Other Activities and Facilities

Galtur packs in a lot of extra activities for its size, if you have the energy left. There's an indoor adventure swimming pool (25 by 10 metres), several traditional bowling centres, a squash court, indoor tennis court and 'Eisstock' for curling.

In the great outdoors there are 45km of cross country ski trails, cleared winter hiking routes and the chance to try tandem paragliding with an instructor.

Après Ski and Dining Out

Although Galtur can't offer quite as varied and lively nightlife as its larger neighbour Ischgl, it is far from quiet with a good selection of hotel bars and restaurants. The Weiberhimml and the Huber's Stadl are popular après ski spots.

There are another half dozen or so options and a far greater choice down in Ischgl, although be wary that the bus service is more limited in the evenings and you may need to take a taxi.

There is a reasonable choice of restaurants, mostly in the larger hotels and mostly offering hearty traditional Austrian mountain cuisine to a high standard.

Families

Galtur is both a lovely place for a family skiing holiday and a well equipped ski resort with lots of special initiatives and facilities for families. These include special discounted family tickets for the ski lifts and a dedicated practice lift for children in a separate ski area complete with easy-to-ride 'magic carpet' conveyor lift.

The Kindergarten Galtür run by the ski school offers a combination of tuition and nursery provision for children aged three years and up, with lunch cover if required, and there are special children's ski school classes when they're older. As well as the children's ski area, the fairy tale woods below the Fluchthornalm are a special attraction for younger skiers.

Accommodation in Galtur

• Alpenhotel Tirol - 4 star,
• Alpenhotel Tirol - 4 star,
• Galtur Guesthse - 2 star,
• Galtur Guesthse - 2 star,
• Galturerhof - 3 star,
• Hotel Almhof - 4 star,
• Hotel Wirlerhof - 4 star,
• Hotel Wirlerhof - 4 star,
• Hotel Wirlerhof - 4 star,
• Post - 4 star,

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