Bad Gastein

Bad Gastein is unlike any other Austrian ski resort: a 19th-century spa town of grand hotels stacked up the sides of a gorge, with a waterfall crashing through the middle and a faded, slightly theatrical air that people either find romantic or unsettling. The radon-rich thermal springs that made it fashionable for emperors and composers still fill the baths, and a soak after skiing is part of the deal here.

The skiing is spread through the Gastein valley in several separate areas, all on one pass and all part of Ski amadé. From Bad Gastein itself a gondola climbs the Stubnerkogel to 2,246 m — with a suspension bridge across the summit ridge — and links via the Angertal to the Schlossalm above Bad Hofgastein, the largest connected piece. The Graukogel across the valley is a small, old-fashioned mountain of tree-lined reds and blacks that keeps its snow. At the head of the valley, Sportgastein is a high, open bowl reaching 2,700 m, the snow-sure and freeride part, reached by a toll road and bus.

The town's layout is the awkward part: steep streets, stairs and a station at the top, with the lifts a bus ride from most hotels. It rewards people who like character over convenience.