Kitzbühel

Streif finish, Kitzbüheler Horn and Hinterstadt after dark

Spend two ski days in Kitzbühel: day one on the Hahnenkamm, taking an early gondola from beside the old town and lunching at a hut, then the lit gables of Vorderstadt and Hinterstadt in the evening; day two south across the valley on the 3S cable car to the Jochberg side and Pass Thurn.

On day two, push south. The 3S cable car swings high across the valley between Pengelstein and the Jochberg side; ride it in the morning while the sky is clear, ski Jochberg and Pass Thurn, and take the ski bus back if your legs give out. Spend the third morning on the Kitzbüheler Horn, which is gentler and often half empty, then climb to the parish church and the Liebfrauenkirche on their small rise above the rooftops before dinner.

Coming for the races means planning around the late-January weekend. Watch the downhill from the finish area at the foot of the Streif, book rooms months ahead and expect the highest prices of the year. Anyone else should pick another week.

Gröstl at the huts, dinner on Hinterstadt

Eat at the mountain huts on the Hahnenkamm and the Horn: Kaspressknödel cheese dumplings, Tiroler Gröstl with a fried egg and Kaiserschmarrn with plum compote, one portion of which usually feeds two. Restaurants along Vorderstadt and Hinterstadt price to the resort's reputation, so a hut lunch is often better value than dinner in town.

Down in town, restaurants along Vorderstadt and Hinterstadt range from plain Gasthäuser to dining rooms aimed squarely at the winter crowd. Prices follow the resort's reputation, even for simple dumplings, so a hut lunch is often better value than dinner in the centre. In peak weeks, and above all during the races, book a table a day or two ahead or you may end up at a snack stand.

Summer changes the rhythm. Many huts reopen for walkers, and a plate of Gröstl on a terrace up on the Hahnenkamm is a fair reward after a morning climb from the valley.

Snow from late December, the Streif downhill and wet summers

Ski Kitzbühel from late December to February for the most dependable snow; at about 760 m the resort sits low, with January highs near 1°C. The Hahnenkamm downhill on the Streif in late January is the year's big event, and summer is wet.

Late January is race time, with the Hahnenkamm downhill on the Streif as the climax and the town in party mode for several days. Summer is the wet season: June to August each bring roughly 150 to 170 mm of rain, much of it in afternoon storms, while July and August highs sit around 23°C. Start hikes early and be off exposed ridges by mid-afternoon. The Schwarzsee is warmest in those same weeks.

April, May, October and November are the in-between months. Lifts close for maintenance, many huts shut and the town is at its quietest and cheapest, fine for a walk around the old town but not for the mountains.