St. Anton am Arlberg Overview

The White Thrill race that takes place on Valluga each spring is one of the most exciting and testing races in the skiing world.  The race starts on an agreed date in late. The race isn’t downhill all the way: the race includes a 150 meters ascent.

Breakfast

• Der Bäcker Ruetz is the main village bakery and is open early daily so a great early stop if you want to grab the first turns of the day. There’s an option to preorder your fresh baked goodies the day before if you wish. Arlbergstraße 83, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria

Lunch

• Verwallstube Restaurant is run by head chef Bernhard Neuhold and located at 2,085 meters. It has built a reputation for wonderful gourmet cuisine, such as exquisite Bouillabaisse et Aioli as well as Tyrolean delicacies and exquisite gourmet creations. Kandaharweg 9, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria

Dinner

• Hazienda has an eclectic, international menu. Popular with locals, advanced booking is usually essential in peak season. Dorfstraße 56, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria

Apres/Nightlife

• Krazy Kanguruh at the base of the slopes is one of the most popular bars in the area. Dancing on tables in ski boots while knocking back shots is the norm here, and it’s almost impossible to get in between 4 pm and 7 pm as it’s so popular (arrive by 3pm to bag your space). Don’t forget you still need to ski the final stretch back to the resort when the bar closes around 8pm so watch alcohol consumption. Mooserweg 19, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria
• Mooserwirt is the place that is tipped by some St. Anton insiders as better, these days, than the Krazy Kangaruh. But it has the same “too popular” problem as the Krazy Kangaruh – normally impossible to get in much after 3 pm as its packed full. Unterer Mooserweg 2, 6580 St. Anton am Arlberg, Austria

Airports

There are four airports within two hours drive of St Anton and two others (Salzburg – 300km, and Munich – 250km) that are three hours away.

Innsbruck (104 km/75 minutes) Fürstenweg 180, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Austrian Airlines, British Airways, easyJet, and Monarch fly from London Gatwick; easyJet also fly from Bristol and Liverpool; Monarch also fly from Manchester.

Bodensee Airport (Friedrichshafen) (130 km/90 minutes), Am Flugplatz 64 88046 Friedrichshafen, Germany. Monarch fly from London Gatwick and Manchester.

Allgäu Airport (Memmingen) (170km/120 minutes) Schleifweg, Am Flughafen 35, 87766 Memmingerberg. Ryanair fly from London Stansted and Dublin.

Zürich Airport (200km/120 minutes) Flughafen Zürich AG, 8058. Both BA and Swiss fly from London City and London Heathrow to Zurich; easyJet fly from London Gatwick and London Luton; BMI fly from Edinburgh; Swiss also fly from Birmingham and Manchester. Many other major scheduled airlines offer connecting services from other UK regional departure points via their European hubs to Zurich – eg KLM via Amsterdam.

Airport Transfers

By bus: The only airport served by a direct bus service is Zurich, which has four services a day departing the airport from 10 am to 7 pm, courtesy of Arlberg Express (+43 (0) 55 82-226) Tickets are €50 one way; €80 return.

Shared/Private transfers: Available from all airports with Ski Express St Anton (+49 (0)8382 27 35 880). Expect to pay €48 one way, €84 return from Friedrichshafen; €55/€80 from Innsbruck; €80/140 from Memmingen; and €95/180 from Munich. Max waiting time is 45 minutes, minimum pre-booking time, is usually 48 hours, and discounts for groups of six or more.  Other companies include Innsbruck-based Transfer Tirol (+43 (0)512 7272-0). My Transfer Service GmbH, (+43 (0)5523 590 959) and Airport-Drivers (+43 (0)664 341 05 09) both operate from Friedrichshafen.

By train: St Anton has a rail station close to the village centre and you can reach the resort by rail from virtually all points in Europe, including via the Channel Tunnel on Eurostar from London. Railjet services from Zurich Airport (station at the terminal) take between 2hr20 and 2hr40. There are also stations in Innsbruck and Friedrichshafen, a bus or taxi ride from the airports. For more prices and timetables, visit Austrian Rail; Swiss Rail and German Rail.

By car: Hire cars are available from all airports. Ensure your car is equipped for winter driving and carry snow chains. Although roads are normally kept clear, if there is excessive snowfall, particularly on access passes such as the Arlberg Pass, these may temporarily be closed. If you drive from the UK, an Austrian road tax sticker "Vignette" is obligatory in order to drive on motorways and on the S16. This can be purchased at the border, at petrol stations and at many "Trafik" shops.

The very centre of St. Anton is closed to traffic. Most accommodations offer parking and there are approximately 2,000 parking spaces available at locations around the resort centre including on the bypass, on the secondary school square, at the former Rendl station, at the “West” and “Mitte” car parks and on the outskirts of the resort. Parking is free after 3 pm but otherwise is €7 per day.

Getting Around:

The pedestrianized centre of St Anton means that many facilities and the ski lifts are within walking distance of many parts of the village. The free ski bus to Lech leaves from Alpe Rauz, and the public bus from St. Anton has to be paid for. A night bus runs from 7 pm to 3 am between St. Anton, St. Christoph, St. Jakob, Pettneu and Flirsch.

There are also seven taxi companies operating in the village including Taxi Arlberg-Car/Taxi Griesser - Tel. +43 (5446) 3730.