The trickling of fresh, turquoise streams, the muffle of soft pine-needles underfoot, and the views of sublime snow-peaked mountains encasing the landscape all make for a rejuvenating escape from urban life.
The Austrian Alps’ amazing hiking trails are most accessible during the summer months. The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Promenade trail in Bad Gastein, a 19th-century spa town famous for its iconic waterfall, has particularly superb views, while the stunning Leogang area is abounding with different trails (we counted 294!). Its two- to three-hour route up to Birnbachloch rock cave is highly rewarding.
In winter, we recommend Saalbach-Hinterglemm Leogang with its 270km of pistes and 73 lifts. From here, ski down to the village of Saalbach to peruse cafés, bars and boutiques or practise your frontside grab in the nearby Nitro Snowpark, with its halfpipes, learning slopes and annual competitions. Tobogganing, sleigh rides, helicopter rides, snowshoeing, archery, flying fox, golf, and high ropes are some of the other activities you can get stuck into in the area.
Tyrol is a famed spot for mountain biking, with almost 4,000 km of routes. Other activities in the village and surrounds are completely free in summer, including night hikes and archery. If rock climbing is your thing, then the via ferrata - a protected climbing route - around Sankt Anton is a must.