St. Anton am Arlberg sits at 1,304 m in Tyrol, at the eastern end of the Arlberg pass, and it is the name most people mean when they say Arlberg. The reputation is built on terrain rather than on comfort: this is a resort where the marked runs are only part of what people come to ski.
How to get there: St. Anton has its own railway station on the main line through the Arlberg tunnel, which puts it within reach of Innsbruck, Zurich and Munich without a car.
Slopes and lifts: Ski Arlberg covers 300 km of marked runs, with more than 200 km of off-piste variations alongside them, plus fun parks and race courses. The longest descent runs 7.5 km from the Valluga, past the Ulmerhütte and down into St. Anton, a vertical drop of 1,350 m.
What the skiing is like: the off-piste is not an extra here, it is the point — more than two thirds as much marked terrain again, which is why the resort draws skiers who already know what they are doing. Beginners are better served on the Lech side of the same pass.
Recognition: the ADAC ski guide has named Ski Arlberg its top Alpine ski area, and skiresort.de rates it a five-star resort.
Where you stay: the village runs along one main street below the slopes, with hotels and pensions on it and the lifts at the end of it, so most of the resort is walkable.
