Self-catering holiday homes: Kitzbuhel house

Kitzbühel - Sun, Scenery and, er... Sightseeing!

Tirol in the Summer

When the snow falls and the sun shines from a clear blue sky in the mountains, crowds flock to the Kitzbühel area for fabulous skiing, even-more-fabulous après skiing and simply outstanding winter paradise scenery.

These winter tourists risk bruises, aches and breaking bones, all in the name of winter chic. They rub shoulders with the rich and famous whilst falling gracefully down the vicious Hannenkham.

But what happens around here for the other 39 weeks of the year?

The British have been slow to catch on to the other three beautiful seasons in the mountains.

The scenery is still unutterably gorgeous, if not more so, with a riot of colour everywhere, the food is still wonderful, fresh and tasty, the people are still the friendliest that you will ever find in any mountains, but there are other extra benefits to spending summer here.

It is not so crowded. You can always get a table in the best restaurants or drive around the area without sitting in traffic for hours on end. You can stroll onto a lift when you want a vertical ride.

For those of you (like me) who love cycling, but cannot make it up 100ft (let alone a few thousand vertical feet!) without risking a heart attack, you can even take your bike on the lift – then enjoy a fabulous downhill rollercoaster ride back again!

The weather is even better. You are truly close to the gods and your tan will deepen remarkably, even allowing for the ubiquitous factor 1million sun block.

Then there is the relief of not constantly worrying about every aspect of precipitation.

Every skier is obsessed with the quantity and quality of the snow on offer; where it is, where it isn’t, whether it is icy or sticky or wet, where is it best, where it’s flat or bumpy. And then there is the constant battle for space, sharing all that snow with thousands of fellow neurotic snow fiends.

In the summer this is all tipped on its head. You are not on a constant search for white gold, instead you are nearly alone inside the most magnificent scenery, walking in it, cycling in it, swimming in it, riding in it – your choice.

Written by Joe Robinson, owner of Property 61376 in Kitzbühel, Austria

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