Apres Ski in Kitzbuhel
Kitzbuhel is among the best resorts in the Alps to live or visit all year round. Apres-ski and nightlife always threatens to be lively, especially at weekends, and there is an abundance of fun things to see and do including some superb retail opportunities for those with deep pockets.
Kitzbuhel Apres Ski Bars & Nightlife in Kitzbuhel
Kitzbühel’s nightlife always threatens to be lively, especially at weekends. During the Hahnenkamm weekend it will certainly be extremely crowded and boisterous except perhaps in the casino at the Goldener Greif Hotel. But Kitzbühel has a sedate side too, with such celebrated tea rooms as the Praxmair and Kortschak cafés. Less sedate is the Prax Keller bar down a steep flight of steps next door to Praxmair’s, which opens till late.
For those whose ski holiday is incomplete without a visit to a noisy pub or bar, it has to be the Londoner, where the Hahnenkamm racers congregate, regardless of triumph or ignominy. The Stamperl, opposite, is just as lively. The Drop In Pub in the Rathausplatz square is worth visiting by day too, when it serves veal sausages, pretzels and fresh tap beer. Jimmy’s is a trendy cocktail bar which is popular with locals, and for mid- to late-evening drinks try the characterful Funferl which attracts an older well-heeled clientele.
There are three discos in the town square area: the recently refurbished and pricey Club Take 5, the Olympia, and the Royal: all usually stay open till dawn. Although you are unlikely to run out of options in Kitzbühel, Kirchberg, less than four miles away, trumpets its London Pub as one of the most ‘happening’ in the Alps. The Mockingstube, near the gondola, and the American-themed Highways bar are popular night-spots.
Restaurants in Kitzbuhel
There are more than 100 restaurants in the area, with Hotel Tennerhof and the Unterberger Stubenwith as top of the range. Hotel Tennerhof’s prize-winning gourmet restaurant specialises in classic Austrian cuisine with ‘Mediterranean and Asian touches’ has two toques in the influential Gault Millau restaurant guide. So does the Unterberger Stuben, with a sun terrace and delightful garden, which offers ‘authentic, unadulterated Tyrolean dishes’.
The Landhäusl excels in those Austrian staples, Wienerschnitzel and Kaiserschmarrn. The highly rated Schwedenkapelle restaurant is a converted medieval church near Fleckalmbahn gondola between Kitzbühel and Kirchberg. Or for a romantic on-mountain setting at night and excellent food take a 15-minute taxi rise to Rosi’s Sonnbergstub’n. Kitzbuhel restaurants are often fully booked so it pays to plan ahead and book in advance to be sure of a table.
Other Activities in Kitzbuhel
Kitzbühel is world famous and justifiably so. And not just for the Hannenkahm, Kitzbühel is an economic powerhouse and one of the best resorts in the Alps to live or visit all year round. From an activities perspective there’s just about everything you can think of, including an Alpine Zoo.
In addition to alpine skiing and snowboarding, winter-sports enthusiasts cross-country skiing, curling, skating, ski-jumping, tobogganing, indoor horse-riding, sleigh rides, snowshoeing, ice yachting, hot-air-ballooning, paragliding, indoor tennis, squash, shooting, and swimming. The Aquarena has two big water slides, a sauna area with steam and Turkish baths, solarium, massage (and underwater massage) plus various mudpacks and mudbaths. There’s even an Alpine Zoo just out of town.
Shopaholics will love Kitzbühel and we’re not talking just ski gear of which there is plenty and designer ski gear at that. Kitz oozes quality and part of the charm and character of this wonderful town are the many good spending opportunities. It’s a great place for credit-card busters and interested window shoppers. Haute couture boutiques, traditional handcraft shops, clothing, shoes, real estate, jewellery and antique shops are just a few examples.