Schladming

Schladming is a small former mining town in the Enns valley of Styria (Austria), that is now a very popular large winter sports resort. It has a great view on the Dachstein mountains.

Understand
The population of Schladming is only 4,367 (2012) inhabitants, but because it is a well-known European winter sports resort during the season, it is swarming with tourists from home and abroad. It held the 2013 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

Planai is the most important mountain with many ski routes and the other popular place for skiers is Hochwurzen.

Several shops and boutiques are located within the city limits and many restaurants, so called 'hüttes', are all around the city, mostly on the slopes.

By plane
The closest international airport is the Munich Airport (260km distance). The Vienna International Airport is approximately away. Alternatively there is the smaller Salzburg Airport, which is served by Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Ryanair, as well as other major carriers.

By train
ÖBB serves high capacity trains to the train station that belongs to the "Ennstalbahn" (Salzburg - Bischofshofen - Schladming - Selzthal - Bruck - Graz route). The train station was modernised in 2011/2012. Schladming can be reached by night trains with a single stop in Munich. The trains take 4 hr 10 hours from Vienna, 2 hr 40 min from Graz, 3 min from Linz, 1 hr 30 hours from Salzburg (add 1 hr 40 min for the link to Munich), and 3 hr from Innsbruck.

By car
Schladming can be reached by car within an hour from Salzburg Airport, 2 hours from Munich, Ljubljana and from the Italian border, 3 hours from Switzerland, 12 hours from Denmark. Beware of possible wintery road conditions when planning the road trip.

Get around
The inner old town of Schladming is small and easily traversed by foot. For skiing there are lots of lifts connecting the different mountains.

See




Buy
Schladming cannot compete with worldwide fashion scenes, but they offer interesting articles for skiers, as well as some sports articles. Several big supermarkets are also located within the city. Hofer - just outside the city, in Pichl - offer groceries at a discount and are often the cheapest option in the area. In the very heart of the city you will find Billa and Spar. You can find Billa at the Planet Planai or at the train station. SPAR is at the highway, just a minute walk from Planet Planai and some hundred metres from the parking space. Billa and Spar offer the same groceries at almost the same prices. Both a butcher and a bakery is to find inside the two stores.

Eat
A large number of restaurants and cafés are located in the small old town, some are listed below. From the lodges Quellbodenhütte at Planai offers a relaxed atmosphere and some nice food. Hochwurzenhütte at Hochwurzen offers a very high quality food, refusing to sell french fries and other very high calories food. A local speciality is the "Graukäse" cheese, which is a special "Steirerkas" and is eaten on bread or with "Nockerl".

Drink
The local brewery was founded in 1909 and is partly owned by the bigger Austrian brewing company Brau-Union. It produces yearly 35000hl. Most of it is the blond beer, famous is also the "Dachstein Naturbier", where all ingredients are organically grown. The "Knappengold-Pils" is a dark beer. Plus there exists also a light "Radler" (half beer mixed with lemonade). Most restaurants or bar will serve the "Schladminger" beer. During winter the town sees many tourists and there are several lively bars inside the town.

Sleep
If one stays inside the old town there is no need for a car to reach the cable trains. Although cheaper recommendation are also found higher up on the way to the Planai middle station or on the other side of the valley.

Splurge




Connect
The ski resort offers at several stations free Wi-Fi access.

Go next
The neighbour towns in the Enns valley are Gröbming, Liezen and Radstadt.


 * Dachstein is a 20 x 30 km limestone massif in the Northern Calcareous Alps with dozens of other peaks above 2,500 m.
 * Gesäuse is an alpine massif incorporating the national park Gesäuse.
 * Bad Gastein is a popular ski and thermal bath health resort in Salzburg.
 * Zell am See is a popular ski resort in Salzburg with links to the Kaprun glacier.
 * Salzburg is the fourth-largest city in Austria. Its "Old Town", with its world famous baroque architecture, is one of the best-preserved city centers in the German-speaking world and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. There are direct trains taking 1½ hours.
 * Leoben is the industrial and educational centre of Northern Styria and home of the Austrian mining industry and university. There are direct trains taking 1½ hours.