EN
EN
St Anton and Lech share one lift pass and one ski area - Ski Arlberg, around 300 km of marked pistes and the largest linked ski area in Austria. They sit about 20 km apart by road on opposite sides of the Arlberg pass - St Anton in Tyrol, Lech in Vorarlberg - and the skiing joins in the middle, through Stuben and Zürs, rather than village to village. That shapes the choice more than most people expect. St Anton is a busy, sociable town with a railway station, steep home runs and one of the best-known après scenes in the Alps. Lech is a smaller, quieter riverside village with gentler slopes on the doorstep, a deep dining scene and deliberately limited numbers on the mountain. This guide compares the link, terrain, snow, villages, après, families, experts and getting there, so you can pick the base that fits how you want to spend the week.
Choose St Anton for: steep pistes and big off-piste straight from the village, the liveliest après in Austria, a railway station a short walk from the lifts, and a wide spread of hotels, chalets and apartments that makes it easy to house mixed groups.
Choose Lech for: wide, well-groomed slopes on the doorstep, quieter pistes thanks to a cap on skier numbers, a village where dinner matters more than the bar, and gentle nursery areas that give families and first-timers an easy start.
| Feature | St Anton | Lech |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Austria (Tyrol) | Austria (Vorarlberg) |
| Shared ski area | Ski Arlberg - around 300 km of pistes | Ski Arlberg - around 300 km of pistes |
| Village altitude | 1,304 m | 1,450 m (Oberlech and Zürs around 1,700 m) |
| Highest lift | 2,811 m (Valluga summit - skis only with a guide) | Around 2,450 m (Zürs side); the Valluga via the link |
| Season | Roughly early December to late April | Roughly early December to late April |
| Best for | Steeps, off-piste, après | Cruising, families, quieter pistes |
| Village character | Lively, pedestrianised town on the railway | Small, upmarket riverside village |
| Nearest airport | Innsbruck (~1 hr 15 min); Zurich (~2 hr 30 min) | Innsbruck (~1 hr 30 min); Zurich (~2 hr 30 min) |
Whichever village you book, you buy the same pass. Ski Arlberg covers St Anton, St Christoph and Stuben on the Tyrol side, Zürs, Lech, Oberlech and Zug on the Vorarlberg side, and Warth-Schröcken beyond Lech to the north. What the pass does not tell you is how far apart the two villages are on skis. There is no direct link between St Anton and Lech. From St Anton you ski over to Stuben, take the gondola across the Flexen pass to Zürs, then work round to Lech; from Lech you do the same in reverse. With lift queues and a coffee stop, most people allow a couple of hours each way, so a day on the far side means an early start and a firm eye on the last connections home. Miss them and the way back is by road over the Flexen pass - around half an hour by bus or taxi. Beyond Lech, a further gondola reaches Warth-Schröcken, and the whole chain from St Anton's Rendl to Warth is skiable as one long circuit, the Run of Fame.
Who it suits: based in St Anton, the Tyrol side fills most weeks, with Lech as one or two day trips; based in Lech, Lech, Zürs and Warth-Schröcken cover a week of cruising, with St Anton saved for the steeps.
St Anton's home mountain is big and steep. Lifts climb from the village to Gampen and Galzig and on towards the Valluga ridge, and the runs back down are long, sustained and busy at the end of the day - the last red into the village is a test in tired late-afternoon snow. Across the valley, Rendl is a separate sector with wider, quieter reds. Between the pistes sits the Arlberg trademark: ski routes, marked and avalanche-controlled but never groomed, which give a taste of off-piste without leaving the lift network. Lech's slopes are rounder and more open. Above the village, Oberlech and the Schlegelkopf hold wide blues and reds, and a cable car climbs straight out of the centre to the Rüfikopf for the runs towards Zürs. The Weisser Ring, a 22 km loop between Lech, Zürs, Zug and Oberlech, is the classic intermediate day out. Put simply, St Anton's side asks more of you; Lech's lets you cover distance.
Who it suits: for steep, demanding terrain from the door, St Anton; for long, flattering mileage, Lech.
Both sit in one of the snowiest corners of the Alps. The Arlberg lies on the northern edge of the range and catches storms rolling in from the north-west, so heavy snowfalls are part of a normal winter on either side. Within that, Lech and Zürs usually see more snow than St Anton, and Warth-Schröcken more again. Aspect matters too. Much of St Anton's main skiing faces the sun and its home runs carry heavy traffic, so in spring they can be firm first thing and heavy by mid-afternoon; Rendl, on the shadier side of the valley, tends to hold its snow better. Lech's bowls face largely north and east, keep their snow in good condition for longer, and start from a village around 150 m higher. Both sides have extensive snowmaking on the main runs home, and both run roughly from early December to late April. On a powder day, St Anton's famous lines get tracked quickly; Lech's limit on skier numbers keeps the fresh snow around for longer.
Who it suits: for deeper, longer-lasting snow, Lech; through the core of the winter there is little between them.
St Anton is a proper town. A pedestrianised main street runs past the church and shops, the station sits at the edge of the centre, and at four o'clock the place fills with skiers clumping home in boots. The centre is loud in the evenings; Nasserein, a short walk east with its own gondola, is calmer. Accommodation covers the full range - family-run guesthouses, smart hotels, catered chalets and self-catered apartments - which is why it handles mixed groups so well. Lech is smaller and more composed, with a river through the middle, an old church and upmarket boutiques. It caps the number of guest beds and has no big hotel chains, so most stays are in family-owned hotels, many among the most polished in Austria. Chalets and apartments exist but are fewer. Oberlech, above the village, is largely car-free in winter with hotels right on the piste, and Zürs, up the road, is smaller and more exclusive still.
Who it suits: for choice of accommodation style and a buzzing centre, St Anton; for a quiet, well-kept village and a hotel-based week, Lech.
St Anton runs one of the most famous après scenes in Europe, and it starts on the mountain. The Mooserwirt and the Krazy Kanguruh sit on the home run above the village and are full from mid-afternoon, before the crowd skis - carefully - into town and carries on in the bars there. Lech is quieter and smarter: sun terraces and umbrella bars, a drink at the Tannbergerhof as the lifts close, then dinner. Food is its real strength. For a village of its size it has an unusually high number of top-rated restaurants, most of them inside hotels, and the evening tends to mean a long dinner rather than a late night. St Anton eats well too, and Lech has bars that stay open - it is a question of which one sets the tone.
Who it suits: for big afternoons and late nights, St Anton; for long dinners and quieter evenings, Lech.
Lech makes the first days easier for most beginners. Nursery slopes sit by the village and in Oberlech, the blues above them are wide and forgiving, and the cap on skier numbers keeps them calmer. Oberlech, with hotels on the piste and few cars, is one of the simpler bases in the Alps with small children, and the toboggan run from Oberlech down to Lech makes an easy family evening. St Anton's ski schools carry a long pedigree - modern ski teaching took shape here, with Hannes Schneider's Arlberg school in the 1920s - and its beginner areas at Nasserein and on the Gampen are well set up. The catch is what comes next: the runs back to the village are steep and crowded late in the day, and many newer skiers ride the gondola down. St Anton tends to suit families whose children are already confident.
Who it suits: for first-timers and young children, Lech; for families with strong teenagers who want bigger terrain, St Anton.
St Anton is one of the great expert resorts of the Alps. The off-piste off the Valluga - its north face is guide-only - the Schindlerkar, the long routes down towards St Christoph and Stuben, and Rendl after a storm draw a serious freeride crowd, while the dense network of ski routes covers steep, ungroomed snow without a guide. Lech is less famous among strong skiers but no softer: the terrain around Zürs and the long routes down to Zug hold plenty of pitch, there is more snow and fewer people chasing it, and guided heli-skiing drops run from Lech and Zürs, which is rare in Austria. For freestyle, St Anton has the bigger park, on the Rendl, and Lech has a smaller one above the village.
Who it suits: for steep, well-known lines and a big freeride scene, St Anton; for quieter powder days with a guide, Lech.
St Anton sits on the Arlberg railway, with direct trains from Innsbruck and Zurich to the station in the village, which makes it one of the easier Alpine resorts to reach without a car. By road it is around 1 hour 15 minutes from Innsbruck and 2 hours 30 minutes from Zurich, with Friedrichshafen another option. Lech has no railway: the nearest stations are Langen am Arlberg and St Anton, with a bus up from either. By road it is around 1 hour 30 minutes from Innsbruck and 2 hours 30 minutes from Zurich. In winter the only road into Lech runs over the Flexen pass, which can close for a few hours after very heavy snowfall - rare, but worth knowing on a transfer day.
Who it suits: for rail travel and short breaks, St Anton; for a door-to-door road transfer, either works.
WeSki insider tip: based in St Anton and want a day in Lech? Ride out and ski home. Take the bus over the Flexen pass in the morning, ski Lech and Zürs while the snow is fresh, and head back through Stuben in the afternoon - every run then moves you towards home, and the last-lift deadline stops being something you race.
One pass, one ski area - so the choice comes down to where you want to start and finish each day. Three questions usually settle it.
What should the evenings look like? If après on the mountain and bars in town are part of the plan, St Anton is built for it. If the evening means a long dinner and an early night, Lech suits it better, and you can always take the bus over for one big night.
Who is the least confident skier in the group? If anyone is in their first week or two, Lech's doorstep blues and calmer slopes make life easier. If everyone skis well, St Anton puts the best-known terrain on the Arlberg right outside the door.
How are you travelling, and for how long? Arriving by train or on a short break points to St Anton, where you step off at the village station. For a full week with a road transfer, either works.
If all three come out level, choose by the run home - steep and lively into St Anton, or wide and quiet into Lech.
Yes - both are part of Ski Arlberg and covered by the same pass. There is no direct link between the two villages, though. The route runs through Stuben and a gondola across the Flexen pass to Zürs, and from there round to Lech. Allow a couple of hours each way with stops, and keep an eye on the last connections back. If you miss them, the bus or a taxi over the Flexen pass takes around half an hour.
Lech, for most first-timers. Its nursery slopes sit right by the village and in Oberlech, the blues above are wide and forgiving, and a cap on skier numbers keeps them calmer. St Anton has excellent ski schools and good beginner areas, but the runs back into the village are steep and busy at the end of the day, which can feel like a big step for someone in their first week.
Both are among the snowiest resorts in the Alps, thanks to the Arlberg's position on the northern edge of the range. Lech usually has the edge: it tends to see more snow, its slopes face largely north and east so the snow keeps better, and the village sits higher. St Anton's sunnier, busier home runs can be firm in the morning and heavy later in spring, though its upper slopes and Rendl hold up well.
Broadly, a week in Lech tends to feel more upmarket. It is a hotel-based village with many polished, family-owned hotels and fewer apartments or chalets. St Anton has a wider spread, from guesthouses and self-catered apartments to catered chalets and smart hotels, so it suits more styles of trip. The lift pass is the same for both, since it covers the whole of Ski Arlberg.
For young children, Lech usually has the edge: gentle slopes by the village, car-free Oberlech with hotels on the piste, and calmer pistes thanks to capped skier numbers. St Anton suits families with older, confident children who want steeper terrain, and it has more going on in the evenings. Its home runs are steep and busy late in the day, which matters with less experienced skiers in the group.
St Anton, if après means a party. Its bars on the run home above the village are full from mid-afternoon, and the town carries on into the night. Lech's après is quieter and smarter - sun terraces, umbrella bars and a drink before dinner - and its strength is food rather than nightlife. Staying in Lech and taking the bus to St Anton for one big night is a common way to have both.
