Where to Party in Schladming

Schladming has ‘the normal lively bars, but there’s not enough going on for a young group where apres comes first,’ commented a reporter, and ‘the nightlife was more than adequate for a geriatric like myself,’ said another. Onkel Willy’s Hutte on Planai and its terrace Schirmbar draw a large crowd long to drink and listen to live music before the lifts close. Schafalm is at the top of Planai. Tauernalm has a party atmosphere, day and night. Seiter Hutte mountain restaurant houses an apres-ski Celtic bar on the piste in Hochwurzen.

Later on the action moves to Charly’s Treff (+43 3687 23544) which is a resort meeting point, along with Papa Joe’s cocktail bar. Others include La Porta, Das Beisl, Hanglbar, Szenario, Siglu, and the retro Sonderbar Disco (+43 3687 22881). The Schwalbenbrau (+43 3687 24459) brews its own beer.

The 8km toboggan run from the top of Hochwurzen is open in the evenings, and Schladming has a good swimming-pool ‘made of stainless steel with superb water quality’. Worth a visit is the Dachstein Sky Walk and Ice Palace. At the Sky Walk, the Hunerkogel rock face drops away 250m straight down under your feet, while all around you is a spectacular panorama. The Dachstein Ice Palace is three minutes’ walk from the top station of the Dachstein Gletscherbahn and is open to visitors daily – in all weathers. The tour deep inside the glacier holds attractions like the throne room, the crystal cathedral, and the blue parlour. Another after-skiing activity here is zip-wiring – Schladming describes it as ‘the biggest rope-gliding flight facility in the Alps‘.