The most refined ski village in Austria. Our top pick for families with younger children: discreet luxury, immaculate slopes, exceptional ski school.
Altitude
1450m
Pistes
305km
Season
Early December – Late April
Family rating
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Overview
Lech is the quietest case for being the best resort in the Alps for families with younger children. Sitting at 1450m in the Vorarlberg region of western Austria, it shares the 305km Arlberg lift system with St Anton, St Christoph, Zürs and Stuben, but the experience on the ground is utterly different from its better-known neighbour. Lech is discreet, refined, almost old-fashioned in its rhythms: a car-free village centre, family-run hotels with generations of returning guests, ski schools that have been teaching here since the 1920s. For a Lech family ski holiday that combines genuine luxury with the warmest welcome in the Alps, very little else in Europe quite compares.
Is it worth it?
If we had to pick one resort in the Alps to recommend to a family with children under ten, it would probably be Lech. We say "probably" because there are very good arguments for Cervinia and Cortina too. But Lech does something the others don't quite manage: it combines a genuinely upmarket village (think Cheval Blanc and the Burj Al Arab on Lech terms) with skiing that is, for families, almost perfectly designed.
The numbers tell some of the story: 305km of pistes shared with St Anton, St Christoph and Zürs, most of it above 1700m so genuinely snowsure, and a lift system that has been carefully re-engineered over the last decade to remove almost every queue and most of the painful drag-lifts. The other half of the story is the village itself: car-free in the centre, walkable, with hotels (the Almhof Schneider, Hotel Arlberg, Aurelio) that are family-run, properly luxurious, and welcoming to children in a way that some of the very smartest French and Swiss equivalents simply aren't.
What you give up for Lech is the size of the French linked ski areas (305km versus 600km in the Three Valleys) and a slightly higher cost than St Anton or the cheaper French alternatives. What you gain is a calmer pace, a much smaller and more navigable village, and ski schools (in particular the Skischule Lech) that have been teaching for nearly a century and absolutely know what they are doing with five-year-olds.
Best for
The ski area
The Arlberg lift pass covers Lech, St Anton, St Christoph, Zürs, Stuben and Warth-Schröcken. You can ski between Lech and St Anton in a day via the Flexen chairlift; the run is called the "Run of Fame" and takes you over 30km across the whole Arlberg massif if you do it end-to-end.
The skiing immediately above Lech itself is mostly intermediate: long, wide blue and red runs off the Rüfikopf and Schlegelkopf chairs, plus a substantial network of beginner terrain at the foot of the Schlegelkopf and at Oberlech (5 minutes by underground funicular from Lech village; bizarrely brilliant). For families with younger children, Oberlech is genuinely outstanding: a slightly higher, sunnier, slower-paced satellite village with its own ski schools, gentle terrain, and proper restaurants.
Five minutes by ski bus or fifteen minutes via the Madloch chair, Zürs is Lech's quieter sister. Slightly higher, slightly more snowsure, with the famous (or infamous) Madloch black run that takes you on a long, scenic descent back into Lech. We tend to ski Zürs in the morning and Lech in the afternoon to follow the sun.
If your family includes confident skiers, the trip across to St Anton is a proper adventure. The Flexen chair takes you up from Zürs, then a long run down into Stuben, then a series of lifts up to St Anton itself. Plan to spend the whole day, have lunch on the St Anton side (the Verwallstube at the top of the Galzig, perhaps), and ski back via the same route mid-afternoon.
Dining highlights
The Goldener Berg's mountain restaurant at Oberlech is genuinely one of the best lunches in the Alps: properly cooked, properly served, with views down the valley that are stupid in a good way. The Rud-Alpe at the foot of the Schlegelkopf is the cosier alternative for cold days. Both are popular and worth booking for peak weeks.
Hartenfels is the long-standing Lech favourite for traditional Austrian classics: schnitzel, käsespätzle, the works. Hus Nr 8 (literally "House Number 8", because the village had eight houses when it was founded) is the smarter alternative, with a proper wine list. For an evening with children, Pizzeria Don Enzo is the resort go-to and is reliably good.
The Almhof Schneider, Hotel Arlberg and Aurelio all do exceptional in-house dining, and you don't need to be staying there to book a table. The Schneider's tasting menu in particular is one of the best meals you'll have in any ski resort. Not cheap, but not Courchevel-1850-not-cheap either.
After the lifts close
Lech is not St Anton. The apres scene is restrained, refined, and over by 7pm. The classic stop is the Hotel Krone's terrace bar in the village centre for late-afternoon glasses of wine. The Tannbergerhof has a more lively scene with live music in the early evening. For something different, the s'Pfefferkornle bar in the basement of the Hotel Pfefferkorn does excellent cocktails and stays open later than most.
The Lech ice rink in the village centre is open most evenings and is genuinely lovely after dark, with skating to lit-up trees and a properly stocked glühwein bar. The walk along the river through the village (lit at night) is the post-dinner ritual; do it once. The toboggan run from Oberlech down to Lech village is a winter classic and very popular with under-12s; you can take the funicular up and toboggan back down.
Getting there
Innsbruck is the closest airport (around 1h 15m transfer), Zurich and Munich are the alternatives at 2h 30m and 3h 30m respectively. Friedrichshafen, just over the German border, is a less-known option that often has the cheapest flights and a 1h 45m transfer. From Innsbruck, the road climbs up the Arlberg pass; in heavy snow conditions transfers can occasionally be longer than scheduled, so build in some buffer if you have a peak-season Saturday flight home.
The train option is excellent: the Arlberg railway runs from Zurich and Innsbruck through to Langen am Arlberg, from where it is a 20-minute taxi up to Lech. Door-to-door from London via the Eurostar to Paris and onwards is around 12 hours, which is a long day, but the train station at Langen is at the foot of the resort and the experience is far more relaxing than flying with children.
In pictures
Common questions
Yes. Lech is widely considered one of the best resorts in the Alps for families with younger children, thanks to the village's car-free centre, the gentle beginner terrain at Oberlech (a satellite village reached by an underground funicular), and the Skischule Lech, which has been teaching since 1925. Family-run hotels welcome children in a way that the smarter French resorts often don't.
Lech and St Anton share the same Arlberg lift pass, so you have access to all 305km of pistes from either resort. The difference is character: Lech is quiet, refined, family-focused and over by 7pm; St Anton is rowdier, more famous for its apres-ski, and better suited to confident skiers and older teenagers. Many families choose Lech for the week and ski across to St Anton once for the experience.
Lech is a luxury resort and prices reflect that, particularly in peak weeks. A week at one of the five-star hotels (Almhof Schneider, Aurelio) for a family of four typically runs from £6,000 to £15,000 plus, depending on season. It is less expensive than Courchevel 1850's very top end but more expensive than its French equivalent at the same comfort level. The family-run four-star hotels offer significantly more accessible prices while still delivering on the warm welcome and service that defines Lech.
Mid-January is quietest with reliably good snow. February half-term and Easter are busiest. Lech's altitude (1450m, with most skiing above 1700m) means the season runs reliably from early December to late April. The resort holds its snow well into spring and tends to be in better shape than its lower-altitude rivals in mild seasons.
Innsbruck is the closest airport (1h 15m transfer), with Zurich, Munich and Friedrichshafen as alternatives. The train via Zurich or Innsbruck to Langen am Arlberg is an excellent option and door-to-door from London takes around 12 hours. Driving is also possible but the Arlberg pass road can be slow in heavy snow.
From the journal
destinations
Of all the resorts we have written about, Lech is the one we recommend most often to families with children under ten. Here is exactly why, with the practical details that matter.
18 December 2025 · 7 min read
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