Lech

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.

A Lech family ski holiday is right for you if you want:

• The warmest welcome and most family-focused service in the Alps
• Genuine luxury without the showiness of the smarter French resorts
• 305km of Arlberg skiing shared with St Anton, St Christoph and Zürs
• Snowsure conditions thanks to the resort's altitude and northerly aspect
• One of the great European ski schools (Skischule Lech, teaching since 1925)

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.

Lech's home area

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.

Zürs

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.

Crossing to St Anton

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.

At the bar

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.

Off the slopes with children

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.