 Poster: A snowHead
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All this sunshine is making me dream of hot chocolate, gluwein and hearty food...
I've just booked a mid-December break for me and the OH in Trento with a couple of days in Verona tacked on - the idea is that if it's not snowy while we're in Trento there's enough to do for a few days relaxing - Christmas markets, sight seeing, low hill hiking etc - but if it is snowy there's a nearby small ski resort (Monte Bondone) where we can get one or two days of fun. We're off on our ski-moon to Whistler in January so unlikely to get a full week of European skiing in 2018/1019 (though come March we'll be desperate and will probably do it anyway...), but I could see me slyly booking the odd mini break.
So, does anyone have recommendations/experiences of good city/town breaks in Europe where a bit of skiing might be an added bonus (or have done the Trento trip)? Outside the obvious perhaps (Salzburg!) Criteria would probably be direct flights, or an easy train from an airport, no more than 30 mins to a little ski area, and a great town with good restaurants, bars and culture.
Please, aid my 'it's too hot, my brain doesn't work, roll on Autumn' procrastination. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Innsbruck
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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What's to see, any recommendations? I've been through Innsbruck to get to other ski resorts, but never stayed there. What if there's no skiing to be had?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Or the Stubai glacier is even closer. There'll be skiing somewhere in the vicinity. And Christmas markets.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| andy wrote: |
| Or the Stubai glacier is even closer. There'll be skiing somewhere in the vicinity. And Christmas markets. |
Forgot about Stubai  , approx 33mins by car.
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Think you are probably thinking the wrong way round - think about ski towns that give you a plan B if conditions suck. Engelberg is a short trip back town to Lucerne which is a fairly interesting city, Briancon fairly interesting in its own right, Chamonix always has plenty going on and enough alpine history to be of interest etc etc. Otherwise Innsbruck FTW.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| ElzP wrote: |
| What's to see, any recommendations? I've been through Innsbruck to get to other ski resorts, but never stayed there. What if there's no skiing to be had? |
Great city to visit. Loved it. We did a city weekend there for Xmas markets,there are a few touristy bits in my TR, before sking 6 days in the Zillertal. A bit further than 30 mins by car but not much.
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Why compromise? Just do a ski weekend.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| Why compromise? Just do a ski weekend. |
Agree, skiing is always a bit of a faff. It’s not something you would tend to decide on the day if you need to sort ski hire, ski passes etc. If you are taking all your ski clothing, just go skiing.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Im off to Innsbruck in December for 5 nights.
Christmas Markets & Mulled Wine.
Hotel Booked & will decide where to go boarding nearer the date (or even if its worth taking my snowboard).
I have no issues travelling to Stubai.
£65 flights each
£0 Hotel (Hotel Points & very easy to get the required points with 2x people using referals, new card bonuses & flipping cards)
So just have to fork out for lift pass & extra luggage if thats what we choose.
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Vienna! Now that would be spot on, I love Vienna and the OH has never been. I've got my eye on Briancan for a whole week at some point...
On the 'just go skiing' - I kind of agree it's a minor faff (although we don't have any gear beyond clothes so not so bad for us), but it's a) expensive and b) it would be just skiing, if we're skiing we're skiing, and I'm usually so knackered by the end of a day that I'm falling asleep over my dinner. Staying in a city usually has a bit more variety of accommodation for skint people who have blown all their money on three weeks in Canada... and I do like to see things as well. Skiing is taking over our holiday life... (my OH nearly divorced me immediately when I suggested that if we went to Australia, we could do it in their winter to... go skiing...)
ster - I read your trip report when you did it, but clearly skipped to the skiing bits, will re-read!  Mr.Egg, bargain - we hoard avios so totally doable in a similar way.
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You know it makes sense.
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Innsbruck is the obvious choice, but..
Granada? local mountain is good size and has a long season. A bit prone to closures due to wind.
Annecy? although not sure if there's much to do during winter.
Freiburg. Lovely university town at the edge of black forest. Buzzy enough for a weekend. Nearby skiing is quite low, so not snowsure.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Munich?
Could visit Neuschwanstein Castle
Theres a small ski resort next door
Munich is closed on Saturdays... next to nothing open.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Mr.Egg, News to me that Munich is closed on a Saturday it wasnt last weekend and as far as I know no others either (the occasional public holiday excepted). All the shops etc are open. Even on a Sunday all the museums, all of the bars and most of the restaurants are open. There are some ski resorts within easy reach. Lenggries is direct train and I think there is a combined train / ski ticket. Garmisch similar though the skiing area is not really adjacent to the station. Spitzingsee is near train stations I guess there must be link buses. Bayerischzell is at the end of the same train line.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Turin plus Sestriere / Sauze d'oulx.
Grenada Spain plus Sierra Neruda.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Should be Sierra Nevada, got caught in the predictive.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Grenoble
Oslo
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@munich_irish,
everything was closed when I was there last winter a few weeks before christmas!
quite disappointing as we had planned on making little hampers & buying presents on the Sat (our last day).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Possibly Zakopane in Poland fits your criteria (minus the train bit...a taxi will cost approx £85 and save you about 3 hours)!
The town is pretty lively, plenty to see and do and there are loads of little ski areas dotted around.
There are direct flights from (I think) Southend, Stansted, Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick to Krakow.
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Cracking suggestions - Freiburg is a good one, it's been on the list to visit for a while anyway. Grenada is top of my OH's list.
Zakopane we've done, and we'll no doubt return - worth going there when the ski-jumping is on for anyone else who likes to mix it up. Just watch out for snacking on smoked cheese when there's been a bit too much vodka about... Similar (though without the resort town feel of Zakopane) is a little place called Ustron in Poland.
I've just been reading about day ski trips from Ljubliana - a fantastic city to visit. Not sure how old the info on the page was but apparently you can get the transport, pass and hire for about £50!
I'm liking the idea of visiting smaller areas that you wouldn't bother to do for a week probably, but are something different.
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@Mr.Egg, Not sure how that can be. 1st November is a public holiday and if that falls on a Saturday then everything is closed (its the day when you visit the graves of your ancestors). Other than that the shops are open every Saturday until 20:00. The various Advent markets open on Sundays too.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@ElzP, Do one or the other, too much faff otherwise imo. But INN if you want to, and stay at Congress Hotel, ski bus stop over the road and also 500m from the old town, but you may need to travel out to Stubai etc.
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We've done:
- Tryvann Winter Park from central Oslo by train. Starts as an underground train - very novel in your ski kit. Tiny ski area but good fun.
- Krvavec in Slovenia. Only about 30 mins from Ljubljana Airport. Pretty decent skiing for a small area. We were based in Bled so didn't visit Ljubljana unfortunately. Skied at Cerkno and Vogel as well - we just love to try new areas.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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fFor a pre-xmas city break with bonus ski days then Innsbruck takes some beating.
Weather permitting you wouldn't even need to leave the city boundary to ski!
But there are many resorts very close to hand and also the train if you wanted to venture further?
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Another vote for Sierra Nevada combined with a tapas tour of Seville, the Alhambra in Granada and the Mezquita in Cordoba. Not a great resort but it will at least give you the "fix" you are after. Chamrousse above Grenoble is good resort.
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You know it makes sense.
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Aosta isn't a particularly big place but Mrs Z was happy pottering around there for a few days while we skied in Pila.
If the weather is right - Marrakesh/Oukaimeden - we had a great long weekend there with a wee bit of skiing thrown in.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Ray Zorro wrote: |
If the weather is right - Marrakesh/Oukaimeden - we had a great long weekend there with a wee bit of skiing thrown in. |
Having just had a quick google, my heart says I really want to go there, and my head is saying don't be daft.  What's it like really?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Loads of quirky towns in Europe and near-Europe with ski areas in easy reach of 1-3 hours.
Edinburgh.
Oslo.
Brussels.
Munich.
Vienna.
Nicosia.
Beirut.
Palermo.
Rome.
Barcelona.
Madrid.
Granada.
Marrakesh.
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