The small town of Innsbruck in Austria does have something to offer for skiing-addicts. The thing is the Olympic Games were held in this area twice. And perfectly equipped slopes are heritage and reminder of the major sports events. Exactly in Innsbruck you’ll find the trace for professionals. However if you don’t feel like skiing it’s just fun to watch snowboarders flying up as the well-known ski jump is situated here as well. Meanwhile, another Austrian ski resort, Lech is the resort where the celebrities from all over the world flock to. Snow cover is perfect for skiing all year round whereas high level service has brought Lech the reputation as one of the best winter getaway resorts in the world.

However, if nature doesn’t appeal to you and you don’t want to leave a big noisy city, then head straight to Stockholm, Sweden where in the landscape park Hammarby Backen skiers and snowboarders can slide down the slopes till the 10 pm admiring the city’s evening lights. The view is so fantastic that many Swedes leave their skis home and come here just to enjoy the landscape.

Winter gataways

Not far from Stockholm, in another Scandinavian capital, Oslo in the Tryvann Vinterpark you’ll find 14 slopes, 7 ski lifts and beautiful landscape park that can compete with any resort in the Alps. It will take you only 30 minutes to get to Tryvann by subway. Moreover, thanks to the local climate and modern technologies the skiing season lasts here from November to April. To distract from snow you can pay a visit to the Kon-Tiki Museum where you’ll know more about legendary traveler, writer and scientist Thor Heyerdahl. You can entirely plunge into exciting winter sports without leaving Finland. Lahti is also a well-known ski town. Here you just have to check Messilä, the biggest and highest skiing area in the southern Finland.

Meanwhile, Eastern Europe also has something to boast. Just 15 minutes from the Ljubljana airport (Slovenia), you’ll find a skiing resort. It’s the single world’s example when the skiing resort is situated so close to the capital. In case you don’t ski, visit medieval Ljubljana Castle towering above the capital and Igloo Village where all the houses are made from snow. Not far from Ljubljana, namely in Saraevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) there is another Olympic Games heritage – skiing resort Bjelašnica where almost vertical slopes are equipped with six ski lifts. To give your muscles some rest you can make a relaxing stroll in the old city where mosques and oriental-stylized shops remind of the unique atmosphere of the Middle East rather than of Eastern Europe.

However, if Europe is too predictable and traditional for you, try winter sports in Sapporo, Japan. There are 5 skiing areas not far from Hokkaido and the biggest of them – Teine Highland is a vertical slope of 450 m. It was designed in 1972 for the Olympic Winter Games. Apart from skiing, there is a festival of ice sculptures held every year in February.

Of course, it’s not the whole list of winter getaways. Compiling of full list would take ages as our planet is generous in terms of the various nature landscapes. Still, I hope that this article will help you to define where to go!