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Summer in the Alps
Beyond its Alpine slopes, Kitzbühel reveals verdant Tyrolean trails, championship golf courses, soaring cable-car panoramas and inviting lakes for cooling swim.
More travellers are discovering the allure of an Alpine escape in summer, and Kitzbühel – the historic Austrian town nestled in the Tyrolean Alps – is leading the way. With a history stretching back 750 years, Kitzbühel combines cultural charm with a playground of outdoor pursuits. While winter draws skiers and ice‐skaters to its snow‐clad slopes, the warmer months see visitors hiking and biking through pine‐ clad valleys, swimming in serene lakes or taking to the skies on paragliding adventures to admire the dramatic mountain scenery. Kitzbühel is also a premier golfing destination, with four championship courses set on the valley floor, all within a five‐minute drive of the town centre. Framed by mountain ridges, forests, meadows and rushing streams, each course offers distinctive challenges for players of all levels. This summer, the town will host the Austrian Alpine Open, a prestigious international tournament on the DP World Tour, at the Kitzbühel‐Schwarzsee‐Reith Golf Course from 25 to 31 May.
With 1,000km of hiking trails weaving through the surrounding peaks – including the iconic Kitzbüheler Horn and the legendary Hahnenkamm – the area offers a wealth of breathtaking landscapes to explore on foot. The neighbouring villages of Aurach and Jochberg, both officially recognised as Austrian Hiking Villages, add to the region’s charm. Over 80 cycling routes, along with lakes such as the Schwarzsee – offering some of the warmest bathing waters in Tyrol – provide further ways to enjoy Kitzbühel in the summer months.
Kitzbühel is giving travellers yet more reason to visit outside the peak summer months by enhancing the benefits of its guest card, the KitzCard, for stays in May, June, September and October 2026. Already offering a wide range of discounts and experiences, the visitors’ card will now include one free daytime ascent and descent per person each day on the town’s cable cars, opening up the Alpine surroundings with ease. Reduced green fees, discounted entry to the Aquarena swimming centre and Wildpark Aurach, and complimentary guided hikes are among the card’s other attractions.
For more information on planning a visit to this legendary Alpine sports town, visit kitzbuehel.com/en/summer
Photos by Kitzbühel Tourismus and Daniel Zangerl
Sponsored by Kitzbühel Tourism
