Nine Tyrolean villages beneath a wall of limestone, sharing one big circuit with eight separate ways into it. This is the postcard version of Austria, all churches, farmhouses and painted shutters, at prices noticeably below Kitzbühel an hour away. The skiing is wide, forgiving and endlessly connected. You can ski village to village all day without ever needing to be brave, which makes it ideal for families and for anyone in their second or third season. Söll is the lively one with a long après ski reputation among British groups, while Ellmau and Scheffau are calmer and Going is quietest of all.

It also runs the largest floodlit ski area in Austria, with ten kilometres of piste open after dark. That effectively lengthens the day and gives you something to do on the evenings you are not in a hut. Family run guesthouses and half board hotels are the norm and they are good value. Evenings run to toboggan runs after dark, horse drawn sleighs, and mountain huts that stay open late.