Kitzbühel works well for non-skiers because the town itself is the attraction and several lifts carry walkers up to huts and winter paths. Fill your days with walks, tobogganing, a spa afternoon and one day trip, and meet the skiers for lunch on the mountain. If nobody in your group skis at all, a calmer base such as Saalfelden Leogang may suit you better.
Most ski resorts are built around a lift station, and a non-skier there runs out of things to do by Tuesday. Kitzbühel is different because it was a market town long before it was a ski resort. The old streets, cafés and shops keep going while everyone else is on the Hahnenkamm.
This page plans a non-skier’s week around the skiers in the group. It covers which lifts you can ride without skis, where to walk, where to swim and when it makes more sense to leave town for the day. Start with the winter walks if you only read one other page.
Is Kitzbühel good for non-skiers?
Yes, better than most Austrian ski resorts. The town centre is compact and walkable, there are cleared paths in the valley and on both mountains, and several lifts sell tickets to walkers, so you can go up for lunch without owning skis.
The trade-off is that in peak weeks the town revolves around skiing. Restaurants fill at the same times, the buses carry ski boots and the conversation at dinner is about the Streif. You’ll have a good week, but you’ll be the minority.
It isn’t the place for someone who wants a sleepy village with nothing happening. And if you dislike crowds, avoid Hahnenkamm race week in January, when the town is at its busiest of the whole year (race information).
A non-skier’s day in winter
Plan your day around one fixed point: lunch on the mountain with the skiers. Everything else bends around it.
A good rhythm looks like this. Spend the morning on a walk or at the pool while the slopes are busiest. Around midday, ride a lift up and meet the skiers at a hut. Come back down for an afternoon in town while the light fades, then go tobogganing or out to dinner in the evening.
The lift ride is what makes this work. As of November 2026, KitzSki lists the Hahnenkammbahn, the Kitzbüheler Hornbahn, the Fleckalmbahn, the Wagstättbahn, the Panoramabahn Kitzbüheler Alpen and the Bichlalm and Gaisberg chairlifts as open to winter walkers, who ride with a hiking ticket on any lift approved for pedestrians (KitzSki winter hiking). We couldn’t confirm current walker prices, so check them on kitzski.at before you plan the week around it.
Our advice: agree the hut and the time the night before. A skier at the top of a long run won’t answer the phone, and the huts are busiest from late morning, so a fixed time saves a lot of circling.
Over a week, this rhythm gives you a shape without repeating the same day. A sample five days: arrive and walk the old town; a valley walk to the Schwarzsee and lunch in town; a lift up the Hahnenkamm to meet the skiers, then the Aquarena; a day trip to Salzburg or Saalfelden; a guided snowshoe walk and a night on the toboggan run. Swap days around the weather, and keep the spa for the grey one. For more rainy-day ideas, we have a separate list.
Getting around without a ski pass
One practical catch for non-skiers: the KitzCard guest card doesn’t include free public transport, and the tourism office says the winter ski buses are covered by ski passes (KitzCard, as of November 2026). If you aren’t buying a lift pass, ask your host how you’ll ride the buses, or base yourself where you can walk to the lifts and the station.
| Activity | Best for | Time needed | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old town wander | Everyone, first afternoon | 2–3 hours | No |
| Cleared winter walk | Walkers of any fitness | Half a day | No |
| Guided snowshoe walk | First-timers | Half a day | Yes |
| Lift up to a hut for lunch | Mixed groups | 2–3 hours | No |
| Night tobogganing | Groups, older kids | An evening | Sometimes |
| Aquarena or hotel spa | Rest and bad-weather days | Half a day | Hotel spas: yes |
| Day trip | Stays of four days or more | A full day | Trains: no |
Winter walks and snowshoeing
Walking is the backbone of a non-ski week here. Kitzbühel Tourismus lists more than 35 winter hiking trails and several snowshoe trails across Kitzbühel and the surrounding villages, including a loop around the Schwarzsee, which it puts at a 30-minute walk from the centre (Kitzbühel Tourismus, as of November 2026).
Guided winter walks and snowshoe walks run on set weekdays and are free with the KitzCard guest card, which every overnight guest in the area receives. Snowshoes can be hired at the tourism office. Our winter walking guide picks the best routes and says which one to do first. If you’d rather book a guide yourself, compare snowshoe tours (affiliate link).
Tobogganing
Night tobogganing is the evening activity non-skiers remember. You walk or ride up, eat at a hut and come down a floodlit run in the dark. It’s also the one activity where skiers and non-skiers are equal. Our guide to tobogganing has the runs and how to get to each.
Spa days and the Aquarena
You have two choices: the public pool in town or a hotel spa.
The Aquarena is the town’s public pool and sauna, run by the lift company, Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel. As of November 2026 its own site lists a 25 m sports pool, a slide, a separate area for babies and toddlers, a sauna area and a snow room (Aquarena). It’s good on a grey day and with children. It isn’t a quiet retreat. Opening times vary between listings, so check the Aquarena’s own page before going.
Hotel spas are calmer and better for a whole afternoon, but access for non-guests is limited and varies. If the spa matters, book one of the wellness hotels rather than relying on a day pass.
The old town, museum and shops
The old town is two main streets, the Vorderstadt and the Hinterstadt, plus the lanes between them. It’s small enough to walk end to end in a few minutes and pleasant enough to come back to every afternoon. Expect boutiques, cafés, bakeries and a good number of luxury brands.
The old town works best in the late afternoon, when the skiers come down and the cafés fill. That’s also when non-skiers notice the town’s character most: painted house fronts, church towers above the rooftops and the mountains at the end of every street. Mornings are quieter if you want to shop without the crowd.
Be honest with yourself about shopping. Kitzbühel’s shops lean towards fashion and sportswear at high prices. If browsing expensive windows doesn’t appeal, one afternoon here is enough, and the rest of the week belongs on the paths and the mountain. If it does, our guide to shopping in the old town covers the streets, the watch and jewellery shops and Sunday opening.
Museum Kitzbühel is the obvious stop for local and ski history. Opening times change by season, so check them on kitzbuehel.com before you go. For the town’s sights beyond this page, see everything else to do in Kitzbühel.
With children
Families have more to do here than the slopes suggest: tobogganing, the Aquarena’s toddler area, skating and walks with a sledge. The free valley practice lifts also make it easy to give a child a first try on skis without committing to a full ski holiday. Our guide to what to do with children sorts it all by age and season.
Christmas, ice and other winter extras
Advent is the easiest time to be a non-skier here. As of November 2026, the Kitzbühel Advent market sets up in the Hinterstadt and the town park from mid-November until just after Christmas (Kitzbühel Advent). It’s small and very pretty, and our page on Kitzbühel at Christmas has the details.
For skating, the Sport Park Kitzbühel has a public rink with skate hire and, according to the tourism office, Austria’s only indoor curling arena. When the ice allows, the Schwarzsee also opens marked skating areas on the frozen lake, at your own risk and without skate hire (ice sports, as of November 2026). The wider Kitzbühel in winter guide covers the events and the skiing side of the season.
Day trips that beat another day in town
By day four, a day away is better than another loop of the old town. The two best choices go in opposite directions.
Saalfelden and Leogang are east of Kitzbühel on the same railway line, with direct regional trains (check current times on ÖBB). The frozen Ritzensee, two long toboggan runs and flat forest walks make it the best winter day out for non-skiers. We spent New Year 2024/25 there, and our take is simple: if nobody in your group skis, Saalfelden and Leogang make a better base for a non-skiing week than Kitzbühel, because everything a non-skier wants is on the doorstep and it’s calmer.
Salzburg is the other obvious choice, for the old town, the cathedral and the Christmas markets in Advent. Our guide to day trips compares the options and how to get there.
If you’re coming in summer
In summer the non-skier question disappears, because nearly everyone is on foot. Go swimming in the Schwarzsee, take the lift up the Kitzbüheler Horn for an easy high walk, and read the summer guide for the rest.
Where to stay as a non-skier
Stay in the town centre, not ski-in/ski-out. A skier’s day starts at the lift, but yours starts at a café, the tourism office or the bus stop, and all of those are in town. A ski-in/ski-out place on the edge of town saves the skiers ten minutes and costs you a walk every morning.
Our guide to hotels near the lifts explains which areas suit which trip. If you’re flying in, read about getting here from Munich Airport, and use the planner to plan your trip day by day.
Plan your trip
Where to stay
Compare hotels and apartments in the town centre, near the Hahnenkamm lift or in quieter Reith and Kirchberg.
Tours and activities
Book guided hikes, lessons or a day trip to Salzburg before the busy weeks fill up.
Airport transfer
Shared and private transfers from Munich, Salzburg and Innsbruck airports, door to door.
Some links are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works.
What the skiers in your group will be doing
They’ll mostly be on the Hahnenkamm side, with the Kitzbüheler Horn across the valley as the sunnier alternative. Knowing roughly where they are helps you pick a meeting hut that neither side has to cross the whole area to reach. Our overview of what the ski area is like shows how the mountains connect.
Plan the week
Pick two kinds of day and repeat them: walks and spa, or walks and kids’ activities. Add one day trip and one night on the toboggan run, and book a central base so every day starts on foot. Then read the winter walking guide and choose your first route.
