Bramberg

Dating back to the 10th Century, this pretty Austrian village is located at the heart of the upper Pinzgau region, at the foot of Wildkogel Mountain and close to the Salzach River. The resort is surrounded by Alpine lakes, forests and mountains, in a picturesque setting.

The village is smaller than nearby Kitzbuhel, but lively with a great selection of bars, restaurants and shops. Only five minutes from the larger town of Mittersill, Bramberg is exceedingly convenient. Historically, Bramberg is home to one of Europe's only emerald mines, drawing a number of amateur mineral collectors to the area each year. 

Located in the stunning Hohe Tauern National Park, Europe's largest nature reserve, Bramberg is only 35 minutes from Kitzbuhel and Zell am See making day trips easy throughout the year. The resort is 1 hour 40 minutes from Salzberg and Innsbruck airports. 

Bramberg has a small, but incredibly scenic ski area with open, uncrowded slopes and snow-capped trees. The area is largely intermediate, with a good mix of slopes to help improving skiers. Experts can enjoy the uncrowded off piste and head over to nearby Kitzbuhel to ski the Streif downhill. 

There are a number of traditional mountain huts that offer full table service with great food and traditional rustic atmospheres, and the area is home to the longest night toboggan run in the world. The 14km run covers 1,300 vertical metres, it' s floodlit, and accessible via the Smaragbahn lift. 

The Panoramabahn gondola is only a five minute drive from the resort, offering direct access to the Kitzbuhel ski area; this opens up a further 170km of skiing to skiers. Between the Wildkogel ski area and the Kitzbuhel Alps, Bramberg can offer a huge amount of skiing, with lively mountain bars and a superb range of restaurants.

An attractive village in the Hohe Tauern National Park, Bramberg is a fantastic place to visit during the summer. The traditional Alpine activities of hiking and Nordic walking are popular amongst many summer tourists, while there is an excellent high ropes course and 800km of mountain biking trails available for the more adventurous. 

The mountain railways in the area are perfect for day trips, and with the lake at Zell am See only half an hour away, a day trip in the car to enjoy boat rides and lake swimming can be just as rewarding. The Salzach river, which passes through Bramberg, means that watersports like white water rafting and kayaking are easy to try out.

The par 70 Mittersill-Stuhlfelden Golf Club is only ten minutes from the resort, and boasts spectacular surroundings. The 18 hole course features hay lofts, doglegs, ponds, a small stream and a par 3 island green; it is one of the prettiest courses in the Austrian Alps.

Properties for sale in this resort are largely new build chalets, with most developments offering spacious new chalets in convenient locations close to the centre of town or the ski lifts. Whilst there are some apartments available, the more popular properties tend to be chalets, which are well placed and reasonably priced.

There might not be too much in the way of resale properties on the market, but those that are offer superb locations, Tyrolean chalet style and chic modern interiors. They are slightly more expensive than the new build equivalent, but offer a better option for those looking for a quick purchase.