Resort height: 1200m
The mountains
If you're new to skiing, or simply want to remind yourself for a couple of days what it feels like, then Seefeld will do a grand job. A pretty and traditional town like this will put your right in the mood, and you'll find enough easy ski slopes on which to make your turns. Don't book Seefeld for a proper skiing or snowboarding holiday, however - there are much better ski resorts in Austria, and beyond, for that.
Getting there
It's a long journey by train or by car, but getting to Seefeld by plane is a doddle: aim for Innsbruck airport, and you'll find the transfer takes just 30 minutes. (Though you need to bear in mind that flights are often diverted to Munich when the weather is bad in Innsbruck.)
Rating: 
5/10
Après-ski
Seefeld is not a party town, though there are a few clubs in town which are lively at the weekend. This is more of a place for low-key drinks and relaxed conversation in the bars of the big hotels - followed by some posh nosh in an upmarket restaurant, such as the Ritter-Oswald-Stube in the hotel Klosterbrau, which has two Gault-Millau 'tocques' (the Austrian equivalent of the Michelin star). The hotel is set in Seefeld's monastery, and makes excellent use of the monks' wine cellar, which is 500 years old. Also recommended is the Alte Stube, lined with ancient wood paneling, beneath the Seefeld Casino.
Rating: 
9/10
Non-skiers
It's the non-skiers who will enjoy Seefeld the most. Twice the venue for the cross-country skiing events in the Winter Olympics, Seefeld offers a huge network of trails for all levels of langlaufer. Learning the basics doesn't take long, although you'd be well advised to get into shape back home first. Cross-country skiing is a low-impact sport, and is suitable for all ages, but uses almost every muscle group in the body and will give you more thorough cardio-vascular workout than downhill skiing. The good news, however, is that you don't need to wear lycra like the professionals do...
Rating: 
7/10
Cost of living
To do Seefeld in style, you need a healthy budget, although prices at the top-notch hotels are noticeably cheaper than they are in A-list ski resorts such as Courchevel or Val d'Isère. As in many Austrian ski resorts, the small, family-run Gasthofs are a great place to stay if you need to keep costs down.
Rating: 7/10
Attractiveness of the resort
Seefeld is cute rather than majestic, with the surrounding mountains cloaked in thick pine forests. With so many families and non-skiers in town, there's plenty of life to the place during daylight hours.
