Things To Do in Kitzbuhel

The town has two main streets, both pedestrian walkways: Vorderstadt and Hinterstadt. Along these streets, Kitzbühel has preserved its traditional architectural style. You'll see three-story stone houses with oriels and scrollwork around the doors and windows, heavy overhanging eaves, and Gothic gables.

The Pfarrkirche (Parish Church) was built from 1435 to 1506 and was renovated in the baroque style during the 18th century. The lower part of the Liebfrauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) dates from the 13th century; the upper part dates from 1570. Between these two churches stands the Ölbergkapelle (Ölberg Chapel) with a 1450 "lantern of the dead" and frescoes from the latter part of the 16th century.

Heimatmuseum, Hinterstadt 32 (tel. 05356/67274; www.museum-kitzbuehl.at), is the town's most visible showcase of its own culture and history. It lies within what was originally the town granary, constructed in the city's center on the site of an early medieval castle. In 1998, it was enlarged with the incorporation of the town's oldest extant tower, a 14th-century stone structure once part of Kitzbühel's medieval fortifications. Inside you'll see artifacts based on the town's legendary mines, from prehistoric times and the Bronze Age through the Middle Ages, as well as trophies of the region's skiing stars, with lots of emphasis on its 19th- and early-20th-century development into a modern-day ski resort. The museum is open March 11 to July 9 and September 21 to December 5 Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 1pm; July 10 to September 20 daily 10am to 6pm. Admission is 5€ ($8) for adults and 2€ ($3.20) for persons under 18.

If you're lucky enough to be in Kitzbühel during July or August, you can schedule your nightly promenade to coincide with the open-air concerts that begin every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 8:30pm. Musicians position themselves against one edge of the Vorderstadt, whose edges are sealed off against motorized traffic. The result is an open-air all-pedestrian party with lots of folkloric and alpine overtones. Expect alpine folk music every Tuesday and Friday, and a roster of more international music (Dixieland or free-form jazz, or perhaps a New Orleans-style blues concert) every Thursday.

Even if you arrive when a concert isn't scheduled, you can always enjoy Kitzbühel's collection of nightlife and drinking options, most of which line either edge of the resort's two most central avenues, Vorderstadt and Hinterstadt. A site whose decor you might immediately recognize as inspired by 1950s America (it contains an antique car and a replica of an old-fashioned gasoline station) is Highways Pub, Im Gries 20 (tel. 05356/75350). A watering hole with a theme like that of a Victorian pub is The Londoner, Franz-Reisch-Strasse 4 (tel. 05356/71427), where old-fashioned paneling and hot music sometimes have late-night clients up and dancing on the tables. A conventional dance club, usually brimming with high-altitude energy, is Python Club, Hinterstadt 6 (tel. 05356/63001). A more glamorous address, with a more aggressive policy about screening rowdies from the lines that sometimes form on weekends, is Take Five Disco, Hinterstadt 22 (tel. 05356/71300). Here, within a mostly black and artfully lit interior, you'll find one of the biggest settings for a dance club in town.

In winter, every Thursday from 5:30pm to around 1am, the Alpenhotel Kitzbühel Annemarie Hirschhuber (tel. 05356/64254) sponsors live music that usually transforms the place into a fun and convivial dance. Admission is free at this party, held about 2km (1 1/4 miles) northwest of Kitzbühel's center, beside the lake.

Local residents who want to escape too constant a diet of evergreen music and ski-related raucousness head for the cool and quiet enclaves of Kitzbühel's most appealing piano bar, The Piano Place, in the Hotel Tennerhof, Griesenauweg 26 (tel. 05356/63181). It features live music in winter (Dec-Apr) every Wednesday to Sunday 6pm to midnight; and in summer (late June-late Aug) every Thursday to Sunday during the same hours. The music is very, very conducive to drinking. Whiskey with soda costs around 7€ ($11); beer costs 4€ ($6.40).