Schladming is a small town of about 7,000 people in the Enns Valley of Styria, in the southern Austrian Alps, and one of the most important ski resorts in Austria. It sits at 745 metres, wedged between the limestone peaks of the Dachstein massif to the north and the schist mountains of the Schladminger Tauern to the south. The town has a pretty pedestrianised centre of pastel-painted houses and onion-domed church towers, and a history going back over 600 years (originally as a silver and copper mining town). But most visitors come for the snow.
The Ski amadé network — Schladming is one of its main centres — is the largest single ski area in Austria, linking four mountains directly above the town — Planai, Hochwurzen, Hauser Kaibling, Reiteralm — with a high-speed lift system and over 200 km of marked runs. The terrain is intermediate-friendly and extremely well-maintained. The area hosts regular World Cup ski races — most famously the Night Slalom on Planai every January, one of the most atmospheric events on the circuit, watched by 40,000 spectators under floodlights. Schladming also hosted the 2013 Alpine Ski World Championships.
In summer the same cable cars run for hikers and mountain bikers. The Dachstein Glacier a few kilometres north is accessible by cable car from Ramsau and offers year-round skiing, high-altitude walks, and the spectacular Dachstein Skywalk glass platform. The town's history — silver and copper mining, a medieval revolt, Reformation battles — survives in the Stadtplatz and the Stadttor, which are easy to overlook but worth seeking out.