Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [233]
A fun, outdoorsy place to hang out in during the low season, Åre is beautifully situated in a mountain valley, but it gets uncomfortably crowded in winter, thanks to its famed ski area (www.skistar.com/are). The place has 45 ski lifts, 100 pistes and 1000 vertical metres of skiable slopes, including a 6.5km downhill run. The skiing season is from November to mid-May, but conditions are best from February, when daylight hours increase.
Åre’s tourist office (177 20; www.visitare.se) is above the train station and has free internet access; next door is the public library and an STF information desk. The same building also contains luggage lockers (small/large per day Skr30/70), internet kiosks (per hr Skr29), a sporting-goods store and an ICA supermarket.
Counterbalancing all those healthy outdoor activities is Åre Chokladfabrik (155 80; Björnänge; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat), where you can stop in and sample the inventive new flavours. It’s 3km east of Åre on the E14.
There are excellent cross-country tracks in the area, plus other winter activities, such as dogsledding, snowmobile safaris and sleigh rides (horse- or reindeer-drawn!). Åre also offers great summer outdoor recreation, including hiking, kayaking, golf, rafting and fishing, as well as good mountain biking (see boxed text). The area west of Åre is popular among fell walkers, and there’s a network of STF wilderness huts and lodges here for enthusiasts.
Sleeping & Eating
Note that accommodation fill up quickly in winter, so plan well ahead. Not all hotels stay open in summer, but those that do offer great bargains.
STF Vandrarhem Åre (301 38; www.brattlandsgarden.se; dm Skr140, s/d from Skr180/280; ) is a lovely spot on an old farmstead with dorm rooms tucked into red wooden buildings and a huge living room-dining area. A good kitchen and laundry are available, and wireless internet (Skr30 per hour). Several nice walks pass by the hostel, and there are Icelandic ponies grazing on the hillside – ask at reception about arranging day rides. The place is 8km east of Åre, in Brattland; a daily bus connects it to town, although service is spotty.
Hotel Åre Torg (515 90; www.hotellaretorg.se; Kabinbanevägen 22; dm Skr180-390) This newish place has hostel beds in four- and five-bed dorms with sleek new black-and-white furnishings. Some rooms have sun decks, and there’s a restaurant onsite that serves a dagens rätt (daily lunch special; Skr75).
Fjällgården (145 00; www.fjallgarden.se; s/d from Skr495/990; ) Up on the hillside, this is as much an activity centre as a hotel. It offers fishing, mountain biking, golf, horse riding, paddling and a chance to try the zipline, which lets you fly across the valley on a tiny string. Rooms are large and decorated in faux-rustic, après-ski style.
Åre Bageri (523 20; Årevägen 55; sandwiches Skr50-60; 7am-3.30pm) A sprawling organic cafe and stone-oven bakery with a comfy, shabby-chic atmosphere, this place lends itself to lingering. In addition to great coffee, pastries and huge sandwiches, it does an enormous all-you-can-eat breakfast spread for Skr79 (7am to 10am).
Werséns (505 05; lunch mains Skr85, pizzas from Skr99, mains Skr139-269; 3-10pm Sun-Fri, noon-11pm Sat Jun-Aug, from noon daily Sep-May) is a white-tablecloth brasserie and pizzeria, with take-away options and half-portions available. There’s a bar and a cluster of outside tables in good weather.
Getting There & Away
Regional bus 157 runs from Östersund and connects Åre to the nearby winter-sports centre of Duved (Skr20, 15 minutes, several daily). Bus 571 connects Duved to Storlien (Skr80, one hour). Regular trains between Stockholm and Storlien, via Östersund, stop at Åre (Skr724, seven hours).
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STORLIEN & AROUND
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A microvillage near the Norwegian border, Storlien is home to a lot of Swedish holiday cabins (the Swedish king himself has a winter chalet here) and a downhill skiing area. The tourist office (704 00; turistinformation@storlien.se; 9-11.30am & 4.30-7.30pm mid-Jun–Aug) is near the train station.
Ask at the tourist office