Åre: the back story

About Åre: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Åre lies in Jämtland in western Sweden, close to the Norwegian border, where the railway and the E14 run along the valley beneath Åreskutan. Since Sweden’s first mountain railway opened here in 1910, the village has grown into what SkiStar calls Scandinavia’s alpine capital: a ski resort with Sweden’s highest vertical and the feel of a small town.

The railway village

Åre grew up along the railway through Jämtland, and the station is still in the heart of the village. In 1910 Sweden’s first mountain railway, the Bergbanan funicular, was inaugurated here, carrying visitors up the lower slopes of Åreskutan; it still stops outside Hotel Fjällgården. Hotel Åregården, the village’s oldest hotel, keeps the character of those early years.

Åreskutan

Åreskutan rises to 1,420 metres, with its neighbours Totthummeln, Lillskutan and Västerskutan, and from its summit to the village is an 890-metre drop, the biggest vertical in Sweden. The mountain splits into a low zone below the tree line, with the red and black runs of the Alpine World Cup, and a high zone reached by cable car or gondola, with summit tours and off-piste a few steps from the pistes. Åre hosted the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 1954, 2007 and 2019, and the World Cup returns on 11–14 March 2027.

A railway village beneath Åreskutan, with the vertical of the Alps and the pulse of a small city.

Three ski areas

SkiStar runs three linked areas on one SkiPass. Åre village is the heart, with long, challenging runs and the square at the bottom. Åre Björnen, to the east, is the family area, with green and blue slopes, Valle’s workshop and the Copperhill Mountain Lodge. Duved and Tegefjäll, at the foot of Mullfjället to the west, are calmer, below the tree line, with wide slopes for long carving turns and, new for 2026/27, their own lower-priced area pass.

The village after dark

SkiStar counts around 50 restaurants in Åre, from mountain lodges to modern kitchens, many cooking with Jämtland produce, and six are listed in Sweden’s White Guide. Après-ski runs from Verandan and Fjällgården to the terraces of Timmerstugan and 720, and the village stays busy all year. Peak Performance, the Swedish sports brand, was founded here in 1986, and its General Store still stands on the square.

Every budget

Duved and Tegefjäll offer more affordable cabins and the new area pass; bed and breakfasts and guesthouses keep a week sensible; and the ski bus, included in the SkiPass, links all three areas. At the top end, Copperhill Mountain Lodge, in the MICHELIN Guide’s hotel selection, has its own lift, a celebrated spa and Restaurant Niesti.

Our advice: stay in Åre village for restaurants and nightlife, in Björnen with small children, or in Duved and Tegefjäll for quiet and value. Come in March for the World Cup and long, light days, and take the train: it stops in the middle of the village.

Åre in brief

From SkiStar (skistar.com) and Åre Destination (aresweden.com), October 2026.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Åre: the back story before you go.