Alps Travel Poster Ideas -- Be Inspired by the Past
Ranked #2,157 in Home & Garden, #32,883 overall
Mountain Images from the Golden Age of Travel
An Alps tourism poster from the early part of last century is a great way to bring vintage charm to your walls.
Many of these historic travel posters advertise the railways that enabled tourists to visit the previously inaccessible mountain resorts.
With the age of the railway, sleepy alpine villages were transformed into thriving tourist resorts, attracting skiers, mountain climbers and sun seekers. In the late part of the 1800s and early 1900s, the Alps were also considered one of the best places to recuperate from illness.
In the mid 1900s the Alps were advertised as fashionable places where the wealthy and beautiful could play in the sun. Beautiful women, with or without a pair of skis, became a common theme!
Image cropped from an original photograph by Alaskan Dude on flickr shared under Creative Commons license.
Alpine Railway Posters
The golden age of alpine tourism coincided with the greatest days of railway travel. Trains could take tourists to high altitudes, using cog (or rack-and-pinion) railways as the terrain grew steeper.
The Jungfraubahn railway in the Swiss Alps was built between 1896 and 1912, when the station at the Jungfraujoch was completed. This station, at 3,454 metres (11,716 feet), remains the highest in Europe even today.
French Alps: 'Bon Voyage, Bonne Neige' (Good Trip, Good Snow)
France Rail Travel Advertisement
Jungfrau Railway Poster, Swiss Alps
Historic Poster for Europe's Highest Railway Station
Electric Railway Line, Simplon
Vintage Advertisement for Railway Travel, Switzerland
Alps Resort Posters
The alpine resorts became popular with sportsmen and women, who embraced the early 20th century European ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body. This is shown most clearly in the Davos travel poster which advertises the resort for 'health and sport'.
Winter sports and summer mountaineering were not restricted to men. Even in the earliest days, when a Frenchwoman was hauled up Mont Blanc by her guides in 1808 to be the first female to make the ascent, women have shared in alpine sports. Fortunately, over time it became acceptable for them to change their long skirts for more suitable outfits.
Chamonix, French Alps
Vintage Poster for the Famous Resort of Chamonix in France
Skiers
In the late Victorian era and the first half of the last century, travel was expensive. Despite of the growth of mass tourism, only those with money could afford to travel abroad to enjoy the attractions of the Alps.
As these once poor farming villages developed into thriving tourist destinations, they became places for fashionable people to be seen. For many, the focus changed from taking on physical challenges to enjoying a more hedonistic lifestyle.
These mid 20th century posters emphasise the glamour and excitement of the resorts. Here, you could look like a Hollywood movie star in your winter sports outfits and soak up the glorious winter sunshine.
Valle d'Aoste Ski Resort, Italian Alps
Beautiful Brunette soaking up the sun in Aosta Valley, Italy
Sunshine and Snow in St. Moritz
Travel Poster for St Moritz Ski Resort, Swiss Alps
Find a Vintage Ski Travel Poster
Bargain and Rare Vintage Posters on eBay
Vintage Travel Accessories
Capture the Charm of the Golden Era
More Vintage Ski Posters
Sensational Travel Advertising from the Past
I hope you enjoyed this journey to the past
Feel free to leave a footprint here
Did you find a vintage Alps Travel Poster here for your home or office?
-
Reply
-
olgahutsul Nov 15, 2011 @ 4:39 pm | delete
- It was really a great idea to put it all together!!! Really nice place for inspiration!!
-
-
Reply
-
squidooposters
May 26, 2011 @ 9:58 pm | delete
- Really enjoying your posters lenses - many thanks
-
-
Reply
-
tourism-india
Mar 16, 2011 @ 7:28 am | delete
- A very unique lens.
-
-
Reply
-
Lemming13 Jan 5, 2011 @ 3:38 am | delete
- These have such style - I love old travel posters and luggage labels. Hadn't seen most of these before, so thanks for posting them up. Lovely.
-
-
Reply
-
scar4
Oct 12, 2010 @ 8:10 pm | delete
- wow, nice pictures. I have never been to Europe. Hope I will make it to Alps someday.
-
-
Reply
-
drifter0658
Oct 7, 2010 @ 10:10 pm | delete
- I loved this collection of retro art the first time, and I loved it no less this time.
Do you smell the smoke of a burn out blessing? This lens is featured at http://www.squidoo.com/chaotic-good
-
-
Reply
-
WordCustard
Oct 8, 2010 @ 4:50 am | delete
- A Squid Angel with an eye for design! Thank you, though credit goes to the artists (sadly all long-dead, I expect) who created these works of art.
-
-
Reply
-
Sylvestermouse
Sep 26, 2010 @ 12:18 pm | delete
- Oh, these are all fabulous! Everything looks so "clean!" Now I have a question: Did women really snow ski in skirts? That one is just too awesome!
-
-
Reply
-
WordCustard
Sep 27, 2010 @ 3:46 am | delete
- You would be amazed what women did in skirts. Even climbed mountains. And I mean big scary mountains that needed ropes and ice axes and a full day of climbing.
-
-
Reply
-
KimGiancaterino Sep 8, 2010 @ 9:04 pm | delete
- What a great assemblage of poster art!
-
- Load More
About the Page Author
More Great Mountain Pages
Your Quick View Guide to Alps Travel Posters of the Past
Click to jump back to your favorite vintage Alps poster
- Alpine Railway Posters
- 'Discover France by Train'
- French Alps: 'Bon Voyage, Bonne Neige' (Good Trip, Good Snow)
- Mont Blanc Railway Line, France
- Swiss Alps: Lucerne, Interlaken
- Jungfrau Railway Poster, Swiss Alps
- Electric Railway Line, Simplon
- Alps Resort Posters
- Zermatt, Switzerland
- Chamonix, French Alps
- Davos, Switzerland: 'For Health and Sport'
- Lake Annecy, Rhone Alps
- Interlaken, Switzerland
- Zermatt in Switzerland
- Ski School of the Cote D'Azur
- Skiers
- Ski Italy: Italian Alps Tourism Poster
- Cortina, Italy: Ski Resort Poster
- Valle d'Aoste Ski Resort, Italian Alps
- Sunshine and Snow in St. Moritz
- Find a Vintage Ski Travel Poster
- Vintage Travel Accessories
- More Vintage Ski Posters
by WordCustard
I adore these historic travel posters from the golden age of Alps tourism. I hope you will too!
Explore related pages
- Top 20 Images of Mountains from Around the World Top 20 Images of Mountains from Around the World
- Top 10 Images of Mountains -- The Alps in Europe Top 10 Images of Mountains -- The Alps in Europe
- Mountain Wall Murals for your Home Mountain Wall Murals for your Home
- Alpine Flowers of Switzerland Alpine Flowers of Switzerland
- The Alps Mountain Range, Europe The Alps Mountain Range, Europe
- Zermatt, Switzerland - Guide for Visitors Zermatt, Switzerland - Guide for Visitors
