Doppelstockbahn Samnaun, Double-decker aerial lift in Samnaun, Switzerland.
The Doppelstockbahn Samnaun is an aerial lift in the canton of Grisons, Switzerland, linking the village of Samnaun to the mountain terrain above. Its cabins are built on two levels, one on top of the other, allowing more passengers to ride at the same time than a standard gondola would allow.
The lift opened in 1995 and was the first in the world to use cabins with two stacked passenger decks. It was built to handle the growing flow of visitors between Samnaun and the neighboring ski area across the Austrian border.
The lift connects the Swiss resort of Samnaun with the Austrian ski area of Ischgl, so skiers and snowboarders cross an international border as part of their daily routine. At the top station, people from many different countries mix together, giving the place a noticeably international feel.
The lift is easy to reach from the center of Samnaun and requires no particular preparation. Temperatures at the top station can be noticeably cooler than in the valley below, so a warm layer is worth bringing along.
Samnaun is one of the very few duty-free municipalities in Switzerland, so visitors arriving at the base station step into a place where shopping works by different rules than the rest of the country. This status dates back to the village's long geographic isolation, which once made normal supply routes impossible.
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