Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its ski resorts and shoreline on Lake Zell.

[3][4] While Zell am See has been a favored winter and summer resort for the European aristocracy since the 19th century, it is known as a hub of the international jet set today.

The Zell Valley is a corridor in the Kitzbühel Alps, connecting the Saalfelden Basin of the Saalach River in the north and the Salzach in the south.

The mountains of the area form a horseshoe shape; the slopes are mainly forested or covered with Alpine pastures.

Hundstein ("Dog Stone") at 2,117 m (6,946 ft) is the highest peak of the Salzburg Greywacke Zone.Zell am See provides winter skiing on the above Schmittenhöhe mountain.

The ski pass covers the whole area including transport to and from the glacier, which is open most of the year, dependent on snowfall.

[8] In the 19th century, Zell am See became known as a summer and winter resort for the Austrian and European aristocracy, such as the Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph, or the von Trapp family.

Since 2001, the family operates the local airport, and in 2007, the Ferry Porsche Congress Center for conventions was completed.

About 740 AD, by order of Bishop Johannes (John) I of Salzburg, monks founded the village within the stem duchy of Bavaria, which was mentioned as Cella in Bisonzio in a 743 deed.

The denotation Cella or German: Zelle refers to a monk's cell in the sense of a monastery, Bisonzio is the name of the Pinzgau region.

During the German Peasants' War in 1526, the area was a site of heavy fighting against the troops of Swabian League.

The Zell am See citizens had not participated in the uprising, nevertheless 200 years later, numerous Protestant inhabitants were expelled from Salzburg by order of Prince-Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian.

[15] After the secularisation of the Salzburg Archbishopric, "Zell am See" finally passed to the Austrian Empire by resolution of the Vienna Congress in 1816.

When in 1850 neighbouring Saalfelden became the capital of the Pinzgau district, the town's mayor successfully strived for relocating the administrative seat to Zell.

[16] The town's development was decisively promoted by the opening of the Salzburg-Tyrol Railway line (Giselabahn) on 30 July 1875, starting the annual summer tourism season.

Only Hermann Göring went to southern Germany with his staff after Hitler had decided to remain in Berlin on 22 April.

Although the Alpine Fortress propagated by leading National Socialists was a mirage, towards the end of the war a few evacuated Wehrmacht headquarters were located in Mittersill, Niedernsill, Maria Alm and Zell am See, while the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKW) moved to Hotel Bellevue in Thumersbach, a district of Zell am See.

Families, especially from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, stay for up to six weeks to escape the very hot summer in their home country.

The side altar contains an image of the Virgin Mary from the now non-existent Church of Maria Wald, which dates from 1540.

Built between 1894 and 1896 in the Belle Époque style, the hotel building is located in the town centre on the easternmost tip of the Zell peninsula directly on the lakeshore and can be seen from almost anywhere on the lake.