Best European resorts for a Christmas ski holiday

Lively Val d’Isère is a great place for a party at any time of year, but at Christmas it really goes to town with a fantastic programme of festive fun. The picturesque chalets and churches of the Savoyard town centre are beautifully dressed with fairy lights and wreaths, and the Christmas Eve parade is a real highlight. You’ll also find snow sculptures, fireworks, carol services and Papa Noël joining in the action on the pistes.

Snow is pretty much guaranteed, thanks to a lofty altitude of 1850m, and the vast 300km Val d’Isère-Tignes ski area has not one but two glaciers to provide snowsure skiing and snowboarding even this early in the season.

Experience a true traditional Christmas in the beautiful village of Mayrhofen. The festive atmosphere here is peaceful and romantic. From the elegant decorations and nativity scenes to the Tyrolean Advent market with its chocolate-box wooden stalls selling spiced gingerbread, mulled wine and local handicrafts, it’s all about beautiful tasteful celebrations. The little ones will love meeting Saint Nicholas and dropping off their Christmas wish-lists to the angels who man the cute Christkindl post office.

Snow-wise, Mayrhofen boasts a massive snowsure area – which includes the epic Hintertux Glacier – and excellent snow-making facilities.

Nestled beneath the towering peaks of the Dolomites, this stunning valley is home to some of the prettiest villages in Italy. Christmas in Val di Fassa is a tranquil, relaxed affair. You’ll find several quaint festive markets where you can pick up traditional wooden crafts, regional gourmet treats and gorgeous hand-made jewellery. Or head down to the shores of beautiful Carezza Lake, known locally as the ‘lake of the rainbow’, where a real winter wonderland springs up each year. Think ice sculptures, a life-size nativity scene, cosy wood burners and dozens of tiny huts selling their wares. Oh, and the Italians certainly know how to do Christmas feasting in style!

A whopping 90% of Val di Fassa’s runs are covered by snowmaking facilities, and the vast Marmolada Glacier is within your Dolomites ski area so you’re sure to be blessed with the white stuff over your Christmas break.

Spain might not be your first thought for a festive ski holiday, but stylish Baqueira Beret heartily embraces the celebrations from its scenic setting in the Pyrenees. Get in the holiday spirit with some open-air ice skating, a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow or a family trip to the special yuletide snow park that opens on 25th December. Come Christmas Eve, kids will love watching Father Christmas arrive into town on a sleigh pulled by huskies, while adults can join the lively Spanish party and make merry over delicious food and wine.

Baqueira Beret’s 157km ski area has a fantastic Christmas snow record, with many runs sitting above 2,000m and plenty of snow cannons on hand.

Family favourite Val Thorens is the ideal choice for an action-packed Christmas holiday in the Alps, especially if your group includes non-skiers. Try the resort’s epic 7km toboggan run, thaw out in one of several sports centres or spas, and take an adventurous night-time snowshoe hike under the stars. The fun Christmas festivities include everything from an elf fanfare and Santa’s grotto to a family torchlight descent and spectacular firework display. Plenty to ramp up the excitement levels!

As the highest resort in Europe, Val Thorens is renowned for its snowsure status. Its Glacier de Péclet sits above 3,000m and you’ll find another 600km of runs to choose from within the huge Three Valleys ski area.

If you love a good Christmas party (or three), lively Pas de la Casa is a fun festive choice. Its varied bars are popular with groups looking for affordable après-ski, while the annual Children and Youth Fair has lots to entertain kids of all ages over the holidays. Add in lovely Christmas markets nearby, the traditional Christmas Eve midnight mass service – known in Catalonia as the ‘Cockerel’s Mass’ – and tax-free goodies for the Boxing Day shopping trip and you’ve got a Christmas to remember.

With an impressive altitude of 2100m, Pas de la Casa is the highest of the Andorran ski resorts. Speedy lifts link it to the 210km Grandvalira ski area, which is growing in popularity year on year, and over 60% of its runs are covered by snow cannons.

We love Zell am See all year round, but it’s especially magical at Christmas time. From its scenic lakeside location, it puts on one of the best festive celebrations around. An Advent market pops up in the pedestrianised medieval centre, complete with fairground rides, picture-perfect wooden huts serving steaming gluhwein, festive baking and beautiful local crafts, and a towering Christmas tree. Even the lake is decorated in honour of the season, with twinkling star lights floating on the waters, and the sounds of traditional live music complete the festive scene. Pure.

While Zell itself has a relatively low altitude, it makes an amazing base from which to ski the snowsure Kitzsteinhorn glacier, sat high above at 3030m. A free ski bus will transport you easily to its slopes. The local ski area is lower but has excellent snowmaking facilities covering 100% of its slopes. Fully dreaming of a white Christmas? Come and browse our Christmas ski holidays and start feeling festive!