Christmas in Kitzbühel

Austria · Christmas week 19 Dec – 26 Dec 2026

A medieval Tyrolean town with the Streif above it, a large linked ski area and a well-known Advent market in the old town.

Quick answers about Christmas in Kitzbühel

Is there usually snow in Kitzbühel at Christmas?
More often than not. At the Hahnenkamm-Ehrenbachhöhe weather station on the slopes (1,794 m, 4.0 km from Kitzbühel), there was at least 30cm of snow on the ground on Christmas morning in 13 of the 19 years measured since 1996; the thinnest was 5cm in 2015. At village height, at Kitzbühel (772 m, in the resort), snow was lying on 16 of 27 Christmas mornings. Kitzbühel scores 35 out of 100 on our Christmas Snow Score. That is how often there has been snow, not a forecast: conditions vary every season and nobody can promise them.
What is Christmas actually like in Kitzbühel?
Among the best in Austria. The Kitzbühel Advent market runs in the old town and the town park from mid-November until just after Christmas (in the 2026 season, 18 November to 27 December), with craft stalls, live music every evening, a Christkindl post office for children and a St Nicholas procession on 6 December. On two December afternoons (12 and 19 December in 2026) Advent moves up the mountain to the Hahnenkamm top station.
When is Christmas week in Kitzbühel this season?
For Christmas 2026, Christmas Day is a Friday, so the Christmas week runs from Saturday 19 to Saturday 26 December. Most chalets in Kitzbühel are let by the week, so that is the week to search for.

Kitzbühel is a medieval walled market town rather than a purpose-built resort, with painted houses, church towers and a pedestrian centre that feels lived in all year. It is also home to the Streif, the Hahnenkamm downhill course, and the skiing links with Kirchberg, Jochberg and Pass Thurn into one of the larger connected areas in Austria. It is smart, busy and not cheap, and at Christmas the old town is the draw as much as the mountain.

The skiing suits intermediates best: long cruising runs across the Hahnenkamm and out towards Pass Thurn, with the Kitzbüheler Horn across the valley for gentler, quieter days. The trade-off at Christmas is altitude. Kitzbühel is low for a major resort and the ski area stays below the heights of the big glacier and high-Alpine names, so a mild December can leave the valley green and the lower runs on man-made snow. The lift company has invested heavily in snowmaking, which keeps the main circuit open, but this is a resort to book for the town and the atmosphere with realistic expectations about fresh snow.

Christmas in Kitzbühel

Among the best in Austria. The Kitzbühel Advent market runs in the old town and the town park from mid-November until just after Christmas (in the 2026 season, 18 November to 27 December), with craft stalls, live music every evening, a Christkindl post office for children and a St Nicholas procession on 6 December. On two December afternoons (12 and 19 December in 2026) Advent moves up the mountain to the Hahnenkamm top station.

Our Christmas atmosphere rating: 5 out of 5

If you are not skiing

Excellent. The old town, its shops and restaurants, the town museum with its Alfons Walde gallery, the Aquarena pool, a curling hall and the Schwarzsee give plenty to do off the slopes.

Christmas Snow Score

35/ 100

762m2,000m

Weather-dependent

35 out of 100 — more weather-dependent than most in late December. The strongest factor here is the measured Christmas snow record. At least 30cm of snow on the ground on 13 of the last 19 Christmas mornings at the Hahnenkamm-Ehrenbachhöhe station (1794 m). Scored on 88% of our inputs; the rest are still being verified. Snow in the Alps varies from one December to the next, and no resort can promise cover on a given week.

What went into it

Measured Christmas snowAt least 30cm of snow on the ground on 13 of the last 19 Christmas mornings at the Hahnenkamm-Ehrenbachhöhe station (1794 m)
45% weight68
Village altitudeThe village sits at 762 m and loses its snow first
20% weight0
Top of the ski areaThe skiing reaches 2000 m, and high ground holds cover in a thin December
15% weight0
Glacier accessNo glacier
8% weight0

Still to verify: snowmaking coverage. These carry no weight until they are sourced, so the score is calculated across the 88% we hold.

The Christmas Snow Score compares resorts on how often there has been snow on the ground on Christmas morning, measured at weather stations over the last thirty years, with altitude, snowmaking and glacier access. It describes how reliable a resort tends to be, not what the snow will do this year — Alpine conditions vary every season and nobody can guarantee them. How the Snow Score works and how every resort compares

Resort figures from the source we checked on 21 September 2026.

Snow on Christmas morning in Kitzbühel

How much snow was on the ground on 25 December, every year since 1996, measured at the nearest weather stations. This is what the resort’s Christmas Snow Score is built on.

On the slopes: Hahnenkamm-Ehrenbachhöhe, 1,794 m

4.0 km from Kitzbühel. At least 30cm on the ground on 13 of 19 Christmas mornings measured since 1996. Typical depth 51cm; least 5cm in 2015; most 125cm in 2005.

0cm75cm150cmChristmas 1996: 48cmChristmas 1997: 64cmChristmas 1998: 72cmChristmas 1999: 74cmChristmas 2000: 18cm2001: no reading2002: no readingChristmas 2003: 51cmChristmas 2004: 47cmChristmas 2005: 125cmChristmas 2006: 25cmChristmas 2007: 89cmChristmas 2008: 105cmChristmas 2009: 25cmChristmas 2010: 55cmChristmas 2011: 72cmChristmas 2012: 62cmChristmas 2013: 41cmChristmas 2014: 8cmChristmas 2015: 5cmChristmas 2016: 24cm2017: no reading2018: no reading2019: no reading2020: no reading2021: no reading2022: no reading2023: no reading2024: no reading2025: no reading30cm1996200020052010201520202025
Christmas morning snow depth at Hahnenkamm-Ehrenbachhöhe, year by year
ChristmasSnow on the ground
201624cm
20155cm
20148cm
201341cm
201262cm
201172cm
201055cm
200925cm
2008105cm
200789cm
200625cm
2005125cm
200447cm
200351cm
200018cm
199974cm
199872cm
199764cm
199648cm

Measured on the morning of 25 December by GeoSphere Austria (CC BY 4.0).

In the village: Kitzbühel, 772 m

0.4 km from Kitzbühel. At least 30cm on the ground on 3 of 27 Christmas mornings measured since 1996. Typical depth 8cm; least 0cm in 1997; most 70cm in 2005.

0cm50cm100cmChristmas 1996: 8cmChristmas 1997: 0cmChristmas 1998: 20cmChristmas 1999: 17cmChristmas 2000: 6cmChristmas 2001: 35cmChristmas 2002: 0cmChristmas 2003: 20cmChristmas 2004: 20cmChristmas 2005: 70cmChristmas 2006: 2cmChristmas 2007: 19cmChristmas 2008: 10cmChristmas 2009: 2cmChristmas 2010: 19cmChristmas 2011: 35cmChristmas 2012: 15cmChristmas 2013: 7cmChristmas 2014: 0cmChristmas 2015: 0cmChristmas 2016: 3cmChristmas 2017: 27cmChristmas 2018: 0cm2019: no reading2020: no reading2021: no readingChristmas 2022: 0cmChristmas 2023: 0cmChristmas 2024: 16cmChristmas 2025: 2cm30cm1996200020052010201520202025
Christmas morning snow depth at Kitzbühel, year by year
ChristmasSnow on the ground
20252cm
202416cm
20230cm
20220cm
20180cm
201727cm
20163cm
20150cm
20140cm
20137cm
201215cm
201135cm
201019cm
20092cm
200810cm
200719cm
20062cm
200570cm
200420cm
200320cm
20020cm
200135cm
20006cm
199917cm
199820cm
19970cm
19968cm

Measured on the morning of 25 December by GeoSphere Austria (CC BY 4.0).

Chalets in Kitzbühel you can book now

These links open our partners’ own Christmas availability for Kitzbühel, with Christmas week already selected.

These are commercial links: we may earn a commission if you book, and it never changes your price. How this works.

Chalets in Kitzbühel

On 21 September 2026 we checked 17 chalets here for Christmas week (19 Dec – 26 Dec 2026): 6 were still available on Booking.com, from £3,700 for the week (typical £18,954).

Some links below are commercial. If you book through one we may earn a commission, and what you pay is unchanged. How this works.

5 more chalets in Kitzbühel

Compare Kitzbühel for Christmas

Common questions about Christmas in Kitzbühel

How high is Kitzbühel?

The village sits at 762m, and the lift-served ski area reaches 2,000m. Top figure is the tourist board's upper altitude for the KitzSki Kitzbühel–Kirchberg area. Piste kilometres are the groomed slopes; the headline figure of 233 km includes ski routes. Altitude matters at Christmas because high ground holds snow in a thin December; the measured Christmas record on this page shows how that has played out year by year. Figures checked on 21 September 2026 against the source listed on this page.

Is Kitzbühel good for families at Christmas?

Kitzbühel is one of the better family choices we cover. It also does Christmas itself well, which children notice. This is our editorial judgement rather than a measurement, and the resort page explains the reasoning.

Can a beginner learn to ski in Kitzbühel at Christmas?

Kitzbühel is workable for beginners without being a standout. One thing to weigh at Christmas specifically: nursery slopes are the lowest terrain in any resort and therefore the first to be thin in December. Here, that is worth taking seriously in a poor December.

Which airport do you fly into for Kitzbühel?

The usual arrival airports are Salzburg (SZG), Innsbruck (INN), Munich (MUC). We do not publish transfer times, because they swing widely with traffic and road conditions on a Saturday in Christmas week — ask your transfer company for a figure they will stand behind.

Can I book a chalet in Kitzbühel through this site?

We list 17 chalets in Kitzbühel, but we do not take bookings ourselves: we are not a travel agent and we take no bookings or payments. We link to partners who do, and the links on this page go to their live Christmas availability. If you book through one we may earn a commission, which never changes your price.

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