Christmas Chalets in France

The biggest linked ski areas in the world, and the purpose-built high-altitude resorts that are the safest bet for snow in December.

France has more high-altitude skiing than anywhere else in the Alps, and at Christmas that matters more than anything else on the brochure. The purpose-built resorts of the Tarentaise — Val Thorens, Tignes, Les Arcs, La Plagne — sit between 1,800 and 2,300 metres, which is the single biggest reason they are reliably open in Christmas week when lower villages are still waiting.

The trade-off is character. A resort built in the 1970s for skiing does not look like an Austrian village, and Christmas in Val Thorens feels different from Christmas in Lech. But the Three Valleys and the Espace Killy give you more terrain than you can ski in a week, most chalets here are catered in the British sense, and Geneva is a short enough transfer to fly out on Saturday and ski on Sunday morning.

Resorts in France

Ranked by our Christmas Snow Score. 3 of these are still awaiting verified altitude data and show no score yet.

Val Thorens

France

Europe's highest ski resort at 2,300m, and the closest thing to a guarantee that you will be skiing on Christmas Day.

Village 2,300m · top 3,230m

84

/ 100

Very snow-sure

Val d'Isère

France

The rare resort that has both a real village and 3,456m of glacier-backed terrain above it.

Village 1,849m · top 3,456m · 300km of piste

73

/ 100

Very snow-sure

Tignes

France

Glacier skiing on the Grande Motte and the same Espace Killy terrain as Val d'Isère, for less money.

Village 1,810m · top 3,456m · 300km of piste

71

/ 100

Very snow-sure

Alpe d'Huez

France

Three hundred sunny days a year, 3,330m of altitude, and the longest black run in the world.

Village 1,860m · top 3,330m

70

/ 100

Very snow-sure

Les Arcs

France

Four villages at four altitudes, linked by cable car to La Plagne as the huge Paradiski area.

Village 1,600m · top 3,250m

59

/ 100

Usually reliable

Les Menuires

France

Les Menuires is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,850m · top 2,850m

59

/ 100

Usually reliable

Montgenèvre

France

Montgenèvre is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,789m · top 2,789m

55

/ 100

Usually reliable

Avoriaz

France

Car-free, ski-in/ski-out from almost every door, and the best resort in France for young families.

Village 1,800m · top 2,466m · 130km of piste

48

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Valloire

France

Valloire is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,430m · top 3,000m

47

/ 100

Weather-dependent

La Plagne

France

Eleven villages, enormous intermediate terrain, and consistently one of the best-value big French resorts.

Village 1,250m · top 3,250m

46

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Méribel

France

The prettiest of the Three Valleys resorts and the one that suits families best.

Village 1,450m · top 2,952m

46

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Flaine

France

Flaine is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,600m · top 2,561m

43

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Courchevel

France

The most luxurious address in the Alps, with the grooming, the restaurants and the prices to match.

Village 1,300m · top 2,738m

36

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Serre Chevalier

France

Serre Chevalier is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,200m · top 2,800m

34

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Les Carroz

France

Les Carroz is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,140m · top 2,500m

24

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Morzine

France

A working Savoyard market town with real life in it — and the lowest altitude in our French selection.

Village 1,000m · top 2,466m

18

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Samoëns

France

Samoëns is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 710m · top 2,500m

12

/ 100

Weather-dependent

Chamonix

France

Chamonix is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,035m

Snow Score pending

La Rosière

France

La Rosière is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

Village 1,850m

Snow Score pending

Les Deux Alpes

France

Les Deux Alpes is a French ski resort where our partner Skiworld runs chalets. We have not finished researching it: there is no Christmas Snow Score here yet because its altitude figures are unverified, and the description below will grow.

top 3,600m

Snow Score pending

Chalets in France you can book now

We don’t list chalets ourselves yet — these go straight to our partners’ own Christmas availability.

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Chalets in France

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

Common questions

Which France resort is most snow-sure at Christmas?

Val Thorens, which scores 84 out of 100 on our Christmas Snow Score. Several France resorts we cover are still awaiting verified altitude data and carry no score yet, so this ranking is of the resorts we have finished researching rather than of every resort in the country.

When is Christmas week in the France Alps?

Alpine chalets almost all change over on a Saturday, so Christmas week runs Saturday to Saturday with Christmas Day falling mid-week. The dates for the season you are looking at are shown on every resort page, and they move each year — which is why no page on this site has a year in its address.

Christmas elsewhere in the Alps