The Best Austrian Ski Resorts for Christmas

The short answer

For Christmas in Austria, Lech and St Anton on the Arlberg are our top choices: traditional villages with lifts to 2,650 metres. Obergurgl, with its village at 1,930 metres, is the high, quiet alternative, and Ischgl the loud one. Austrian villages sit lower than the French, so choose with altitude in mind.

Why Austria at Christmas

Austria celebrates Christmas in a way that suits a ski holiday. The festival centres on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day, the villages are working villages, and the decorations are for the people who live there. For many British groups, this is what Christmas in the mountains is supposed to look like.

How Christmas week runs in an Austrian resort

Christmas Eve (Heiliger Abend)

In Austria, Christmas begins at around four in the afternoon on the 24th, when the tree is lit for the first time. Presents come from the Christkind, not Father Christmas, and they arrive that evening. The main meal is eaten on Christmas Eve, traditionally fried carp, since the 24th was a fasting day. The carol Silent Night was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, near Salzburg, and is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.

In practice, for a ski group, that means:

• Shops and many businesses close in the afternoon of the 24th, so finish your present shopping earlier in the week.
• Hotel and chalet dinners on the 24th are the centrepiece of the week, and the time to be off the mountain.
• Many families go to Midnight Mass, and a village church service can be a memorable hour of the trip.

Christtag and Stefanitag

The 25th and 26th are both public holidays in Austria. The lifts run on Christmas Day, and many ski schools teach, but the mood is quieter, with families at lunch. The 26th, Stefanitag, is a second holiday, and most shops stay closed on both days.

The changeover

For Christmas 2026, Christmas Day is a Friday, so the Christmas week runs from Saturday 19 to Saturday 26 December. Arriving the Saturday before gives you the build-up to the 24th, which in Austria is the main event.

New Year

New Year week is generally busier than Christmas week across the Alps, and Austrian resorts are no exception. Ischgl in particular runs Christmas straight into its New Year party.

The resorts

Lech

Lech is the Christmas card: timber, candlelight, snowy lanes and horse-drawn sleighs, without a hint of theme park. It carries our top ratings for families, non-skiers and atmosphere. The Arlberg operator also limits the number of skiers in Lech Zürs on busy days, which makes a real difference in the holiday weeks. The village sits at 1,444 metres, so its Snow Score of 45 reflects a reliance on the weather lower down.

St Anton

St Anton is a real village with a pedestrianised centre, a beautiful Christmas and busy bars. It shares the Arlberg lift system with Lech and reaches 2,650 metres. It also has its own station on the Arlberg railway, with Railjet trains towards Zürich, Innsbruck and Vienna, which makes it easy to reach without a car.

Obergurgl

Obergurgl is small, understated and high, with its village at 1,930 metres, higher than all but one of the French villages in our list. Christmas here is about the setting and the meal rather than an entertainment programme. Its Snow Score is pending verified lift altitude, but on village height alone it makes the strongest case in Austria.

Ischgl

Ischgl decorates well, but Christmas runs into the New Year party rather than pausing for it. Groups who want that will have a very good week.

Austrian resorts compared

Resort	Village	Highest lift	Snow Score	Christmas atmosphere	Family
Lech	1,444 m	2,650 m	45	5/5	5/5
St Anton	1,304 m	2,650 m	68	5/5	3/5
Obergurgl	1,930 m	pending	67	4/5	5/5
Ischgl	1,377 m	pending	60	4/5	2/5

The altitude question

Swiss snow research shows the decline in snowy winters is most marked at stations below 1,300 metres, and that snow tends to arrive later at lower stations. Most Austrian villages sit lower than the French Tarentaise, which is why the Austrian scores in our ranking look modest. The lifts above them, and snowmaking on the main pistes, carry the season. Snowmaking needs cold, around −2.5°C wet-bulb, so a cold December helps a great deal even without snowfall.

If you want a high fallback in Austria, the Hintertux Glacier in the Zillertal is open for skiing 365 days a year, although it is not yet in our rankings.

Choosing in Austria

• Traditional Christmas and a family: Lech.
• Christmas plus nightlife: St Anton.
• Snow first, quiet evenings: Obergurgl.
• A party that starts at Christmas: Ischgl.

To compare other countries, see France, Switzerland and Italy, or the overall ranking of where to ski at Christmas.

Sources

• whychristmas.com — Austrian Christmas starts around 4pm on Christmas Eve when the tree is lit; the Christkind brings presents on the 24th; the main meal is eaten on Christmas Eve, often fried carp
• thelocal.at — Austrian shops close early on Christmas Eve; most shops and supermarkets are closed on 25 and 26 December
• en.wikipedia.org — 25 December and 26 December (Stefanitag) are public holidays in Austria
• en.wikipedia.org — Silent Night was first performed on 24 December 1818 at St Nicholas Church, Oberndorf bei Salzburg; UNESCO intangible cultural heritage 2011
• skiarlberg.at — Lech Zürs is part of the Ski Arlberg lift system shared with St Anton
• skiarlberg.at — Lech Zürs operates a limit on the number of skiers, after which passes are restricted to other Arlberg sectors
• en.wikipedia.org — St Anton station is on the Arlberg railway, with Railjet services towards Zürich, Innsbruck and Vienna
• tyrol.com — Hintertux Glacier is open for skiing 365 days a year
• slf.ch — Below 1,300 m the trend to less snowy winters is statistically significant; above 2,000 m midwinter snow depths show no clear trend; snow onset later at low stations
• timeanddate.com — Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday; Saturdays are 19 and 26 December 2026
• snowmagazine.com — Lifts turn on Christmas Day and many ski schools still offer lessons; high-altitude resorts tend to have more early-season snow
• alpineelements.co.uk — New Year week is very busy and becoming busier than Christmas week
• en.wikipedia.org — Snowmaking needs a wet-bulb temperature of about −2.5°C, fan guns as high as −1°C; machine snow density 400–500 kg/m3; melts two to three weeks later than natural snow