When is Christmas week in 2026?
For Christmas 2026, Christmas Day is a Friday, so the Christmas week runs from Saturday 19 to Saturday 26 December. Most Alpine chalets change over on a Saturday, so the flights to look for are out on Saturday 19 December and back on Saturday 26 December.
Which airport serves which resort?
The table groups our resorts by the airport their resort page lists first. Most resorts can be reached from more than one airport, and each resort page lists all of them.
| Airport | Resorts that list it first |
|---|---|
| Geneva (GVA) | Avoriaz, Chamonix, Châtel, Courchevel, Flaine, La Clusaz, La Plagne, La Rosière, Les Arcs, Les Carroz, Les Gets, Les Menuires, Megève, Méribel, Morzine, Samoëns, Tignes, Val d'Isère, Val Thorens, Courmayeur, La Thuile, Crans-Montana, Verbier |
| Zurich (ZRH) | Davos, Grindelwald, Klosters, Saas-Fee, St Moritz, Wengen, Zermatt |
| Innsbruck (INN) | Ischgl, Lech, Mayrhofen, Obergurgl, Sölden, St Anton am Arlberg |
| Salzburg (SZG) | Kitzbühel, Obertauern, Saalbach Hinterglemm, Zell am See |
| Verona (VRN) | Corvara, La Villa, Madonna di Campiglio, San Cassiano, Val Gardena |
| Turin (TRN) | Montgenèvre, Serre Chevalier, Cervinia |
| Grenoble (GNB) | Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes |
| Venice (VCE) | Cortina d'Ampezzo |
| Milan Bergamo (BGY) | Livigno |
| Lyon (LYS) | Valloire |
| Chambéry (CMF) | Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise |
Geneva is first for 23 of the 55 resorts and appears somewhere in the list for 31. Lyon appears for 19 resorts but is first for only one, and Munich appears for seven Austrian and Italian resorts without being first for any.
The Austrian and Italian airports have their own guides: Innsbruck and Salzburg and Turin, Verona and Venice. For Geneva, see ski resorts near Geneva and Geneva airport's French side.
Should you book the pieces or a package?
Booking the flight, the chalet and the transfer separately lets you choose each one, and a Saturday-to-Saturday chalet week fits a Saturday flight. A flight + hotel package bundles the two into one booking.
The difference that matters most is protection if a company fails. ATOL covers packages that include a flight. If a flight is booked on its own and you receive a valid e-ticket at the time you pay, the ATOL scheme does not cover it. The ATOL guide sets out what each kind of booking gives you, including the change to the package rules due on 6 April 2027.
Car hire or a transfer?
A hire car
A car suits a group that wants to move between villages, shop in the valley or reach a chalet away from the ski bus. In France, winter equipment (four winter tyres, or chains or socks carried in the car) is required in the mountain areas from 1 November to 31 March, and every commune in Savoie and Haute-Savoie is covered. Switzerland's motorways need a vignette, and Austria has its own vignette and winter tyre rules. Our driving guide sets out each country's rules with sources.
At Geneva, the airport has a Swiss side and a French side, each with its own car hire desks. Arriving passengers reach the French side inside the terminal. Geneva airport's French side explains how.
A transfer or public transport
In a car-free village a car is more trouble than help. Private cars can go only as far as Täsch below Zermatt, where shuttle trains run to the village every 20 minutes, and Avoriaz was built with no cars in the village. Many resorts have scheduled buses from the airport or the nearest station. Some examples the tourist offices give:
- Geneva to the Tarentaise: Altibus's Alpskibus line links Geneva airport with Les Menuires, Val Thorens, Méribel, Courchevel, Tignes and Val d'Isère. Its 2026/27 timetable was not yet published when we checked.
- Innsbruck to the Zillertal: train to Jenbach, then the Zillertalbahn every half hour to Mayrhofen.
- Venice to Cortina: Cortina Express runs from Venice airport every day, all year, in about two hours.
- Turin to Montgenèvre: a Linkbus shuttle runs from Turin airport on Saturdays.
Christmas week timing
On a Saturday changeover the chalet empties in the morning and fills again in the afternoon, so arrivals and departures share the valley roads and the transfer buses on the same day. In 2026 the return on Saturday 26 December falls on Boxing Day, itself a changeover day. If the flight times allow, an earlier landing leaves more daylight for the drive up.
Booking Christmas week from here
Each resort page has flights from London on Kiwi.com, car hire at the arrival airport and Expedia's flight + hotel search for 19–26 December 2026, next to its chalets on Booking.com. The links below cover the resorts named in this guide. Prices and availability are on the partner's site; we do not quote them.
Sources
- ATOL — what ATOL protects; flights with a valid e-ticket at the time of payment are not covered; ATOL certificate
- legislation.gov.uk — Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements (Amendment) Regulations 2026, in force 6 April 2027
- Genève Aéroport — Swiss and French sector car hire; reaching the French sector inside the terminal
- Zillertal — Innsbruck airport 50 km; Zillertalbahn every half hour from Jenbach to Mayrhofen
- Cortina Express — Venice airport to Cortina about two hours, every day all year
- Montgenèvre — Linkbus from Turin airport on Saturdays; Turin airport 1h20 away
- Zermatt — private vehicles only as far as Täsch; shuttle trains every 20 minutes, 12 minutes to Zermatt
- Avoriaz — Avoriaz designed with no cars in the village
- Altibus — Alpskibus line from Geneva airport to the Tarentaise resorts; 2026/27 information awaited
- Chalet for Christmas resort data — the transfer airports on each resort page, checked 25 September 2026
- Chalet for Christmas guides — driving to the Alps at Christmas (French winter equipment law, vignettes)