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
Is Snow Guaranteed at Christmas?
No. No resort in the Alps can guarantee snow in Christmas week, and any company telling you otherwise is selling something. Christmas falls at the very start of the season, three or four weeks after the lifts open, and in a thin year the difference between resorts is stark.
What you can do is read the odds, and they are mostly a question of altitude. Snow at 2,300 metres in late December is close to routine. Snow at 1,000 metres is a matter of what the weather did in November. That is why our Christmas Snow Score weights village altitude at 33% and lift-served altitude at 27% — between them they explain most of why one resort is open and its neighbour is not.
Some operators offer a "snow guarantee". Read the terms: it almost always means a transfer to another resort or a credit note, not snow. It is a refund policy, not a forecast.
The ranking below is our Christmas Snow Score, highest first. It describes how reliable a resort has tended to be, not what this particular December will do.
The ranking
Ordered by Christmas Snow Score.
Cervinia
Italy
At 2,050m with glacier lifts and a link into Zermatt, the most snow-sure resort in Italy.
Village 2,050m · top 3,500m
81
/ 100
Very snow-sure
Zermatt
Switzerland
The Matterhorn, year-round glacier skiing, and a car-free village that is among the loveliest in the Alps.
Village 1,608m · top 3,883m
74
/ 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
Saas-Fee
Switzerland
A car-free village at 1,800m ringed by thirteen four-thousand-metre peaks, with glacier skiing above it.
Village 1,798m · top 3,457m
71
/ 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
Verbier
Switzerland
Serious off-piste, a sunny south-facing balcony, and the liveliest nights in Switzerland.
Village 1,490m · top 3,329m
57
/ 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
Lech
Austria
Quietly the most exclusive village in the Alps, and among the snowiest places in Austria.
Village 1,444m · top 2,811m
43
/ 100
Weather-dependent
Madonna di Campiglio
Italy
Madonna di Campiglio is a Italian 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 1,553m · top 2,600m
42
/ 100
Weather-dependent
Corvara and Colfosco
Italy
Corvara and Colfosco is a Italian 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 1,568m · top 2,550m
41
/ 100
Weather-dependent
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Italy
The most beautiful setting in the Alps, and an elegant Italian town that happens to have skiing.
Village 1,224m · top 2,930m
38
/ 100
Weather-dependent
St Anton am Arlberg
Austria
The spiritual home of Alpine skiing, with the toughest terrain and the liveliest après in Austria.
Village 1,304m · top 2,811m
38
/ 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
La Villa
Italy
La Villa is a Italian 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 1,315m · top 2,550m
32
/ 100
Weather-dependent
San Cassiano
Italy
San Cassiano is a Italian 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 1,315m · top 2,550m
32
/ 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
Not yet ranked
We cover these resorts but have not finished verifying the data this ranking uses, so they are left out rather than given a number we cannot stand behind.
The Christmas Snow Score compares resorts on altitude, terrain, snowmaking and past December openings. 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.