What's Open on Christmas Day in Ski Resorts?

By Charnette Labs · Updated 21 September 2026

The lifts run on Christmas Day. Every ski area we checked runs its season straight through 24, 25 and 26 December with no closure listed. Ski schools are the thing to check: some French group courses run through Friday 25 December 2026, while some Italian schools start their Christmas courses only after Boxing Day.

Shops depend on the country. Austria closes shops on 25 and 26 December and at 14:00 on Christmas Eve, but Tirol lets its busiest resorts, including Ischgl and St Anton, open shops for everyday goods for up to six hours on holidays. In France only the 25th is a holiday and each shop decides. In Valais, which covers Zermatt and Verbier, shops in listed tourist resorts may open every day until 21:00.

What changes in 2026

Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday and Boxing Day is a Saturday, the usual changeover day. Christmas Eve is a Thursday. The rules below depend on the country, because 26 December is a public holiday in Austria and Italy, but not in most of France or in the Swiss canton of Valais.

24 Dec 25 Dec 26 Dec
Austria Working day; shops may open 06:00–14:00 Public holiday Public holiday
France Working day Public holiday Working day (holiday only in Alsace-Moselle)
Switzerland (Valais) Working day; ordinary shops close at 17:00 Public holiday Not a cantonal holiday
Italy Working day Public holiday Public holiday

Do the lifts run on Christmas Day?

Yes. None of the lift companies we checked lists a closure on 24, 25 or 26 December. Their season dates run straight through Christmas:

Ski area 2026/27 season
Les 3 Vallées (Méribel, Courchevel, Les Menuires) 5 Dec 2026–18 Apr 2027 (Courchevel from 4 Dec)
Val Thorens 21 Nov 2026–2 May 2027
Ski Arlberg (St Anton, Lech) 2 Dec 2026–18 Apr 2027, peak season from 19 Dec
Verbier 4 Vallées 12 Dec 2026–18 Apr 2027 (Verbier–La Tzoumaz from 5 Dec)
Val Gardena and Alta Badia 4 Dec 2025–7 Apr 2026 (last published season)

Mayrhofen in the Zillertal is one area that publishes its hours by date. For 2026/27 its Horbergbahn and Penkenbahn run 08:30–17:00 from 4 to 24 December, and 08:00–17:00 from 25 December, so Christmas Day is the first day of the longer timetable.

Is ski school on Christmas Day?

This is where resorts differ most, and where most families get caught out.

France

French group lessons usually run as a six-day block from Sunday to Friday, or five days from Monday to Friday. ESF Val Thorens sells both formats. In 2026 the Sunday-to-Friday week is 20–25 December, so it ends on Christmas Day. ESF Le Grand-Bornand, near La Clusaz, lists a children's afternoon course from 20 to 25 December 2026, 14:05–16:30. ESF Alpe d'Huez prices 20 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 as its Christmas high season.

Not every group runs on the 25th. The Club ESF in Avoriaz, a season club for local children, held its 2025/26 Christmas holiday sessions on 24 and 26 December but not on 25 December or 1 January. Ask your ski school whether Friday 25 December is a lesson day before you book a Sunday-to-Friday course.

Austria

Skischule Arlberg in St Anton starts its group courses for skiers who can already ski on any day except Friday and Saturday, and beginners start on Sunday or Monday. In 2026 that means no group course starts on Christmas Day or Boxing Day. Its peak-season prices apply from 13 December 2026 to 9 January 2027.

Italy

Some Italian schools start their Christmas courses after Christmas. In the Aosta Valley, the Scuola di Sci Antagnod ran its Christmas group lessons from 27 December 2025 to 6 January 2026. Scuola Sci Monte Bianco in Courmayeur lists Christmas group lessons from Tuesday 27 December to Sunday 8 January, which matches the 2022/23 calendar. In Val Gardena, Scuola Sci Selva starts group courses on Sunday or Monday, runs them 10:30–13:00 Sunday to Thursday with a longer Friday session, and prices 20 December 2026 to 9 January 2027 as high season. Its page does not say what happens when that Friday is Christmas Day.

Childcare

Some chalet operators stop childcare on the day. VIP SKI says its childcare team does not work on Christmas Day.

Can you hire skis on Christmas Day?

Many hire shops open every day of the season. In St Anton, SPORT 2000 Jennewein lists its 2026/27 high-season hours, from 19 December, as Monday to Sunday and public holidays, 08:15–18:30. Austrian law allows sports shops in listed Tirol resorts to open on holidays (see below), which is why Tirol hire shops can open on the 25th and 26th. Hire shops set their own holiday hours, so collect your equipment on arrival day if the 25th is your first ski day.

Are shops and supermarkets open?

Austria

Shops in Austria must close on Sundays and public holidays unless the regional governor allows otherwise. On 24 December, when it falls on a weekday, shops may open from 06:00 to 14:00. Sweet shops and florists may stay open until 18:00 and Christmas trees may be sold until 20:00. On 31 December shops may open until 17:00, and food shops until 18:00.

Tirol has an exception for its resorts. The Tiroler Öffnungszeitenverordnung 2008 defines the winter season as 20 December to Easter Monday. In the places it lists as especially tourism-intensive, which include Ischgl, St Anton, Sölden and Kitzbühel, shops selling everyday goods (food, sports goods, clothing, toiletries) may open on Sundays and public holidays, for up to six hours between 08:00 and 20:00. Petrol-station shops and restaurants fall outside the shop-hours law. Lech is in Vorarlberg, not Tirol, so this ordinance does not apply there.

France

Only 25 December is a public holiday in most of France. French law makes 1 May the only holiday that every employee must have off; on other holidays, whether staff work depends on collective agreements or on the employer. So a resort supermarket can open on Christmas Day, and whether it does is the shop's decision. Several Sherpa mountain supermarkets list themselves as open seven days a week in season, but none of the store pages we read gives hours for 25 December.

Switzerland

In Valais, which covers Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Verbier, 25 December is a cantonal holiday and 26 December is not. Under the cantonal shop-hours law of 2002, ordinary shops close at 17:00 on the eve of a holiday, which includes 24 December, and stay closed on the holiday. Shops in places the canton lists as tourist resorts may open every day, including Sundays and holidays, until 21:00. The Zermatt tourist office lists Migros Zermatt as open 08:00–19:00 seven days a week, without separate holiday hours.

Italy

Both 25 and 26 December are public holidays under Italian law. We found no published Christmas hours for the supermarkets in the Dolomites resorts, so check with the shop when you arrive.

Restaurants and markets

Restaurants are not covered by the Austrian or Valais shop-hours laws, so they set their own hours. In a catered chalet the operator provides the Christmas meal; VIP SKI, for one, serves a traditional Christmas dinner. If you are self-catering, see our guide to catered or self-catered chalets at Christmas and book any restaurant meal early. Most Christmas markets have closed by Christmas week, and Bolzano and Merano close on 25 December; the dates are in our guide to Christmas markets in ski resorts.

Before you travel

Buy food for the 24th to 26th on arrival day, Saturday 19 December. Ask your ski school whether it teaches on Friday 25 December, and ask your operator what happens to childcare that day. Holiday hours for shops and hire shops are set each season, so check the tourist office page for your resort before you go.

Sources

Common questions

Are ski lifts open on Christmas Day?

Yes. None of the ski areas we checked lists a closure on 25 December. In Mayrhofen, the 2026/27 timetable actually lengthens from Christmas Day, with the Penkenbahn opening at 08:00 instead of 08:30.

Is ski school on Christmas Day in France?

Often, yes. Six-day French group courses run Sunday to Friday, which in 2026 is 20–25 December, and ESF Le Grand-Bornand lists a course from 20 to 25 December 2026. Some groups skip the day, so ask your school.

Are supermarkets open on Christmas Day in Austrian ski resorts?

Austrian shops must close on public holidays, but Tirol lets shops selling everyday goods in its most touristy resorts, including Ischgl, St Anton, Sölden and Kitzbühel, open for up to six hours between 08:00 and 20:00. Petrol-station shops are also exempt.

What time do shops close on Christmas Eve in Austria?

By law, shops may open until 14:00 on 24 December when it falls on a weekday, as it does in 2026. Sweet shops and florists may stay open until 18:00.

Is Boxing Day a holiday in ski resorts?

In Austria and Italy, yes. In most of France and in the Swiss canton of Valais, which covers Zermatt and Verbier, 26 December is an ordinary working day.

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