Where to find a white Christmas in the Alps

From the Christmas Snow Report 2026 · By Chalet for Christmas

Snow lying in the village on Christmas morning, measured at 44 village weather stations in Alpine ski resorts each year from 1996 to 2025. It is a record of how often that has happened, not a forecast.

The short answer

A white Christmas is most likely in the highest villages. Snow was lying on each Christmas morning measured in Tignes (30 of 30, village at 2,080m), Val d'Isère (30 of 30, village at 1,854m), Flaine (30 of 30, village at 1,620m), Avoriaz (25 of 25, village at 1,768m), Obertauern (23 of 23, village at 1,772m) and Val Thorens (14 of 14, village at 2,283m). Low villages are a gamble. In Samoëns, at 785m, it happened on 10 of 27 Christmases. Below 1,400m the odds have fallen, from 79% of Christmases before 2011 to 57% since.

Ski villages with a Christmas-morning record

Christmases with at least 5cm of snow lying at the village station, highest share first.

ResortVillage stationWhite ChristmasesSince 2011Typical depth
Tignes (France)Tignes, 2,080m30 of 30 (100%)15 of 1560cm
Val d'Isère (France)Val d'Isère, 1,854m30 of 30 (100%)15 of 1553cm
Flaine (France)Flaine, 1,620m30 of 30 (100%)15 of 1545cm
Avoriaz (France)Avoriaz, 1,768m25 of 25 (100%)14 of 1485cm
Obertauern (Austria)Obertauern, 1,772m23 of 23 (100%)15 of 1574cm
Val Thorens (France)Val Thorens, 2,283m14 of 14 (100%)7 of 750cm
Alpe d'Huez (France)Alpe d'Huez, 1,860m29 of 30 (97%)15 of 1551cm
Saas-Fee (Switzerland)Saas Fee, 1,790m29 of 30 (97%)14 of 1537cm
Méribel (France)Méribel-Mottaret, 1,700m29 of 30 (97%)14 of 1543cm
Obergurgl (Austria)Obergurgl, 1,941m28 of 30 (93%)13 of 1545cm
La Rosière (France)La Rosière, 1,867m28 of 30 (93%)13 of 1552cm
St Moritz (Switzerland)St.Moritz, 1,850m28 of 30 (93%)13 of 1535cm
Zermatt (Switzerland)Zermatt, 1,638m28 of 30 (93%)13 of 1525cm
Les Menuires (France)Les Menuires, 1,800m27 of 29 (93%)13 of 1427cm
Davos (Switzerland)Davos Flüelastr., 1,560m27 of 30 (90%)12 of 1533cm
Livigno (Italy)Livigno S Rocco (manual snow field), 1,875m18 of 20 (90%)4 of 532cm
Lech (Austria)Warth, 1,475m26 of 30 (87%)12 of 1550cm
Saalbach Hinterglemm (Austria)Saalbach, 975m25 of 29 (86%)11 of 1420cm
Châtel (France)Châtel, 1,155m22 of 26 (85%)8 of 1122cm
Montgenèvre (France)Montgenèvre, 1,848m16 of 19 (84%)3 of 452cm
Klosters (Switzerland)Klosters KW, 1,190m25 of 30 (83%)11 of 1529cm
Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise (France)Ste Foy Station, 1,524m17 of 21 (81%)12 of 1530cm
Crans-Montana (Switzerland)Montana, 1,590m24 of 30 (80%)11 of 1528cm
St Anton am Arlberg (Austria)St. Anton am Arlberg, 1,304m24 of 30 (80%)11 of 1528cm
Cervinia (Italy)Valtournenche - Perreres, 1,820m16 of 20 (80%)4 of 735cm
La Clusaz (France)La Clusaz, 1,180m22 of 28 (79%)8 of 1320cm
Wengen (Switzerland)Wengen, 1,280m23 of 30 (77%)10 of 1517cm
Serre Chevalier (France)Le Monêtier-les-Bains, 1,459m16 of 21 (76%)3 of 628cm
Grindelwald (Switzerland)Grindelwald, 1,107m20 of 27 (74%)8 of 1522cm
Corvara and Colfosco (Italy)La Villa in Badia (observer), 1,390m17 of 23 (74%)4 of 810cm
La Villa (Italy)La Villa in Badia (observer), 1,390m17 of 23 (74%)4 of 810cm
Megève (France)Megève, 1,080m21 of 30 (70%)8 of 1516cm
Les Gets (France)Les Gets village, 1,172m17 of 25 (68%)5 of 1018cm
Morzine (France)Les Gets village, 1,172m17 of 25 (68%)5 of 1018cm
Chamonix (France)Chamonix, 1,043m19 of 28 (68%)8 of 1310cm
Valloire (France)Valloire village, 1,460m7 of 11 (64%)–5cm
Les Arcs (France)Peisey-Nancroix, 1,350m17 of 27 (63%)7 of 1210cm
Les Carroz (France)Les Carroz village, 1,152m10 of 16 (63%)3 of 721cm
San Cassiano (Italy)San Cassiano (observer), 1,545m6 of 10 (60%)4 of 819cm
Sölden (Austria)Sölden, 1,332m16 of 27 (59%)7 of 127cm
Kitzbühel (Austria)Kitzbühel, 772m16 of 27 (59%)5 of 128cm
Zell am See (Austria)Zell am See, 754m15 of 28 (54%)5 of 148cm
Mayrhofen (Austria)Mayrhofen, 643m15 of 30 (50%)6 of 155cm
Samoëns (France)Samoëns, 785m10 of 27 (37%)4 of 120cm

Resorts measured only on their slopes are not listed here; their records are in the Christmas Snow Report, with each reading in its CSV.

Is a white Christmas getting less likely?

Across the 33 village stations with enough readings in both periods, snow was lying on 88% of Christmas mornings from 1996–2010 and 73% from 2011 onwards. The fall is concentrated in low villages: below 1,400m it went from 79% to 57%.

The slopes have held up much better, which is why a low village with high skiing can still give a good skiing Christmas without a white one. The Christmas Snow Score weighs both.

Chalets for Christmas week in the villages with the most white Christmases

For each village most likely to be white on Christmas morning, chalets we list there, leaving out any booked for Christmas week when we last checked, and a Booking.com search for the resort with Christmas week already chosen.

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

Christmas-week chalets in Tignes

Tignes at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Val d'Isère

Val d'Isère at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Flaine

Flaine at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Avoriaz

Avoriaz at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Obertauern

Obertauern at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Val Thorens

Val Thorens at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Alpe d'Huez

Alpe d'Huez at Christmas →

Christmas-week chalets in Saas-Fee

Saas-Fee at Christmas →
See the chalets available for Christmas →

White Christmas questions

Where is a white Christmas most likely in the Alps?

In the highest villages. Measured on Christmas morning since 1996, snow was lying in the village (at least 5cm) most reliably in Tignes (30 of 30, village at 2,080m), Val d'Isère (30 of 30, village at 1,854m), Flaine (30 of 30, village at 1,620m), Avoriaz (25 of 25, village at 1,768m), Obertauern (23 of 23, village at 1,772m) and Val Thorens (14 of 14, village at 2,283m).

Will it snow at Christmas in the Alps?

Nobody can say for a given year. What the record shows is how often there has been snow on the ground: across the 44 ski villages with a village weather station, a white Christmas came on 81% of Christmas mornings measured from 1996 to 2025. High villages did far better than low ones.

Is a white Christmas in the Alps getting less likely?

In low villages, yes. Below 1,400m, snow was lying on 79% of Christmas mornings from 1996–2010 and 57% from 2011 onwards, across 17 village stations. On the slopes above them the change has been much smaller.

What counts as a white Christmas here?

At least 5cm of snow lying on the ground on the morning of 25 December, at the weather station in or beside the resort village, as measured by the national or regional weather service. Falling snow on the day does not count, and neither does snow on the pistes above the village.