The festive season is one of the most popular times of year for ski holidays – while the Christmas period is brimming with families enjoying themselves in the snow, come New Year ski resorts gear up for some of the most sophisticated and stylish parties on the planet.
If travelling at this time, a good time off the slopes is likely high on your list of priorities. But it is also wise to choose your resort carefully to ensure quality snow cover. Heading high is one of the most important factors for guaranteed snow conditions, and any resort with slopes up to 3,000m is a good bet.
Our pick of the best ski resorts to ring in the new year boast snow-sure slopes, jolly mountain atmosphere, the certainty of fireworks and a good chance of a torchlit descent.
Les Deux Alpes, France
Best for intermediates
Les Deux Alpes has three major assets: guaranteed snow cover, long cruisy runs for intermediates and one of the finest terrain parks in Europe. A top altitude of 3,600m means that even in the worst winters for snow visitors are never in serious trouble here.
The mountain’s unusual shape means that some of the most difficult runs are at the bottom, while up on the glacier there are mostly easy blues. As well as intermediates, this resort is good for beginners, who even during their first week can access more terrain here than in other ski areas.
Les Deux Alpes is one of France’s most lively resorts – Pyrene DUFFAU / Les 2 Alpes/pyreneduffau
The resort is renowned for having one of the most vibrant après scenes in France, making it a good choice for New Year break. On-mountain après brings DJs and dancers to 2,300m at Pano Bar, and in the heart of the resort, the Polar Bear Club continues the party until 1.30am.
Where to stay
Spread over four floors, Base Camp Lodge has double/twin rooms, family suites and dormitories for up to ten guests. It also has a restaurant, a fitness room and sauna.
Plan your trip with our Les Deux Alpes ski guide.
Sölden, Austria
Best for wild dancing
Sölden’s intermediate-friendly, high-altitude slopes are within an hour’s drive of Innsbruck airport. There are 144km of piste, but the slopes seem much more extensive, largely because the three mountains above are well connected, without any annoying paths between them.
The Ötztal Super Skipass – the automatic option for passes of three days or more – also covers all the ski areas in the Ötztal valley, namely Obergurgl-Hochgurgl, Hochoetz-Kühtai, Niederthai, Gries and Vent (a total of 356km of pistes). A free ski bus connects them.
Walter Bibikow
While Sölden is certainly not the prettiest resort, stretching for 2km with no real centre, it has no shortage of clubs for dancing into the new year, and its nightlife is younger and wilder than that of its more conservative, family-friendly neighbour Obergurgl. The biggest club is Katapult, which hosts massive dance nights with international DJs and show dancers, usually including on New Year’s Eve.
Where to stay
The four-star Hotel Regina is a two-minute walk from the main Gaislachkogl gondola. It’s a comfortable, traditional place with its own wellness area and indoor pool.
Plan your trip with our Sölden ski guide.
Banff, Canada
Best for North American adventure
Banff is a jolly tourist town with plenty of bars, restaurants and souvenir shops. Although prices on the ground are not super cheap, the scale of lodgings built to meet summer demand means a holiday here needn’t cost the earth during the winter.
Banff has three separate ski areas to explore
Each of Banff’s three very different ski areas is a free bus ride away. Norquay is only a few minutes’ drive, but tiny, with just 190 acres of terrain, including a good nursery area. Sunshine Village, 20 minutes away, is a fair size (3,358 acres), and is known for steep terrain and plenty of snow. Lake Louise Ski Resort, 45 minutes away, is the largest area, with 4,200 acres of terrain best suited to intermediates and experts.
There are more than 100 bars and restaurants in the town, which usually holds a family-friendly New Year’s Eve party with activities and live music in the early evening.
Where to stay
Three-star Rundlestone Lodge on the edge of town is good value with a warm, homely atmosphere and an indoor pool.
Plan your trip with our Banff ski guide.
Livigno, Italy
Best for New year on a budget
It takes almost three hours to get to Livigno from Innsbruck, and longer from Italian hub airports, but it’s worth it for the low prices and reliable snow. The village is strung out along 10km of mountain road that comes to a full stop in winter at 1,816m, near the Swiss border.
Livigno is easy on the purse strings – iStockphoto/marchello74
It’s a great resort for beginners and low intermediates, with terrain on both the Mottolino and Costaccia/Carosello sides of the valley. Five terrain parks are geared to different levels including beginners and children. For experts, Livigno has a series of managed off-piste routes as well as the opportunity for heli-skiing.
Livigno has a special tax status that dates back to Napoleonic times. There’s no VAT, which makes drinks, petrol and consumer goods some of the cheapest in Europe. Many of the old wooden houses in the traffic-free village centre have been converted into atmospheric bars, restaurants and clubs.
Where to stay
For ski-in/ski-out convenience it’s hard to beat the smart four-star Lac Salin. Décor is modern, the staff very helpful and friendly, food excellent, and there’s a lovely terrace overlooking the slopes.
Plan your trip with our Livigno ski guide.
Ischgl, Austria
Best for varied après
The old farming village of Ischgl has developed into a sophisticated tourist centre, with smart hotels and cavernous bars offering full-throttle nightlife. There’s no glacier but its altitude (1,400m), combined with some of the most sophisticated snowmaking in the Alps, pretty much guarantees adequate snow cover.
The main ways up the mountain are by heavyweight gondolas, and the slopes best suit mileage-hungry intermediates who enjoy covering lots of ground before returning to the resort for some of the wildest table-dancing in the Alps.
Ischgl’s clientele tends to be about 10 years older than the 20-somethings who pack into the Mooserwirt on the slopes above St Anton. From 3.30pm, the atmosphere in the village and at the foot of the pistes is usually electric and very good-natured.
Ischgl is traditionally known for its open-air concerts
Arguably the most unusual bar in town is Niki’s Stadl, with its song and dance entertainment. The music is oompahpah Germanic, but the whole place buzzes. The Mad Cat Club at the Hotel Madlein, on the other hand, is a little bit of Ibiza in the Tirol.
Where to stay
The five-star Hotel Trofana Royal is Ischgl’s top establishment. Dining here is special, with Gault Millau and Michelin awarded chef Martin Sieberer at the helm, as is the spacious spa.
Plan your trip with our Ischgl ski guide.
Innsbruck, Austria
Best for a city ski break
This is one of Austria’s most beautiful cities, boasting a medieval old town of narrow cobbled streets and colourful buildings along the River Inn. As well as being the Tirolean capital, Innsbruck is the launchpad for 308km of runs across 12 ski areas within a one-hour radius.
Innsbruck enables skiers to combine a city break with skiing
The closest, Nordkette, is just 20 minutes from town, and offers varied runs, as well as off-piste challenges and ski touring for the more experienced. That said, all 132 areas are easily accessible from Innsbruck and covered by the Ski plus City Pass, along with the ski bus network. This pass also covers experiences in the city, including museum visits, ski jump stadium visit, ice skating, bike hire and a walking tour.
On New Year’s Eve, the centre of Innsbruck becomes a party destination. At midnight Strauss’s Blue Danube strikes up, and there’s waltzing in the streets. Alternatively, try the Cloud 9 club up at Nordkette, which has DJs and dancing, and gives a bird’s eye view of the firework displays in the city.
Where to stay
The contemporary design-led Penz Hotel in the centre of town has a rooftop bar and chic bedrooms. There’s a boot room and the ski bus stop is a three-minute walk away.
Plan your trip with our Innsbruck ski guide.
Verbier, Switzerland
Best for experts
With its luxurious chalets and hotels, challenging high-altitude terrain and vibrant après, Verbier exudes cool cachet. The slopes are snow-sure and the scenery spectacular; from the top of the ski area – Mont Fort, at 3,330m – the views reach as far as the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.
The slopes here best suit confident, adventurous skiers and snowboarders, and Verbier’s challenging itinerary routes (loosely marked but not formally controlled or patrolled) are where many experts spend their time.
Verbier is home to some of Europe’s most extreme off piste – melody sky
For après celebration, Le Mouton Noir on the mountain has a sunny terrace and professional dancers during high season, while fur and Gore-Tex meet in a dozen languages and all ages on the sunny terrace of Le Rouge at the bottom of the eponymous piste. The action continues at Pub Mont Fort and Fer à Cheval, both popular spots to party in ski wear.
Where to stay
Rooms at Hotel Bristol in the centre of Verbier vary from standard doubles with or without balconies to panorama rooms with mountain views. It’s family-friendly and has a sauna, but there is no on-site restaurant.
Plan your trip with our Verbier ski guide.
Laax, Switzerland
Best for terrain parks
The ski area shared by the villages of Laax, Flims and smaller Falera targets a youthful market, and particularly snowboarders. Its five terrain parks set at over 2,000m on Crap Sogn Gion (Crap translates as peak in Romansh, the fourth official Swiss language) are key to the area’s appeal.
The resort also has an indoor freestyle facility at the Freestyle Academy, with a skate bowl, ramps, jumps, trampoline and airbag. The ski area has lots to offer freeriders, with a good range of ungroomed, but marked and patrolled, freeride runs as well as vast off-piste areas.
Laax is popular with freestylers – PHILIPP RUGGLI
Much of the apres après, especially during the festive season, happens around the modern Rocksresort development at the Laax lift base. Here, both the Signina and Riders hotels host a New Year’s Eve dinner (from 6pm), and you can countdown to 2026 in the Rocksresort Platz. Riders Hotel also hosts an NYE party from 11pm.
Where to stay
Merging cutting-edge designer style with backpacker hostel, the Riders Hotel hosts live music, and film premières, as well as art exhibitions.
Passo Tonale, Italy
Best for beginners
This compact, value-for-money village lies at 1,883m, with slopes going up to 3,016m. It’s one of the few Italian resorts to be snow-sure from late October to mid-June, thanks to the Presena glacier at 3,000m.
Passo Tonale’s gentle open slopes form a near-perfect nursery area for learning to snowplough and gaining confidence – if booking lessons be sure to ask for an English-speaking instructor. The gondola to the glacier means even non-skiers and beginners can enjoy the views of the Italian Alps from the top, though the only run down is red. For those seeking more advanced slopes, there are lift links to Ponte di Legno and Temù.
Passo Tonale is popular with beginners – andrea zampatti
Passo Tonale comes to life during the Italian holidays and at weekends, and there are plenty of lively bars in town. For a special meal, Hotel La Mirandola, above the main resort, dates back to the 12th century. The restaurant has oodles of atmosphere and can be reached in the evening by snowmobile.
Where to stay
At the edge of the village and with beautiful views, but only three minutes’ walk to the closest lift and bus stop, the Hotel Piandineve is a firm family favourite with its games room and small spa area.
Plan your trip with our Passo Tonale ski guide.
Val d’Isère, France
Best for a big ski area
Linked to neighbouring Tignes to form a linked ski area of 300km of pistes, Val d’Isère offers high quality, snow-sure slopes that are best suited to strong intermediates and better. A blue run here could easily be classified as a red in another resort, while black really does mean a serious challenge.
Even in high season, such as at New Year, when lifts are at capacity, Val has a major advantage – no less than eight main mountain access points, so rush-hour queues are easily avoided.
Val d’Isere is a popular resorts with British skiers – Folie Douce/Folie Douce
On-mountain après is at La Folie Douce, which rocks from midday until the lifts close, with DJs, musicians and dancers on an open terrace. Cocorico at the Rond Point (almost at the foot of Solaise) is also popular, as is its late-night basement club, Doudoune. The resort also farewells the year that was at the foot of Bellevarde face with a fireworks show and DJ set.
Where to stay
Located in the main street, the Avenue Lodge Hotel is built in contemporary Savoyard chalet style with black slate floors and cowhide chairs. Bedrooms are cutting edge in design, and there’s also an impressive pool and spa.
Plan your trip with our Val d’Isere ski guide.
This article was first published in September 2022 and has been revised and updated.
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