Christmas and New Year in the mountains

Christmas in the mountains means two different things: the week of skiing between 26 December and the Epiphany, the most expensive and crowded of the season, or a few days of markets, spas and walks in the snow. In 2026-27 the calendar helps: 25 December is a Friday, so is 1 January, and 6 January is a Wednesday. If you have only one week, you can therefore cover the period from Saturday 26 December to Sunday 3 January, or stretch it to Wednesday 6th.

This page reports the data published on the websites of the ski consortia and tourist boards: opening dates, day ski pass prices for the main resorts, and markets in the mountain towns. Where 2026-27 figures are not yet published, we say so. For the markets themselves, see Christmas markets in Italy.

When the lifts open

The dates are those announced in November 2026 and always depend on snow, natural or made. Some resorts have already opened: Breuil-Cervinia from 24 October, with part of the lifts and slopes in the ski area that reaches Zermatt; the Val Senales glacier from 19 September, with a few slopes open at the end of October; and the Stelvio until 1 November.

At Madonna di Campiglio on 21 and 22 November only the Grostè area opens (8:30-16:30); from 27 November Grostè is open continuously and, depending on conditions, Spinale, Pradalago and 5 Laghi are added; on 3 December the link with Pinzolo and Folgarida-Marilleva opens. For Passo del Tonale the opening date is not yet published.

The Dolomites: the biggest ski area

Dolomiti Superski brings together many ski areas under a single ski pass: besides those in the table there are Cortina, the Tre Cime and the Civetta (dates still being updated), Rio Pusteria-Bressanone (Brixen) and Alpe Lusia-San Pellegrino. For the 2026-27 season the consortium reports about 100 million euros of investment: a new Kronplatz 1+2 gondola at Plan de Corones, new slopes at Plan de Corones, in Alta Badia (slope 5c at Arlara) and at San Martino (the Larici slope at Alpe Tognola), new chairlifts in Val di Zoldo, at Obereggen and in Alpe di Siusi, and the building site for the San Martino-Passo Rolle link.

The adult day ski pass costs 80 euros in season and 89 euros in high season (up from 77 and 86 last year); the 6-day pass in high season costs 453 euros. If you buy online at least two days ahead you get a 5% discount. For families there is the Dolomiti Superski Family at 43 euros a day, now available online (read the age and family composition conditions on the website). Since 2019-20 the high-season day pass has risen by 43% (from 62 to 89 euros).

Christmas in the Ladin and South Tyrolean valleys has its own liturgy: 26 December (Santo Stefano) is a public holiday in South Tyrol too, and in Val Gardena, at Ortisei, wood carving is a local craft (look for nativity scenes in the workshops). For Christmas lunch the mountain huts and village restaurants are full: book as early as October.

Aosta Valley and Piedmont

At Courmayeur the opening is planned for 28 November, with closing on 11 April 2027; at La Thuile the planned date is the same. People come to Courmayeur also for the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car and for the Pré-Saint-Didier thermal baths, useful on bad-weather days. At Breuil-Cervinia the season runs from 24 October to 2 May (Valtournenche from 28 November to 25 April); on the resort's website the day pass starts at 48 euros for the Italian slopes and 64.50 euros for the international pass with Zermatt (Cervino Ski Paradise), with prices varying by period. The Monterosa Ski area has already announced 28 November for Champoluc, Gressoney and Alagna, and 5-8 December for the other resorts.

In Piedmont the Vialattea (Sestriere, Sauze d'Oulx, Claviere, Sansicario, Cesana) opens on 5 December; the day pass ranges from 54 euros (low season) to 62 (high). Bardonecchia is the cheapest of the big ones: 52 euros in high season.

The reference market is the one in Aosta, the Marché Vert Noël: the 18th edition runs from 20-21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 (opening on 20 November), every day 10:00-20:00, on 25 December only 15:00-20:00 and on 1 January 11:00-20:00, free entry, in Piazza Chanoux and the neighbouring streets. See Aosta.

Lombard Alps and Trentino

Livigno (a duty-free zone) opens on 28 November: ski pass from 66 to 74.50 euros depending on the period (51.50 in promotional periods). Bormio opens on 4 December; we do not have the 2026-27 day pass price, but buying multi-day passes online in advance saves up to 25% compared with the ticket office. At Madonna di Campiglio (Skiarea Campiglio) the day pass ranges from 75 to 87 euros, with peaks of 89 on the dates of highest demand; at Paganella (Andalo) it costs 78 euros in high season.

The 2026-27 New Year programmes of these resorts are not yet defined; check the websites of the local tourist boards.

The Apennines: Abetone, Roccaraso, Campo Felice, Etna

The Apennines are cheaper and closer to Florence, Bologna, Rome and Naples, but depend more on made snow and the weather. At Abetone (Tuscany, Multipass ski area) pre-sales of 2026-27 season passes started on 4 November: Multipass at 699 euros (599 for loyal customers) until 20 November, 790 euros from the 21st; Super Comprensorio at 799 (699) and 890. Opening dates and day passes for 2026-27 have not yet been published by the consortium (information on multipassabetone.it).

At Roccaraso (Alto Sangro, Abruzzo) the season is announced from 5 December to 11 April 2027; the 2026-27 day pass is not published and last year it started at 58 euros. At Campo Felice (Abruzzo, an hour from Rome) the only price we found is the season pass of the Skipass dei Parchi, 830 euros; the opening date is not yet published.

On Etna, at Piano Provenzana (north side), there is one chairlift and three drag lifts, one blue slope, two red and one demanding one; the 2026-27 prices are not yet published. There is no fixed date: opening depends on the snow, and in 2025-26 the season began on 31 January 2026, after the snowfalls of 19-20 January. The old ski area on the south side (Rifugio Sapienza) is currently not operating for alpine skiing. On Italian slopes a helmet is compulsory for under-18s (Legislative Decree 40/2021) and third-party liability insurance is required for skiers. Rental costs about 50 euros a day (figure from the previous season).

For the Sila (Calabria) and the other Apennine areas, the ski areas have not yet published their 2026-27 dates.

What to do without skiing

• Markets: Bolzano (Bozen) opens on 26 November at 17:00 and runs until 6 January (35th edition, about 120 huts; a smaller market in Piazza Mazzini at weekends from 27 November to 20 December). On 6 December St Nicholas and the Krampus parade in Piazza Walther. See Bolzano.
• Walks: groomed winter trails, snowshoes and sledges are low-cost alternatives; ask the village tourist office for the map of routes.
• Spas: there are thermal centres at Pré-Saint-Didier (Courmayeur) and at Bormio; ask the centre directly for holiday opening hours.
• Panoramic cable cars: the Skyway Monte Bianco and the gondolas of the ski areas also run for pedestrians with a dedicated ticket.

1. Bolzano (Bozen), Piazza Walther: Market from 26 November to 6 January
2. Aosta, Piazza Chanoux: Marché Vert Noël, 20 November - 6 January
3. Ortisei: Val Gardena, opening 4 December
4. Corvara in Badia: Alta Badia, opening 4 December
5. Brunico (Bruneck): Access to Plan de Corones, opening 28 November
6. Courmayeur: Expected opening 28 November
7. Breuil-Cervinia: Open since 24 October
8. Livigno: Opening 28 November
9. Bormio: Opening 4 December
10. Sestriere: Vialattea, opening 5 December
11. Abetone: Multipass 2026-27
12. Roccaraso: Opening 5 December
13. Piano Provenzana, Etna: Opening depends on snow (2025-26: 31 January)

Getting there without a car

The Dolomites are served by train as far as Bolzano (Bozen; Brenner line), Bressanone (Brixen) and Brunico (Bruneck), then by local bus and ski bus to the valleys; the bus to Cortina leaves from Venice and Mestre. For the Aosta Valley you take the train to Aosta from Turin (changing at Chivasso or Ivrea), then a bus to Courmayeur. Livigno has no railway: you get there by bus from Tirano or Bormio. Abetone can be reached by bus from Pistoia, Roccaraso by train and bus from Sulmona or Naples. Holiday timetables are reduced: on 25 December and 1 January many services do not run. Always check the websites of the local operators and of Trenitalia, and buy bus tickets for the valleys in advance.