Ski resort opening dates 2026-2027: who opens first, who closes last

The 2026-2027 season starts high up, on the glaciers and the loftiest ski areas. In France, the first lifts turn on Saturday 21 November 2026 at Tignes, Val Thorens and Orelle, then the resorts wake up one after another until Saturday 19 December, the first day of the Christmas holidays: on that day, every major resort in this guide says it will be open. Closing dates run from 4 April to 2 May 2027 in France, and later still at Les 2 Alpes and at Zermatt, whose operator advertises skiing all year round. Here are the official dates, massif by massif, with the links between ski areas, the opening weekends and the early-season deals.

The first French resorts to open, from 21 November

The same resorts almost always open first, and not by chance. The La Plagne tourist office puts it simply: when a ski resort opens depends mainly on its snow cover, “and therefore on its altitude”. Tignes relies on the Grande Motte glacier, which the Perce-Neige funicular reaches quickly, and on a ski area that tops out at 3456m; its tourist office calls it “one of the few French ski resorts open in November”. On the same day, Val Thorens and Orelle launch the season on a ski area that, according to the Val Thorens tourist office, lies 99% above 2000m.

A week later, on Saturday 28 November, Val d’Isère opens in turn, and with it the link across the Tignes-Val d’Isère ski area. Les 2 Alpes gets going too, on a ski area that reaches 3600m. In Chamonix, la Flégère opens partially, snow permitting. In Switzerland, Zermatt hardly ever stops: its operator advertises skiing “365 days a year”, and the winter season starts there on 1 November on the glacier.

Les 3 Vallées: Val Thorens first, the links on 5 December

From 21 November to 3 December, only Val Thorens and Orelle are running in Les 3 Vallées. Courchevel opens its ski area on Friday 4 December, the day before the links. On Saturday 5 December, Méribel, Les Menuires and the 3 Vallées links open together; Saint-Martin-de-Belleville follows on 12 December. All of them close on Sunday 18 April, except Val Thorens and Orelle, which hold on until 2 May.

Several openings come with an event. On 21 and 22 November, Val Thorens celebrates “La Grande Première”, with a village where you can test equipment from the big brands, DJs and a free one-man show on the Saturday evening. On 5 December, Méribel greets its first skiers at the top of the Plattières with Savoyard songs on the accordion and a tasting of local produce. The 3 Vallées ski area also promises gentler lift pass prices from 5 to 18 December. To pick your valley, our guide to choosing a resort in Les 3 Vallées compares Courchevel, Méribel and Val Thorens.

Tignes and Val d’Isère: the linked ski area from 28 November

Tignes opens progressively from 21 November, glacier included, “subject to favourable snow conditions”, as its tourist office points out. Val d’Isère runs from 28 November to 2 May; Tignes closes on the same day. Both sides celebrate the opening weekend: the Tignes Opening on 21 and 22 November on the snow front at Le Lac, and Val d’Isère’s Premières Traces on 28 and 29 November, with a free test village, a brass band, DJs and an evening concert.

On 12 and 13 December, the Bellevarde face hosts the Critérium de la Première Neige, a men’s World Cup event with a giant slalom and a slalom, weather permitting. As for lift passes, Tignes offers a single price for the Opening and the first week, from 21 to 27 November, then preview rates until 11 December. Our comparison Val d’Isère or Tignes helps you choose between the two.

Paradiski and Sainte-Foy: everything opens on 12 December

Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Plagne open together on Saturday 12 December, with the Vanoise Express linking them until 17 April. Les Arcs and Plagne Altitude close on 24 April, while Champagny-en-Vanoise, Montchavin-Les Coches and Montalbert close as early as the 17th. According to the La Plagne tourist office, as a rule nearly 70% of the ski area is open from mid-December, and all of it from the Christmas holidays. Neighbouring Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise opens on the same day, until 18 April. La Rosière also opens on 12 December: see our practical guide La Rosière with the family.

On 5 December, a week before the lifts start, La Première Montée des Arcs invites you to skin up the groomed pistes of Arc 2000, in aid of the Téléthon charity appeal. On the evening of 12 December, La Plagne celebrates its Opening on the snow front at Plagne Bellecôte, free to all. For the first week, Les Arcs offers 15% off its Pass Classique and Essentiel lift passes and, according to its tourist office, La Plagne usually applies the same discount in the week before the Christmas holidays.

Megève, Saint-Gervais and Chamonix: opening sector by sector

In Megève, the operator opens in three stages: a first partial weekend on 5 and 6 December on Cote 2000 and the Mont d’Arbois, a partial opening from 12 December on the Mont d’Arbois, Rochebrune and the Saint-Gervais sector, then the full opening on 19 December, until 4 April. On 5 December, the lighting of the Christmas tree also ushers in the festive season in the village. The “Première neige” period, from 12 to 18 December, brings lift pass prices down by 20%. The Les Houches-Saint-Gervais ski area opens on 19 December and closes on 4 April.

In Chamonix, each ski area keeps its own dates. La Flégère opens partially on 28 November. Les Grands Montets runs daily from 5 December until 2 May, with the summit closed this winter: early in the season you go up on the Plan Joran gondola, then on a new gondola between Argentière and Lognan, due for the Christmas holidays. Le Brévent and the Balme ski area follow on 12 December. The Aiguille du Midi reopens on 19 December, as does the little Montenvers train. Our guide where to stay in Chamonix explains which village suits which ski area.

Portes du Soleil and Aravis: Haute-Savoie before Christmas

In the Portes du Soleil, Avoriaz opens on Friday 11 December, until 18 April. Les Gets opens partially on 12 December and fully on the 19th, until 11 April. Morzine starts on 19 December and plans to close on 4 April. In the Aravis, La Clusaz opens from 5 December and runs continuously from the 19th, until 25 April; Le Grand-Bornand pre-opens on 5 and 6 December, then runs continuously from the 12th, until 11 April. From 7 to 13 December, Le Grand-Bornand also hosts the Biathlon World Cup.

In Haute-Savoie, there are good deals to be had before the season, too. La Clusaz sells its season passes 30% cheaper until 15 November, Morzine its Portes du Soleil season pass 15% cheaper until 30 November, and Les Gets gives 10% off lift passes of 5 days or more bought by 30 November, outside the school holidays.

Alpe d’Huez, Les 2 Alpes, Serre Chevalier and Vars

Alpe d’Huez opens on 5 December, until 25 April. Of the French resorts in this guide, Les 2 Alpes goes furthest: winter from 28 November to 2 May, then high-altitude skiing from 3 to 30 May, and a partial opening until 4 July, when the ski area becomes, according to the tourist office, a training camp for elite athletes, federations and ski clubs. Serre Chevalier opens on 5 December at Chantemerle, Villeneuve and Monêtier, and on 12 December at Briançon; it closes on 18 April, or on 4 April for Briançon. Vars also opens on 5 December, until 11 April.

On 5 December, Serre Chevalier celebrates its Premières Glisses at Saint-Chaffrey with a free breakfast and a brass band. Vars en Scène puts on three free events over the first three weekends of December, and from 5 to 18 December the resort charges everyone the child rate on lift passes of three days or more.

In Switzerland: Zermatt, Verbier and Crans-Montana

Zermatt opens its winter season on 1 November on the glacier; the Sunnegga-Rothorn and Gornergrat sectors follow on 28 November and close on 11 and 18 April, and the winter season ends on 3 May on the glacier, where the operator advertises skiing all year round. In Verbier, the tourist office explains that the season “usually starts at the end of November, depending on snow, and ends at the end of April”; Verbier-Tzoumaz lift passes are valid from 5 December to 25 April, and our guide to Mont-Fort and the 4 Vallées introduces the ski area. Crans-Montana opens on 19 December, until 4 April, with a partial opening possible from 28 November if there is snow. From 1 to 14 February 2027, the resort hosts the Alpine World Ski Championships.

All the dates, resort by resort

Openings in 2026, closings in 2027: provisional dates from the lift operators and tourist offices.

“Subject to snow conditions”: what it really means

These dates are statements of intent. Les Houches talks of a “provisional” opening, the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc gives its dates “as a guide”, and Tignes warns that they are “subject to change”. The Morzine-Avoriaz tourist office adds that “partial pre-openings of certain sectors may be offered before the official dates if conditions allow”. The reverse holds too: a partial opening at the end of November only goes ahead if the snow is there.

Nobody can promise snow at the start of a season. Marie Dumont, director of the Centre d’études de la neige (Météo-France and CNRS), sums it up: the snow “arrives later and leaves earlier”, and in the Alps “we are already seeing a loss of about a month of snow on average over fifty years”. Artificial snow helps prepare the pistes: according to Domaines Skiables de France, about 40% of French pistes are equipped for it.

AEC tip. To ski from late November or early December, pick a high resort that is already running: Val Thorens, Tignes or Val d’Isère. For Christmas, every major resort says it will be open, so choose the resort for its character, and book your festive chalet early.

Where to stay

For the start of the season, our chalets and apartments in Val Thorens, Tignes and Val d’Isère have front-row seats. For the full winter, you will also find them in Courchevel, Méribel, Megève or Chamonix. Depending on when you travel, our guides to the festive season on the slopes, the February holidays and spring skiing take over, and our guides to getting to Courchevel, getting to Megève, getting to Chamonix or getting to Val d’Isère help you plan the journey. For New Year’s Eve week, see our guide to New Year on the slopes.

Easiest of all is to write to us: give us your dates and the number of guests, and our agents will suggest a selection in a resort that is open on those dates.

There is something unique about the first morning of a season: a piste groomed overnight, low light across the summits, and nobody ahead of you.

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