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Quintessential Christmas Village

 Poster: A snowHead
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Okay what ticks most of the boxes for a perfect Christmas village to stay and ski at? Needs to be relatively snow-sure and have perhaps sleigh-ride, ice-skating, quaint center for walking around, activities around the holiday and so on.

Alpbach, Serfaus, Filzmoos, Lech, St. Moritz, Zermatt and Wengen come to mind. Please give me some more to consider.
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Megeve as well.
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bookmarking this for new ideas
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Megeve is a bit low to be reasonably sure of pretty resort-level snow(as opposed to black piles around the pavements) at Christmas. That's the trouble with the more traditional villages - they were built in places where their inhabitants would not spend all winter under the snow. Not guaranteed in Alpbach, either - same reason.
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Obergurgl?
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Not sure what additional activities you're after, but Madonna di Campiglio (1550m - 2500m) is a charming village/small town in the Brenta Dolomites.

Open air ice rink, plenty of trails, dog sledding, paragliding, snow-shoeing, ice climbing etc.

Some pretty skiing, more challenging stuff, great on-mountain restaurants.

Village offers a couple of clubs, if wanted, some superb restaurants, relaxed bars and all in a charming, characterful surrounding.
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Sterzing/Vipiteno and Meran/Merano (both in Südtirol) and Madesimo (Lombardy) are also good places for chocolate box like Christmas villages. The Südtirol ones also both have great Christmas Markets in the Advent period, not so sure about Madesimo. The ski areas for Sterzing and Meran are not very big though, Medesimo has quite an extensive ski area.

Filzmoos is the usual one in the pictures for Austria, either that or Heiligenblut just south of the Großglockner. If it is a snow poor beginning then few if any places are going to be knee deep in snow as per the Christmas Cards. Alpbach is usually pretty good for snow, especially as it has its nursery area in the middle of the village.
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Zell am see was nice and pretty when I went there for xmas. They have a xmas market, a big tree and lots of lights. On xmas eve there's some dipping the xmas tree in the lake thing.
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Les Arc 1950 was very pretty last Xmas, we looked down on it from Arc 2000 and wandered around on more than one evening. 2000 and 1950 are liked by a short cabine which runs from early morning to late evening. There are plenty of other activities http://www.lesarcsnet.com/activities/winter as well as torch light Santa parades etc. but I would not describe any of the French resorts I have been too as a Quintessential Xmas Village, or a Chocolate Box village as my family say. For that I think you need to look at at Austria, Germany even? and Switzerland, but the compromise may be on height. However many folk believe height is not so important as you go further east in terms of surety of snow!
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+1 for Madonna di Campiglio. Not seen it at Christmas, but it would seem to tick quite a few of those boxes.
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I'd cross Tamworth off your list.
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DB, But not Milton Keynes Puzzled
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Arabba was looking pretty under several metres of snow in early February last year - not sure what it would be like in an average year at Christmas. One of the Dolomites villages might be a good bet because the mountain surroundings are so outstandingly beautiful. They make some of the competition look decidedly ordinary.

DB, Obergurgl is hardly a quintessential Christmas village. wink Actually, I don't think Megeve is either, even with resort level snow - it's too sophisticated. Can't think of another French contender though La Clusaz might fit the bill other than the usual caveats about snow at resort level. Alpbach would be lovely with good snow cover. Murren? Only been there in summer. There must be other Swiss possibilities.
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pam w wrote:
Arabba was looking pretty under several metres of snow in early February last year - not sure what it would be like in an average year at Christmas. One of the Dolomites villages might be a good bet because the mountain surroundings are so outstandingly beautiful. They make some of the competition look decidedly ordinary.



Having been to Arabba at Christmas (snow was also very good then), I thought that, whilst pretty and charming, etc, it was quiet. There aren't too many streets to wander around and I didn't clock to many other activities, though to be fair wasn't really looking.

If there was snow like last year, I think I'd rather stay in Alleghe - ice rink and picture postcard lake etc. It is low, so snow would be a gamble IMV.
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Saas Fee
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Cortina might be nice. Biggish village/town, plenty to do. Low though, so possibly no snow in streets.
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Thanks for all the responses!

I'll definitely look at Madonna, it is one of the few places in the Dolomites I haven't been to.

Zell am See is low elevation if I recall and suspect for snow that early. Someone please tell me if I'm wrong.

La Clusaz and Megeve are beautiful--if there is snow.

Arabba is very quiet, we've stayed several times in both San Cassiano and Corvara which are close to there.

Cortina scenery is amazing--the town not so much. Last year was weird of course. A lot of snow in November. None until just after Christmas and then epic for the next three months.
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Zell am See +1 . It also has the glacier at Kaprun.
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Quote:

Zell am See is low elevation if I recall and suspect for snow that early. Someone please tell me if I'm wrong.


You're wrong. Resorts in that part of Austria don't rely on altitude for snow, which is a good thing as most (Zell am See, Kitzbuhel, Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Fieberbrunn etc.) start at 1000m and only go up to about 2000m. Instead, they have a different climate to the high French resorts, lots of trees to provide shelter and shade and extensive snow making. As for pretty villages at Christmas, pick any of these, plus Maria Alm, Bad Gastein, Mayrhofen etc. All are built around a village square, onion-dome church, 16th century Hotel Post and so on.
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+1 for Saas Fee, not been at Christmas, but it is nicknamed 'the pearl of the alps' for a reason.
On a selfish note I hope Arabba is nice, we are off there this Christmas. First Christmas for us outside of Scotland. Really couldn't be doing with all the faff, liver abuse, stomach abuse, etc.
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Tignes Toofy Grin. White Christmas guaranteed wink .

Failing that:
- Saas Fee
- Obergurgl
- St Martin de Belleville
- Tignes les Brevieres
- Neustift
- Dorfgastein
(Have to say though - not sure of the Christmas-snow record at the last two; or whether all have the required skating etc. Still, hopefully a few pointers.)
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I has been mentioned that Maria Alm and the Hochkonig is in a snow pocket, so despite the lower elevation it is a safer bet. Do fellow snowheads agree or disagree?
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Vgunn, the whole of the eastern Alps are lower than the western end, but seem to manage more than adequately despite that to be world class skiing destinations! Lots of places claim to be in a so-called "Schnee-Loch" but whether they truly exist is questionable in terms of true meteorological facts! wink I would not get too hung up on height to be honest, as they say about many things - it's not the size (height) that matters, it's what you do with it that counts in the end! Laughing

I've spent every Christmas and New Year for the past 25 years in and around the Salzburg region, initially always in St Johann im Pongau, and more recently based in Altenmarkt. Sometimes the snow has been mega, other times maybe not so great, but I have never had a time when I could not ski down to the valley if I wanted to. Whether or not there will be snow in the valleys is always questionable these days, the main settlements developed in sheltered areas where the winters would not be so extreme. I skied in Maria Alm early last season and there was snow on the ground in the car parks but it was not that "deep and crisp and even" Toofy Grin Having lots of snow around adds some magic to the Advent Markets, I am usually disappointed when the Salzburg one is "dry" as it was last year. However they are always worth a visit if you are in the area for Advent, knowing where to go is important as there are some parts to be avoided for example in Salzburg, especially when the snow is not there to add to the atmosphere. The real magic for me though is when I come out of church after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and it is snowing - that has occurred more years than not!
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Samoens has a pretty village centre with covered market and church. Wouldn't guarantee snow on the ground there at Christmas though. Lech had plenty of snow at resort level last Christmas even though by normal standards it was a very poor season. The Christmas Eve carol service in the church was queued out the door, so plenty festive charm.
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mountainaddict wrote:
Tignes Toofy Grin. White Christmas guaranteed wink .

Failing that:
- Saas Fee
- Obergurgl
- St Martin de Belleville
- Tignes les Brevieres
- Neustift
- Dorfgastein
(Have to say though - not sure of the Christmas-snow record at the last two; or whether all have the required skating etc. Still, hopefully a few pointers.)


I would take St MArtin de Belleville off that list, I've known it have almost no snow all season + it isn't much of a village

Tignes les Brevieres is pretty but again it's acollection of buildings not real a village and if wind is up or the cloud is down its a grim place.
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+1 for Alpbach - not that snow sure though.
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Quote:

I would take St MArtin de Belleville off that list, I've known it have almost no snow all season + it isn't much of a village

Tignes les Brevieres is pretty but again it's acollection of buildings not real a village and if wind is up or the cloud is down its a grim place.

+1
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Wengen - traffic free and has an English church with a Carol Service
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