Canadians looking for a europe ski trip 2026

A snowHead

Hi Everyone,

Wife and I are looking at booking a European ski trip in early march 2026 and had some questions. We are both in our early 30's (30 and 33). Our home mountain is Whistler where we are intermediate skiers (comfortable skiing up to groomed single blacks at Whistler). Prefer on-piste skiing generally. Looking to ski for ~5 days during the trip.

Things we are hoping for out of the ski resort:

1. Great on piste conditions with wide open runs
2. Picturesque village with great food
3. Great Apres (Not looking to go late into the night, but looking for on mountain apres that goes into the village into the late evening)

Looking at the Alps and from everything I've read has led me to the Alberg ski area, 3 valleys or Val d'isere . Hoping for some input from the group as to localizing a location in one of those areas. At this point leaning towards St Anton but open to any options. Cost is not too big of a concern either.

As mentioned looking at the first or second week of march. From looking at the school holidays seems to be some French school holidays the first week of March, thus should we be looking at the second week as opposed to the first week?

Thanks!

A snowHead

@md12345, Welcome to Snowheads. How long are you intending to stay, that would help in suggesting options?

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Looking at a ~5 day stay!

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You actually haven’t identified the most perfect destination for you , groomers and food , only one place Italy .

https://www.dolomitisuperski.com/en/home

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Any of those 3 will meet your requirements. Based upon my experience I’d recommend Tignes/Val as more than enough to keep you occupied for a week. 3 valleys is huge but spread out so won’t be able to scratch the surface and navigating can be tricky as constant worry about getting back to your own valley before lifts close. Always found St Anton to be a bit underwhelming but that’s my own recent experience.

After all it is free

The Dolomites doesn’t have the apres you are looking for but it is absolutely beautiful. Hopefully you love skiing in Europe and come back and do that next time.

If you like the look of St Anton you should definitely consider Ischgl. It has brilliant apres and you can also ski across in to Switzerland!

Good look on making your choice Very Happy

Thanks for the message. I have read about Italy but have read there is not much of an apres scene. Thus wasn't high on the list of options. Please correct me if I'm wrong though! Thanks!

Anywhere where the Germans go will have plenty of Apres and they love the Dolleys

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You can't really go wrong, anywhere will work, you can get a pretty good idea with google. Maybe have a few of those maple leaf flags about you so everyone knows you're not those guys.

I'd say you want Austria for pretty villages, which are more real than Whistler or even some of the prettier new French places. And those Austrian places are where the party starts early. Not my area of expertise, but St Anton would be a sensible choice I think. You get pockets of partying elsewhere, but it's not the same.

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Am I right in assuming this would be your first European ski trip @md12345?

If so - and much as I love the mega French resorts - you'd love the Arlberg region in Austria. Fantastic skiing and the ambience and après-ski of Austria is (in my view) unbeatable. Take your pic from St Anton, Lech and Zürs - they'd all fit the bill Very Happy

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I agree the Dolomites are well worth the visit, as is the Arlberg, and Austria is always pretty. I seccond@mountainaddict, as the french resorts, most of them don't fit the pretty bill,

I agree the Dolomites are well worth the visit, as is the Arlberg, and Austria is always pretty. I seccond@mountainaddict, as the french resorts, most of them don't fit the pretty bill,

You know it makes sense.

I don't reckon you can compare the "apres ski" scene in Italy to the picture the OP paints of what he's looking for. And didn't I read recently (here) that bars on the mountain are not allowed to serve drinks after the pistes close?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@md12345,
You are coming all the way from Western Canada for 5 days - wow!
What style of accommodation are you looking for - self-catering, hotel, catered chalet, chalet-hotel? And what board? Which airport are you looking to fly into? Any language preferences?

Quick answer - Zermatt (with the chance to ski into Italy for lunch!)

A snowHead

@md12345,

I'd say 3 valleys if you want easy to navigate, enormous ski area with great groomed pistes.

There is a Follie Douce in Val Thorens village and VT

Or the Rond point in Meribel is livley (especially on a Wednesday) - check out their social media feed. (i've not been to the Rond Point (The Ronny) for a few years though.

Le Praz in courchevel is a nice little village but for most places n the alps if you want cute little village then you wont get banging apres.

The other Obvious place for Apres and good skiing is St Anton with teh Moosevert but I avoided the Apres when I went to St Anton to concentrate on the amazing Pow condition sthat had hit when I was there.

Dont discount Avoriaz in France too. Another Follie Douce plus The Terrace in Linderets on a Wednesday afternoon is fun.

Val d'Isere could work.

I fly transatlantic lots as my Girlfriend lives in NYC and she skis in Europe loads with me.

At a guess, Youre gonn be flying from in from Vancouver for a 5 x day trip. Keep it simple....

I'd do Avoriaz, Fly into Geneva, private transfer with Skiidy Gonzales (rent the Accom Saturday to Saturday) - Stay at the Saskia Falaise in a one bedroom with unobstructed mountain view)

Do the Follie Douce once or twice, plus The Terrace in Linderets on a Wednesday afternoon and get the 5pm Prolays chair lift back to Avoriaz.

Sorry for the rubbish typing. I'm on a train on on my way to the Alps for a ski trip an having a glass of wine.

Avoriaz i a purpose built resort linking Morzine to Chatel and the Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil. So its not a cute hamlet but it keeps the transfer short and opens up a good large ski area which is linked between france and switzerland.

A snowHead

Thanks for all the responses everyone!

To answer some questions:

Yes this will be our first ski trip in europe, trip is a bit shorter on the skiing portion as it is part of trip for work.

Seems like St Anton does bit the bill for what we are looking for!

As mentioned looking at the first or second week of march. From looking at the school holidays seems to be some French school holidays the first week of March, thus should we be looking at the second week as opposed to the first week or does it matter?

Thanks!!!

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Selva has vibrant Après-ski … the Austrian dna. The skiing ticks your boxes.

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@md12345, Because Easter is "early" on the Christian calendar in 2026, you don't really have to worry about school holidays in early March. +1 for St Anton as a first taster of European skiing.

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@md12345, you’ve shortlisted 3 great areas. I think if challenging piste skiing is top priority then I’d rank them:
1. Val D’Isere
2. 3 Valleys
3. St Anton

If apres atmosphere is most important then:
1. St Anton
2. Val D’Isere
3. 3 Valleys

Size wise, 3 Valleys has more kilometres of piste. Personally I don’t think it’s too difficult to navigate around, as long as visibility is reasonable.

My subjective opinion but based on many weeks in each. snowHead

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Booking 5 days might be tricky in the places you list. They are all geared towards 7 day stays. Zermatt, on the other hand, will be fine for shorter trips.

I would also say Zermatt scores well on point 1, wins 2, and does OK on 3.

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Verbier, Switzerland?

After all it is free

To look at your filters in order:
Most European resorts pride themselves on their piste preparation. Compared to Whistler the piste prep will be on a different level.
Picturesque village (imo) Switzerland has this in spades.
Food = Italy all day long.
Apres = Austria.

If price is not an inhibitor Zermatt wins.

If apres outweighs a view of the Matterhorn and cog railway access to the slopes, St Anton wins.
Both have wide motorway pistes.
If food is important anywhere in Italy trumps anywhere else.

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@md12345,
Where would you be working before/after skiing?

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@md12345, Agree about the Arlberg specifically St Anton (Lech isnt really a spot for apres, more Michelin starred dining) though if you are determined to stick to pistes it might not be so good (many of the best runs are "ski routes", dont think there is a N American equivalent but sort of a cross between a piste and off piste). Do note it has got expensive in recent times and is busy all season long, its not a place to "get away from it all". Ischgl also top for apres and maybe more piste orientated. In both cases fly into Zürich, transfer probably best by train. The Dolomites are a favourite around here, the scenery is stunning, the food good and almost endless pistes. Downsides is not so much natural snow (the locals invented snow making) and , as pointed out, not quite "Austrian" levels of apres. If you look on the Arlberg thread there are some recent posts with images of the off piste that can be found. In France Val d'Isere would also be a good choice.

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I think given you are looking for apres and probably something a bit different from the corporate Disneyland of Whistler then St Anton is a good call. Also easily accessible by train from ZRH.

Caveat is I wouldn't say the piste skiing is the best in Europe - too many people on too few runs around Galzig and down to Alpe Rauz for starters but probably not worse than WB. The Mooserwirt is what the Longhorn and GLC can never be.

You know it makes sense.

I would recommend Val D'Isere,
St Anton good option but piste skiing much more limited than Val d'Isere, there are great pistes in Stuben and Rendl, St Anton itself is just chaotic and crowded, and link to Lech etc is hard work with crowds and queues and just not worth it IMO. Val d 'Isere offers speedy access to so many great pistes. But just be cautious that runs back into village can be quite difficult depending on snow conditions if you are not an advanced skiers. (But you can download)

Some comments on other places mentioned- Zermatt- far too remote, will take you 4 1/2 hours to get to from either Geneva or Zermatt

Avoriaz, fine if you are lucky with snow and weather, but it tops at 2200m, and more and more in French Alps this is just too low for reliable snow conditions.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

To look at your filters in order:
Most European resorts pride themselves on their piste preparation. Compared to Whistler the piste prep will be on a different level.
Picturesque village (imo) Switzerland has this in spades.
Food = Italy all day long.
Apres = Austria.

If price is not an inhibitor Zermatt wins.

If apres outweighs a view of the Matterhorn and cog railway access to the slopes, St Anton wins.
Both have wide motorway pistes.
If food is important anywhere in Italy trumps anywhere else.

A snowHead

@md12345, welcome to snowHeads

St Anton/Ischgl has already been mentioned. I’d add Saalbach Hinterglemm into the mix for wide, cruisey pistes, on-mountain (near villages) Apres and then the town (Saalbach) for Apres, Apres, as they like to call it. For 5 days skiing, it’s be hard to beat and ticks most of the boxes, IMV.

A snowHead

French ski holidays no concern for anywhere else apart from France

I think Ischgl as the village (if there is snow on ground in particular) is cute and chocolate boxey. Apres is wild but maybe a bit more seedy recently? Good food in the village and on the mountain. Not sure about wide open pistes but excellent late skiing with superb lift infrastructure and facilities on the mountain.

St Anton must have the UNESCO capital of the Apres Ski world in the Moos. Personally I don't rate the pistes or infrastructure but maybe that's improved in the ten years since I've been there.

I just don't think Apres ski is ever as good anywhere apart from Austria so reluctant to recommend France, albeit the Foilie Douce kind of places might be a substitute

I wonder is there a nicer Austrian resort than the over touristed Anton or Ischgl though that someone could recommend and would still meet the IP's criteria? Solden has great Apres at the foot of the mountain but village is not charming.

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TBH I would not recommend Val d'Isere as it is not a "picturesque" village (btw nothing against VDI - ski there loads and overall skiing fabulous), but it isn't picturesque. Lech ticks all the boxes - nearly. Apres can be a bit dull compared to St Anton (although immediately after the lifts shut the bars by he river are packed and there's lots of noise and music) but it doesn't go on into the night. St Anton is more picturesque than VDI but it's a town and IMV doesn't really represent the typical Austrian resort. But you will get Apres on the slopes (e.g. Mooserwirt and Crazy Kanguruh).

If you prioritise the skiing then VDI is best (but not significantly better than Arlberg).
If you prioritise picturesque Lech
If you prioritise Apres St Anton.
If you prioritise good service/ambience/value for money - Austria.

To give you an idea, I skied in France for most of my 30's and 40's for the skiing. Having gone back to Austria more recently in the last 5 years I think it has the best combination of skiing, picturesque and apres. If it helps, my wife and I are going to stay for 6 weeks next winter in the Alps. I said shall we stay in France or Austria? Immediate answer - Austria.

I suspect Switzerland (including Zermatt) as others have said would be worth researching too.

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For atmosphere/ holiday vibe, I agree with above posts saying Austria better than France

If you want to do a helluva lit of piste skiing, then I would say the large French resorts are unmatched taking into consideration extent, piste quality, and connectivity (i.e. getting from one side to other seamlessly and without delay)

I think anyway you won't go wrong with any of your original suggestions

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If you're coming from Western Canada then surely skiing and apres ski should both come after scenery and atmosphere.

So Dolomites and Zermatt should be top of your list!

On a second trip yes, St Anton, Ischgl, Val d'Isère, and of course Trois Vallees (which are really four) or 4 Vallees (Verbier).

After all it is free

@greg66, The OP wrote that this will be part of a longer trip for work.

I think the location of the work will be key to making the recommendation.

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Canadians looking for a europe ski trip 2026

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