Our guide to winter in Morzine › Christmas in Morzine

Morzine at Christmas: what it's really like

So, you're thinking about spending Christmas in Morzine, and you've probably got two questions rattling around. Will there actually be snow? And will it actually feel like Christmas, or will it just be a normal ski week with tinsel on it?

Christmas in Morzine: the key facts

The first thing worth saying is that Morzine is a real working town, not a purpose-built resort that switches itself on in December. There's a church, a school, a Wednesday market and a supermarket, and at Christmas all of that carries on around you. The lights go up in early December, when the town is busy preparing for the upcoming season but by the time Christmas week arrives the place is properly in full swing.

What changes at Christmas isn't the pace – it's the feel. Morzine in Christmas week is very family-oriented. There are more children about, more multi-generational groups taking over big tables in restaurants, more grandparents having a vin chaud while everyone else skis. The bars are busy but the late-night scene is a little quieter than it'll be for most of the ski season.

It suits you if you want atmosphere, family time and a town that feels genuinely festive. It suits you less if you're chasing bargains, or if the entire holiday hinges on waist-deep powder – more on that in a moment.

Is it worth paying peak-week prices?

Christmas and New Year are peak weeks, and they're priced accordingly – you will pay noticeably more than you would in January. Our honest view is that it's worth it if you're coming for the whole experience: some brill skiing with the town lit up, Santa arriving on Christmas Eve and a big family meal in glorious surroundings. If what you actually want is the best skiing for the least money, you'd be better off in mid-January or late March, and we'd rather tell you that than sell you the wrong week.

Christmas week or New Year week?

Christmas week is the quieter and more domestic of the two. New Year week is busier and louder and prices tend to be higher again. There's also a snow argument for the later week: by New Year the mountain has had another seven days to build up, and the difference is sometimes visible.

If you've got small children, we'd point you at Christmas week. If you want the town at full tilt, take New Year.

This is the question we get asked more than any other, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a reassuring one.

The short version: yes, almost always — but Christmas week tends to have a smaller snow pack than the rest of the season, and you should plan for that rather than be surprised by it.

What the snow record actually shows

We've analysed the snow and weather data for the Portes du Soleil, and this is what it says about the weeks either side of Christmas. The figures below are the average snow pack depth measured at 1,730m – mid-mountain, which is where most of your skiing happens.

Three things jump out of that.

Christmas week averages close to a metre of snow underfoot. That's a proper ski holiday. It isn't February – the pack more than doubles again by late January – but 95cm at mid-mountain is plenty of snow to ski on, and the Portes du Soleil is a big enough area that you're not short of options.

The pack jumps sharply between the week before Christmas and Christmas week itself. 63cm to 95cm is a big move in seven days. That shows it usually snows a lot at Christmas time.

It keeps building, fast. By the end of January the mountain is carrying nearly twice what it has at Christmas. Nobody comes to Morzine at Christmas for the deepest snow of the season, and that's fine – you come for everything else, and there's enough snow to enjoy it.

One more figure worth knowing: Christmas week is the mildest week of the whole core season, averaging just below freezing at mid-mountain. In practice that means lunch on a terrace is often an option, and small children aren't miserable by 11am. It's one of the quiet advantages of the festive fortnight that nobody ever mentions.

What to do if it's a low snow start to the season

Some Decembers don't get as much snowfall. It happens, and the resort is set up for it. If you land in one:

• Go up. Head for Avoriaz and the Hauts Forts side, where the altitude does the work. Getting there from Morzine is a lift ride, not an expedition.
• Follow the aspect. Nyon's runs are steep and north-facing, and Chamossière tops out just above 2,000m, so the Nyon and Chamossière sectors are usually where to find the best snow in the Morzine-Les Gets area.
• Rely on the cannons. The Portes du Soleil has close to 700 snow cannons, concentrated on the main arteries and the runs back to the town, precisely so the season can start on time.
• Use the size of the area. This is the real insurance policy. The Portes du Soleil spans twelve resorts across the French–Swiss border, so if one sector is struggling, another may be in better shape. Our Morzine piste map guide shows you how it all links together.

Not in the way you're probably picturing, and it's worth being clear about that before you arrive.

If you're imagining Strasbourg, Vienna or even Manchester – rows of wooden chalets, mulled wine, a market that is itself the destination – Morzine isn't that. What Morzine has is the village enchanté programme: lights, street entertainment, artisan stalls, food and drink, and events spread across the town over the festive fortnight. It's charming, it's very much aimed at families, and it's free. It just isn't a traditional German-style Christmas market, and people who come expecting one are the only people who leave disappointed.

There's also the regular Wednesday morning market at Place de la Poste, which runs year-round and is excellent – and in 2026, Wednesday 23 December is the last one before Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve in Morzine

Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Christmas Day in Morzine is a quieter, gentler affair than the 24th. The tourist office usually puts on something in the town in the afternoon, often with music wandering through the streets. But the thing we'd actually recommend you do on the 25th is go skiing.

Skiing on Christmas Day

The lifts run as normal on 25 December, which surprises a lot of people, and honestly it's one of our favourite days of the whole season. There's a particular atmosphere on the mountain on Christmas morning that you don't get at any other time – everyone's in a good mood, nobody's in a hurry, and there's a lovely absurdity to carving turns in the sunshine knowing there's a Christmas dinner waiting at the end of it. It is, if nothing else, an excellent way to build up an appetite.

For some, half the fun is the dressing up. A serious number of people ski in Christmas costume on the 25th – Santa suits, elves, reindeer antlers over helmets, the occasional full Christmas tree – so spot-the-Santa becomes a proper game on the chairlift. Children love it. Bring a hat of your own and join in.

Then break the day up with a stop at a mountain restaurant. Most of them put on something special for Christmas Day, and even if you're not eating a full meal, a vin chaud on a sunny terrace halfway through the morning is one of the great small pleasures of a festive ski week. Book if you want a table for lunch.

Boxing Day isn't a public holiday in France, so the 26th is a normal day here – shops open, lifts running, everything back to normal.

Where to eat on Christmas Day in Morzine

If you want to eat out on the 25th, book as early as you can. Plenty of places open, so you won't be stuck – but Christmas week is the busiest of the year here and the good tables go a long way ahead.

Three places in town our team would point you at, all open on Christmas Day:

• La Chamade – a fine-dining Christmas menu, a step up from the traditional turkey dinner. The one to book if you want the meal itself to be the event.
• La Chaudanne – no Christmas menu as such, but a warm, friendly, chalet-style restaurant with genuinely good food. Ideal for a cosy family lunch.
• La Grange – tucked away on a quiet street in a traditional old building, and about as cosy as Morzine gets.

Christmas lunch on the mountain

• Chez Crepy, Plaine Dranse – traditional Savoyard cooking over in Châtel, easily reached from the Chaux Fleurie chairlift, and the right sort of place for a long, unhurried lunch. The outdoor bar with the big umbrella is a good hot chocolate stop as well.
• Le Vaffieu, Pléney plateau – one of our favourites. Savoyard food made with care by a local family, and a big outdoor area that's excellent for people-watching once you've eaten.
• Les Marmottes, Les Lindarets – home-cooked Savoyard specialities in the Lindarets bowl. Look out for the jambon à la broche.
• Le Chaudron, Les Lindarets – just reopened after a full renovation, in the heart of the goat village. Traditional specialities, and pleasingly off the beaten track.

Private chefs

If you're in self-catered accommodation but you don't fancy cooking on the day, there's a middle path. Morzine has private chefs who'll come to your chalet and cook. It's the option we'd suggest for larger groups – you get the big table and the proper meal without anyone losing their Christmas morning to a kitchen.

A few local options, all of which we'd recommend without hesitation:

• Bang On Catering – Pip cooks in a lot of our properties and she's excellent. She'll do Christmas dinner, and the rest of the week's meals too if you want a proper holiday from the kitchen.
• Dining Direct – local chef Damien McArthur cooks the whole Christmas dinner and delivers it to your accommodation on Christmas Eve. All you do is heat it up and eat it.
• Spoony Cooks – a private chef cooking in your chalet, with breakfast each morning and dinner with wine each evening across the week, bar the chef's day off. Over the festive period they run a single set package, their Special Christmas Menu, and it's whole-week bookings only with a minimum of 10 adults – you can book for a smaller group, but the charge still stands at 10. Christmas Day itself is a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding.
• Clare Scott – another great private chef working in Morzine who can cook you up a Christmas feast whilst you kick back and enjoy the day.

Doing Christmas dinner in a self-catered chalet

Many of our guests staying in self-catered chalets and apartments cook their own Christmas dinner. It's one of the best things about a self-catered Christmas – you eat when you want, the children can be in pyjamas, and nobody's watching the clock for a restaurant sitting. But there are a few things worth knowing so it goes smoothly.

Where to buy your Christmas food in Morzine

Beyond that, our advice:

• Order any other meat early too. Don't assume a turkey will simply be sitting there on the 23rd. Turkey is eaten at Christmas in France, and so is capon – but a small mountain butcher in peak week is going to be very busy, so if you want a particular bird, say so early.
• Use the Wednesday market. Figure out when the last Wednesday before Christmas is. If you're in Morzine on that day head to Place de la Poste between 8am and 12.30pm. It's the best place in Morzine for cheese, charcuterie and vegetables.
• Do the big shop on arrival. Get the bulk of your shopping done as soon as you arrive in Morzine rather than hitting the scrum on the 23rd and 24th.

Shop opening hours over Christmas

This is a thing that catches people out. Across France, supermarkets close early on Christmas Eve and most shut on Christmas Day. Morzine doesn't work like that. The town is full of self-catering guests who still need to eat, so the shops here stay open right through.

What does change is how busy it gets, so two bits of local advice:

• Get to the boulangerie early. Queues on the 23rd and 24th can be longer than usual but the earlier you go the better.
• Do the big shop a few days ahead. Everything is open, but the supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas are hard work. Get it done and enjoy the rest of your week.

What to bring from the UK

One thing you certainly don't need to pack: we leave an artificial tree and a box of decorations in each of our properties, ready for you to put up when you arrive. Bring your own stockings, though, and any extra decorations you particularly want on the tree.

Don't bother: cheese, wine, charcuterie, bread, chocolate, or anything else you can buy far better here. And remember that if you're flying, there are limits on bringing meat and dairy into the EU from the UK – buy that side of it locally.

Morzine is a brilliant family resort, and Christmas is when that shows most. The town is compact enough to walk, there's plenty to do off the snow, and the festive programme is aimed squarely at children.

Off the slopes

Plenty to fill the non-ski days: sledging, ice skating, the carousel in the town, the swimming pool and the Aquariaz water park up in Avoriaz, horse-drawn sleigh rides, and a winter walk around Lake Montriond. There's a lot more in our guide to things to do in Morzine this winter.

Christmas for non-skiers

If you've got grandparents coming, or anyone who isn't skiing, Morzine handles that well. A pedestrian lift pass gets non-skiers up the mountain for lunch and the view, which is the single best thing you can do for a non-skiing visitor. Add the shops, the spa options, the walks and the town itself, and a non-skier can have a very good week here – see our lift pass guide for the pedestrian options.

When to book a Christmas holiday in Morzine

Earlier than you think. The festive weeks are the first to sell out, and by the time the autumn arrives the good self-catered places are largely gone. If you're reading this in September for the coming Christmas, book now. If you're planning a year ahead, the earlier your book the better choice of accommodation you'll have.

Getting here at Christmas

Lift passes over the festive period

Festive-week passes are full price – the discounts that make late-season skiing such good value don't apply at Christmas. Do check whether a Morzine–Les Gets pass covers what you actually need rather than defaulting to the full Portes du Soleil pass, particularly if you've got beginners in the group who'll spend the week on the Pléney. Our ski pass guide breaks down every option and price.

Is there always snow in Morzine at Christmas?

Always on the mountain, though the amount varies year to year. Across the winters of 2007 to 2018 the average snow pack at mid-mountain during Christmas week was around 95cm. The town itself, at 1,000m, can occasionally be green while the ski area above is in good condition.

Are the lifts open in Morzine at Christmas?

Yes. Both the Morzine and Les Gets lifts and Avoriaz lifts open in mid-December. Lifts run normally on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Can you ski on Christmas Day in Morzine?

Yes – the lifts run as usual on 25 December, and it's one of the best days of the season to be out. Plenty of people ski in Christmas costume, the mountain restaurants put on special menus, and it's an excellent way to build an appetite before Christmas dinner.

Can you buy a turkey in Morzine for Christmas?

Yes, but it needs ordering in advance – don't rely on finding one in the supermarket on 23rd/24th December. If you're staying in one of our chalets or apartments, tell us by mid-December what you'd like and we'll order a turkey or a joint from the local butcher, and a bûche de Noël from the bakery if you'd like one, for you to collect when you're here.

Does Morzine have a Christmas market?

Not a traditional German-style Christmas market. Morzine runs a festive programme called village enchanté with lights, stalls, parades and children's activities across the Christmas fortnight, plus its regular Wednesday morning market at Place de la Poste.

Are shops and restaurants open on Christmas Day in Morzine?

Yes. Morzine is in its busiest week of the year over Christmas, so the restaurants and shops stay open and the tourist office puts on events in the town. Restaurants fill up a long way ahead, so book as early as you can. The shops get very busy and close early on Christmas Eve. Boxing Day is a normal working day in France, so shops and lifts operate as usual.

Is Morzine good for families at Christmas?

Very. The town is walkable, the festive programme is built around children, and there's plenty to do off the slopes. Christmas week in particular has a noticeably family-oriented feel.

Is Christmas week or New Year week better in Morzine?

Christmas week is quieter and more family-focused. New Year week is busier and livelier, tends to cost more, and usually has more snow – the pack builds significantly across the festive fortnight.

What's the weather like in Morzine at Christmas?

Cold but not severe. Christmas week averages just below freezing at mid-mountain, making it the mildest week of the core ski season – helpful if you're travelling with young children.

Do I need to book restaurants in advance for Christmas in Morzine?

Yes. Plenty of restaurants open over Christmas in Morzine, so you won't be stuck for somewhere to go, but it's the busiest week of the year and the good tables go a long way ahead. Book as soon as you know your dates.

How far in advance should I book a Christmas ski holiday in Morzine?

The festive weeks sell out first. The earlier you book the more choice of accommodation you'll have.

We offer a collection of self-catered chalets and apartments in Morzine and Christmas is one of the weeks that get booked up early. You may need to be quick if you want to snag a Christmas stay. Check our availability to see which properties are available for Christmas week.