Ski season 2026/27: resorts you can reach on a direct flight

Thermal baths in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, down the valley, with pools and steam rooms fed by local springs; closed Tuesdays.

More than 1,000 mechanical instruments, from music boxes to barrel organs, beside the church in Les Gets; open winter afternoons.

An art foundation in Martigny with a Roman site in its grounds; this winter's exhibition runs from 4 December 2026, open daily.

A guided Wednesday-afternoon visit to an old working mill near Saint-Martin-de-Belleville, ending with local bread and beer.

Guided dives under the ice of Lac de Tignes, by day or by night, with beginners welcome.

A cave dug under the snow at 2,700m and filled with ice sculptures, rebuilt every winter; reached by cable car.

An old village of cobbled lanes and craft workshops in the valley below, eight minutes down by gondola.

France's highest town, over the border, with Vauban's UNESCO-listed fortifications around a steep old quarter.

A castle above Châtillon that's now a museum of modern and contemporary art; open Tuesday to Sunday through the winter.

A 20-metre fresco of skeletons leading people of every rank, painted on the outside wall of San Vigilio church in Pinzolo.

An easy walk of about two hours there and back into the Puez-Odle nature park, ending at St Silvester's chapel.

The valley's story told inside an old Livigno house, from farming customs to how today's village came about; open in winter from 28 November.

A viewing platform over the Rhine Gorge, about 45 minutes' walk from Flims Waldhaus and open all year.

A working Benedictine monastery in the middle of the village, with public tours on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.

A circular winter walk around the Verwallsee reservoir in the quiet Verwall valley just outside St. Anton.

A guided ride by mine train into a medieval silver mine at Schwaz, open through most of the winter; check January dates before you go.

A big collection of vintage motorcycles in a glass hall at the Timmelsjoch toll station above Hochgurgl, open through the ski season.

A hillside wildlife park above Aurach with red deer, ibex and other Alpine animals, open all year from Wednesday to Sunday.

A big thermal spa and sauna complex at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn, open every day of the year.

A thermal spa in Bad Hofgastein with indoor and outdoor pools and saunas, open every day of the year.

A path cut into the rock of a narrow gorge, a short walk from the Olympic ski stadium, open daily in winter.

A 19th-century merchant's house in Bansko's old town, a short walk from the gondola; open Tuesday to Saturday in winter.

Dome shows under a projected night sky in Smolyan, down the valley from the slopes; open Tuesday to Saturday.

Guided tours through a dripstone cave in the Demänová valley below the slopes; closed Mondays and from 24 to 31 December.

A funicular from the middle of town up to Gubałówka ridge at 1,122m, with the whole Tatra range across the valley; runs all year.

A spring-fed green lake past Podkoren whose water never freezes, with an easy trail for a winter walk.

A cable car from Sarajevo's old town up Mount Trebević for views over the city; runs Thursday to Sunday.

Pools fed by the town's own spring water in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, open every day through the winter.

A hotel, bar and chapel carved from snow and ice in Lainio, rebuilt every winter and open to day visitors from 25 December.

A traditional smoke sauna at the foot of Kiilopää fell, with a hole cut in the ice for a dip; public evening sessions all winter.

Warm mineral springs inside a cave in Banff, where Canada's national parks began; open Thursday to Monday in winter.

Hot pools, cold plunges and saunas outdoors in the forest just north of the village, open every day of the year.

An old gold mine on French Gulch Road in Breckenridge, open all year with tours and snow activities in winter.

The 2002 Winter Olympics venue, with ski jumps, a bobsleigh track you can ride in winter and museums, open daily.