The best high altitude ski resorts in Europe

As the number of skiers reaches an all-time high, so too do concerns over long-term snow quality, making access to high altitude resorts a focus for property buyers

Cathy Hawker

11 November 2026

6 mins read

The best high altitude ski resorts in Europe — Aerial view of Val Thorens © elisalocci / Getty Images

The Alpine Report 2026-27, Knight Frank’s guide to prime global ski markets, highlighted a dichotomy at the heart of the ski industry: while natural snow is becoming less predictable, skier demand is at its strongest level since records began.

Some 399 million skiers worldwide took to the slopes in 2024/25 according to Laurent Vanat's 2026 International Report on Snow & Mountain Tourism, with year-on-year visitor numbers increasing in France, Italy and Switzerland. Further afield too, Japan, Canada and China all registered double digit growth. Meanwhile, snowfall is declining, down 34% between 1920 and 2020 according to official sources. Against this backdrop, high altitude resorts have a clear advantage, but that’s only part of the story, says Alex Koch de Gooreynd.

View of Gstaad, Switzerland © Margarita Almpanezou / Getty Images

“Altitude is of course an important consideration for anyone buying a property in the mountains who love their winter sports, but what our clients are most interested in is access to high skiing rather than a high resort itself,” he says. “Those resorts that offer swift access up the mountain to reliable slopes will always be the most popular. There are always outliers of course, where high altitude in itself is not the key driver. Gstaad, for example, is one of our most popular resorts at present and I wouldn’t call that especially high, even with the Glacier 3000 nearby.”

Resilient ski resorts

As The Alpine Report makes clear, the most resilient resorts are responding in a number of positive ways to the climate challenges, investing heavily in snow making machinery and lift infrastructure to ensure rapid access to snow sure slopes. Many also store snow over the summer months under insulated blankets, a specialised process known as snow farming. Forward-thinking resorts are also introducing summer activities to create homes with true year-round interest. Verbier has invested heavily in widening its year-round appeal with well-attended summer music festivals and international sports competitions.

“The resorts performing the best today tend to combine reliable skiing with a broader lifestyle offer,” says Koch de Gooreynd. “Buyers increasingly want somewhere they can enjoy throughout the year, whether that’s golf, hiking, wellness facilities, restaurants or simply a resort that remains active outside the ski season.”

Zermatt, Switzerland © Amith Nag Photography / Getty Images

High altitude resorts in the Swiss Alps

For those resolutely focused on high altitude, where should they look? In Switzerland Koch de Gooreynd says many clients focus on Zermatt and Verbier, two resorts with excellent snow reliability and access to high altitude glacier skiing. Both present problems for international buyers, however.

“Zermatt is almost impossible to buy in even for the Swiss, because of the local regulations. There’s virtually no second home stock and that has been the case for some time. In the very rare case that a property came up in Zermatt which also had permission for non-Swiss to buy, it would probably not make it to the open market because the strength of interest there would see it quickly sold off-market. Foreigners can buy in Verbier, with certain size restrictions, but there too, stock is highly limited.”

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He suggests clients look to alternative resorts that feed directly into the same ski domain. “On the other side of the mountain to Zermatt, still within sight of the Matterhorn, the Italian village of Cervinia is attracting attention because of its access to high skiing,” says Koch de Gooreynd. “And in Switzerland, the buzzy resort of Nendaz shares the same Four Valleys ski area as Verbier. We’ve just taken on a charming chalet there for CHF 4 million. Nendaz will, I believe, benefit from Verbier’s severe shortage of stock.”

Also look at Crans Montana, a resort where the snow might be a little slushy in some years in the village itself, but which whizzes you up rapidly to over 2,000 metres.

“So long as you have easy access to high skiing for those years when the snow is not great, that’s what most people want,” he says. “And if you can add in something that is truly year-round with an active summer season in the mountains, then that’s the golden goose.”

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High altitude resorts in the French Alps

In France too, altitude remains one of the first questions potential buyers have, but season length and year-round life are also important criteria, says Nicola Christinger, Associate in Knight Frank’s International Team. “It’s all about future proofing your Alpine purchase,” she says. “Val Thorens in the Three Valleys at 2,300 metres is unquestionably snow sure, the highest major resort in Europe where you can ski over to Courchevel and Meribel, but it does have less year-round life than Val d’Isere, another high altitude resort.”

Val d’Isere is one of Europe’s most popular high altitude resorts, a firm favourite with generations of skiers who accept the lengthy 2.45 hour drive from Geneva Airport for the rewards of guaranteed winter fun. From the village at 1,870 metres, one gondola takes skiers up immediately to 2,700 metres, and it combines this easy access with an ever-improving range of restaurants and bars. It will find even greater fame when it acts as co-host for the 2030 Winter Olympic Games.

Les Deux Alpes at night © SerrNovik / Getty Images

Buyers generally fall into two categories says Christinger: those set on a certain resort and those open to consider alternatives that they might not know as well. For this latter group, she suggests looking at Alpe d’Huez and Les Deux Alpes, two resorts that she predicts will experience significant price increases over the next five years.

“Les Deux Alpes is a favourite with the French, a family-focused and compact resort where authorities have invested €135 million in the new Jandri gondola. This takes you up to the glacier from where you can ski all the way back to the resort, finishing on scenic tree-lined runs. In a good season you can ski up until July. Despite offering one of Europe’s largest skiable glaciers, property prices in Les Deux Alpes remain relatively accessible by Alpine standards, below €10,000 a square metre, and we’ve seen strong activity there over this summer. For price conscious buyers, we have excellent homes for sale.”