Seeing in the New Year from a mountain sounds like a magical idea. Offering adrenalin-filled winter sports, ultra relaxing spas and crisp, fresh air, there’s a lot to love about high-altitude holidays.

Luckily there are many brilliant Europe winter getaways to experience the mountains for yourself. Here, we round up seven of the best Europe winter getaways to inspire you. Which destination would you choose?

1.  Kakslauttanen, Finland

Have you ever dreamed of spending a night under the stars in a glass igloo? Now imagine if that night came complete with a warm, cosy room and the opportunity to admire the Northern Lights without even getting out of bed. Sounds pretty amazing, right?

This wonderful resort is located in north Finland in Lapland, so it also comes with attractions like safaris on sleighs, pulled by huskies or reindeer, as well as snowmobile rides. If you like to sleep in the dark, you can stay in a charming wooden cabin with a sauna and fireplace instead.

Photo Credit : Greenland Travel

To see more photos and book your stay click here 

2.  San Luis, Italy  

If you love nature, then this hotel is perfect for you because it’s located in the trees. You can choose a villa by the artificial lake or in the branches of trees. Whichever you opt for, luxuriously designed spaces in a palette of sophisticated greys, stunning views of the Dolomites, a spa, pool and five-star restaurant await you. Tempted to pack your bags right now?

To see more photos and book your stay click here 

3.  Aqua Dome, Austria

This modern and romantic hotel is adjacent to the largest water park in Tyrol! Besides great rooms and restaurants, stay here and you can enjoy a spa complex with saunas, baths, three large indoor pools, an ice cave, waterfall and salt cave. Outside the complex are two large flow pools and three shell-shaped pools – a spring pool, sulphide pool and brine pool. Even better, the entire place is surrounded by the ultra pretty Alpine landscape, so Aqua Dome gets a big tick from us.

Photo Credit : ☰☵ Michele M. F.

To see more photos and book your stay click here 

4.  Alpaga, France    

Located in Megeve, a village in the French Alps, this stylish hotel offers 22 rooms with a breathtaking view that includes Mont Blanc’s peak! Relax at the spa, where you can enjoy beauty treatments, a Turkish steam bath or body wraps, then nourish your body further with food. Dine at Alpaga and you’ll taste the flavours of a restaurant decorated with Michelin stars! This is the perfect Europe winter getaway for both mind and body.

To see more photos and book your stay click here 

5.  Arctic Treehouse Hotel, Finland

Think you’ve grown out of the legend of Santa Claus? Think again! Head to Lapland and you can still visit Santa Park! Besides many attractions at this theme park, you can also spend a night in a wonderful Arctic Treehouse Hotel. Located in the park with 32 Arctic Treehouse Suites and five Arctic Glass Houses, this accommodation is convenient and oh-so chic, decorated in a Scandinavian style. Visit in winter and you might even catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights!

Find more tips to see and do more on your next weekend away to Europe here.

To see photos and book your stay click here 

6.  Hotel Villa Honegg, Switzerland

An infinity pool overlooking the impressive Swiss Alps… where do we sign up? This luxury hotel used to be a villa that was built on the Bürgenstock mountain in a beautiful area near Ennetbürgen, 914m above sea level. It was comprehensively renovated in 2011, and the interiors are wonderfully elegant as a result. Each room has a stunning lake view from a huge balcony, as well as a TV and beautiful bath to enjoy morning and night. By day, the adventurous can head out hiking, canoeing or even book a helicopter ride!

Photo Credit: Jeremy Weate

To see more photos and book your stay click here 

7.  Riffelhaus 1853, Switzerland

Direct access to the ski slopes, a traditional restaurant, spa and open-air hot tub with a view of Matterhorn are just a few reasons to visit Riffelhaus but, believe it or not, the list does go on… This historic hotel was built in 1853, renovated in 2014, and has beautiful suites decorated in a traditional style. Guests can relax using the steam room, spa salon and bubbling warmth of the Jacuzzi. Head outdoors and the hotel offers skiing and cycling for those who enjoy an active holiday. The building’s breathtaking location can only be reached by mountain rail from Zermatt, which takes 23 minutes.

To see photos and book your stay click here 

Planning your next holiday to Europe? Don’t miss our low-down of the best cities for nightlife, the fast guide to eating out in Europe and our five favourite ways to travel that don’t involve flying!

Which of these Europe winter getaways has caught your eye?

Essentials to keep you warm during your winter getaway;

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which mean that if you choose to book through it I earn a small commission at no cost to you. I appreciate your support to keep this site up and running!

Previous article12 Best Places to Visit in 2018
Next articleSoutheast Asia: Where To Go

17 COMMENTS

  1. I’d like to go to Switzeland No 6. The view is amazing. I’m quite near Italy and San Luis is very pretty, when I think about getaways I want to go somewhere further than my country if that make any sense 😀

  2. I really want to go to Finland in winter someday. I want to see the northern lights, go in a dog sled and see where Santa lives!! 😉 great list!

  3. I definitely want to visit San Luis in Italy! The Dolomites is high up on my bucket list, I hope 2018 is the year that I get to see this region in person. Great list!

  4. I’ve seen the Aqua Dome everywhere lately! These places all look amazing, I love how there are some more well known and some not well known places on this list! Yay Winter!

  5. Aw Ada, I’m still in the Dolomiti, so it’s nice to see another location on your list! The igloo place in Finland is incredible and has been on my list for a very long time! Villa Honegg in Switzerland is beautiful and I’d love to also visit one day, and sit in that gorgeous out tub/pool!

  6. Definitely the Kakslauttanen, Finland! 🙂 I’ve always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights and this sounds like a comfy and dreamy way of seeing it up close! I love the set-up of the resort. It looks very private and pretty impressive.. Such awesome options you have listed here, Ada! 🙂

    • Its really up to you! I personally wouldn’t stay there more than a week though as I like to be active during my holidays and explore whats around. Aqua Dome seems like a perfect place for charging your batteries and relax

  7. Sign us up for anything in Zermatt. We had a great time in Zermatt and would go back in a heartbeat. The hotel/igloo under the stars would be amazing. The hotel in San Luis Italy looks very nice even if it is an artificial lake.

  8. Between and the Artic Treehouse it seems like Lapland is the place to go. I was in Heksinki a few years ago, hadn’t considered going to Lapland but I’ll have to make a trip up there someday. Seems like an amazing place to spend winter. The Riffelhaus also seemed like an amazing place to stay, but I would imagine it wouldn’t be cheap being right next to Zermatt. Still, if I ever learn to ski it might be somewhere I’ll look into staying.

  9. Very nice! We would love staying in those futuristic transparent igloo-based hotel. The only thing that we need to contend with is when we want to sleep late during the day but the sun is shining through the transparent dome. Hehehe!

  10. These are wonderful winter getaways and each one of them have their unique charm. Finland has always been a dream destination for us and hence spending a night in a glass igloo at Kakslauttanen is the stuff that dreams are made of. The other place is, of course, Switzerland and Riffelhaus 1853, Switzerland. Looks really ethereal and full of the Swiss magic.

  11. Great post! The igloos in Finland are definitely on my list. Being from Florida, I don’t get to experience much of a magical winter, but I would love to spend one of these winters in one of the European countries on this list someday!

Leave a Reply to Marvi Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here