An expert guide to ski holidays in Livigno

The Italian resort of Livigno is set in a high, wide, remote valley close to the Swiss border, meaning that airport transfers to get here are long and winding. Most of the slopes are above the tree line, and Livigno is known as ‘Little Tibet’ because of its height and remoteness. For centuries it has enjoyed duty-free status, which makes shopping here (especially for alcohol and tobacco) a bargain.

The slopes suit beginners and moderate intermediates best, and add up to a modest 115km of pistes. Thanks to its high altitude the resort is very snow sure and has a long season that lasts from the end of November to the beginning of May. The main terrain park is top-notch and has hosted many international competitions – indeed the resort will host the freestyle and snowboarding events of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Stay on track with the essential facts from the resort below, and scroll down for our insider guide to a day on the pistes, expert ratings and advice. For further Livigno inspiration, see our guides to the resort’s best accommodation, restaurants and après ski.

• Inside the resort
• On the slopes
• Who should go
• Essential information

The resort village stretches for 4km from beyond the Carosello gondola at one end to beyond the Cassana gondola into the opposite end of the Mottolino side at the other. The local road is lined with accommodation for most of its length – mostly built in attractive, low-rise chalet style. There’s also some accommodation out near the Mottolino gondola on the other side of the village. Trepalle is Livigno’s highest hamlet, 8km from Mottolino, a 15-minute journey by car or city bus service.

The village centre at the northern end, with gondolas towards the Costaccia sector of Carosello, is a pleasant car-free pedestrian area just over 1km long that is lined with hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants and shops. It includes side streets that branch off towards the main road that bypasses the village.

An efficient free bus service with four different lines operates from 7.30am to 8pm in the resort centre linking all parts of the resort with the main lift bases, and one line links to Trepalle, the closest village. From 9.30am to 4pm the Skilink shuttle runs every 10 minutes between the Mottolino and Valandrea chairlift.

A big attraction of Livigno is the duty-free shopping. As well as huge savings on alcohol and tobacco, there are worthwhile savings to be made on perfumes, cameras, computers and other electronic equipment, and clothing brands. Fuel is around 30 per cent cheaper than in the rest of Italy.

There are several beginner areas on the lower slopes of the ski area. Most of the pistes for intermediates and better are above the treeline, and most of these are undemanding cruises, including some very long runs of almost 1,000m vertical.

There are also 30km of good and varied cross-country tracks.

Many of the old wooden houses in the traffic-free village centre have been converted into atmospheric bars, restaurants and clubs. As well as lots of lively places to eat and drink, there’s a leisure centre, Aquagranda. It offers an indoor 50m pool and gym, a wellness area with saunas of different temperatures, a steam room, salt water and normal pools with massage beds, treatment rooms and relaxation areas.

One of the most inaccessible resorts in Europe, it takes the best part of three hours to get there from Innsbruck, and even longer from Italian hub airports. It’s worth the long journey, though, not only for the quality of its terrain parks but for its low prices and reliable snow cover.

The slopes in Livigno are split on either side of the valley resort village. Most accommodation offers easy access to the Carosello-Costaccia-Cassana side of the valley, with gondolas at each end of the slopes and drag-lift and chairlifts in between linking pistes to the gondolas. The slopes here face mainly south-east and get the morning sun. From the high point of the optimistically named Carosello 3000 (actually 2,797m), there’s a piste down the other side of the ridge to Federia, which is served by a fast six-pack.

On the opposite side of the valley is the Mottolino sector, accessed by a gondola or a high-speed chairlift. The main slopes here face west and get the afternoon sun, but pistes over the back to Trepalle get the morning sun – the return is via a fast chairlift.

Although most of Livigno’s runs are classified as red, most are not steep, are very well groomed and can be tackled even by unadventurous intermediates. They also usually have very good snow because of the high altitude and lots of snowmaking. The blue run from the top of the Costaccia area under the fast chairlift is a delightful easy cruise. The blue linking back to here from Carosello is almost flat and poling may be needed. More adventurous intermediates will love the not-so-steep groomed black runs on Mottolino. 

There are good beginner areas and short, easy blue runs at the foot of both sides of the slopes, but much more choice on the Carosello-Costaccia-Cassana side. Progress to longer blue runs is possible on both sides.

For experts, the main interest is off piste and heliskiing. At the freeride office, it’s possible to meet the freeride experts who offer free daily advice o, the equipment needed (which includes transceiver, probe and shovel) and how to check the daily avalanche report. Heliskiing with a mountain guide is available in packages from one helidrop to two-, three- and six-day packages which can include ski touring too. 

Keen intermediates and experts might like to buy the Alta Valtellina lift pass. This covers the slopes of Bormio, around an hour away by bus, and some other ski areas as well as Livigno. Both the Livigno and Alta Valtellina lift passes include a 50 per cent discount on a one-day pass for St Moritz in Switzerland – also an hour away by bus.

Livigno is one of Europe’s best resorts for terrain parks – hence it being chosen to host the freestyle and snowboarding events of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The main park is on the back side of the Mottolino slopes and has three lines for different standards and a jib-line. At the top of Carosello 3000 there’s The Beach, where people chill out sunbathing among palm trees and coconuts, listening to music and watching the antics in an easy terrain park and jumps into an airbag. A snowcross course starts here too.

As well as all that, freestyle attractions include another park near the Amerikan lift in town, a 1.2km freeride cross course combining natural terrain features with man-made jumps on Mottolino and Snowpark20 with over 20 features including jumps, boxes and rails.

The ski schools have a good reputation and English is widely spoken.

The main lifts are all gondolas or fast chairlifts but drag-lifts and a couple of slow chairs serve the lower beginner slopes.

Livigno is one of Europe’s best resorts for terrain parks – hence it being chosen to host the freestyle and snowboarding events of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The ski area is great for beginners and low intermediates – and parents who’d rather leave the terrain park to their kids. Livigno suits those on a tight budget partly because it has a special tax status that dates back to Napoleonic times. There’s no VAT, which makes drinks, petrol and consumer goods some of the cheapest in Europe.

• British Embassy/Consulate: Via 20 Settembre, 80a, 00187 Roma; 0039 06 4220 0001; gov.uk
• Police: dial 113
• Fire: dial 118
• Emergency services from mobile phone: dial 112
• Tourist office: See livigno.eu, the website for the Livigno Tourist Board, for piste maps, weather reports, lift status, webcams, traffic details and local event listings. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the office in the centre of the resort.

• Currency: Euro
• Telephone code: from abroad, dial 00 39, then leave off the zero at the start of the 10-figure number. 
• Time difference: +1 hour

• A simple ‘buon giorno’ in the morning or ‘buona sera’ in the afternoon or evening goes a long way. ‘Ciao’ is for friends, family or young people. If somebody thanks you by saying ‘grazie’, it’s polite to say ‘prego’ (you’re welcome) in return.
• Italians tip very little; 5% is ample, and it’s often enough just to round the bill up to the nearest 5 or 10 euros