For many of us, winter brings two highlights that sit firmly at the top of the calendar. Fresh snow in the mountains and the Six Nations Championship.
At first glance, they seem destined to compete for the same weekends. Do you book the ski trip and miss the rugby? Or stay at home for the matches and postpone the mountains until later in the season?
Fortunately, Europe makes it surprisingly easy to enjoy both.
Whether you’re hoping to ski all day before settling into a lively sports bar packed with fellow supporters, or fancy building an entire holiday around attending an international in Rome or Paris before heading back to the slopes, a little planning means you really can have the best of both worlds.
If there is one country where skiing and Six Nations rugby fit together almost effortlessly, it’s Italy.
The country’s home matches are played at Rome’s iconic Stadio Olimpico, while some of Europe’s finest ski resorts sit in the north-west of the country, all linked by an excellent motorway and high-speed rail network.
Imagine spending Friday carving down the slopes of Courmayeur beneath the dramatic south face of Mont Blanc. On Saturday morning, you catch a train or drive to Turin before boarding a high-speed service to Rome. A few hours later, you’re walking through the gates of Stadio Olimpico to watch Italy take on one of Europe’s rugby heavyweights.
After a night soaking up the atmosphere in the Eternal City, it’s perfectly feasible to head back north and be skiing again the following afternoon.
It sounds ambitious, but it’s considerably easier than many people realise.
The same itinerary works particularly well for Italy’s home fixtures during the 2027 Six Nations, including:
Saturday 13 February: Italy v Ireland
Saturday 6 March: Italy v France
Saturday 13 March: Italy v Wales
If you’ve always fancied experiencing a Six Nations match in Italy, combining it with a ski holiday makes the journey feel even more worthwhile.
France offers a slightly different experience.
Rather than travelling to the rugby from the mountains, many visitors simply enjoy the unique atmosphere that develops across French ski resorts during Six Nations weekends.
British and Irish skiers have been holidaying in the French Alps for generations, and when Scotland, Ireland, England or Wales are playing, you’ll often find bars filling long before kick-off.
The lifts have closed, ski boots have been swapped for something more comfortable, and conversations quickly turn from snow conditions to team selection, refereeing decisions and whether this is finally going to be our year.
Resorts such as Méribel, Val d’Isère, Les Arcs, Tignes and Morzine all have thriving international communities during the winter, making them particularly enjoyable places to watch the championship unfold.
If you’d prefer to experience a match in person, France’s excellent TGV network opens another intriguing possibility.
A longer holiday in the Tarentaise Valley can easily be broken up with a night or two in Paris for one of France’s home fixtures before returning to the mountains. It requires a little more planning than the Italian option, but for committed rugby supporters it creates an unforgettable holiday.
Not every ski resort embraces live sport to the same extent.
Purpose-built villages with quieter evening scenes can sometimes struggle to create much atmosphere, while larger international resorts almost always have several venues showing every fixture.
Some of our favourites include:
Méribel – With its strong British following, you’ll rarely struggle to find a lively venue showing every Six Nations match.
Val d’Isère – A cosmopolitan resort where international sport forms part of the après-ski culture throughout the winter.
Morzine – One of the Alps’ most popular destinations for British visitors, making Six Nations weekends particularly enjoyable.
Les Arcs – Plenty of bars screen major sporting events, and the atmosphere builds as kick-off approaches.
St Anton – Although best known for its legendary après-ski, many venues continue the party by showing international rugby into the evening.
As always, if you’re travelling during one of the bigger fixtures—particularly England v Scotland, Ireland v England or France v Ireland—it’s worth reserving a table in advance. The best venues often fill surprisingly quickly.
The Six Nations takes place during one of the Alps’ busiest periods, so booking early is always sensible.
Accommodation for February half-term disappears quickly, particularly in resorts popular with British families, while trains to Rome and Paris are generally cheaper when booked well in advance.
It’s also worth checking whether your accommodation has a smart television if you’d prefer a quieter evening for some fixtures. That said, we’d always recommend finding a local bar whenever possible. Sharing the highs and lows of a Six Nations match with fellow supporters—many of whom you’ve never met before—is all part of the experience.
Skiing and rugby have more in common than you might expect.
Both inspire fiercely loyal supporters, both thrive on tradition, and both are at their best when enjoyed with good company after a memorable day outdoors.
So rather than choosing between the mountains and the Six Nations next winter, why not combine them?
You might discover that watching the championship from a lively Alpine bar—or even fitting a trip to Rome or Paris into your ski holiday—becomes a tradition you’ll look forward to every winter.
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