Two village markets inside the Dolomites: the Christmas Village in Ortisei, from 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, and Mountain Christmas in Selva, with cable car cabins hanging from the lights, from 29 November to 3 January. Dates, opening times and closed days.
Val Gardena has two Christmas markets, in Ortisei and Selva, which the tourist board groups together as the Christmas Valley in the Dolomites. They are not among South Tyrol's five original Christmas markets, which are held in the towns down in the main valleys: these are village markets, right inside the Dolomites.
In Ortisei the Christmas Village, Nadel Urtijëi in Ladin, fills the pedestrian centre with wooden huts selling crafts, sweets, liqueurs and South Tyrolean wines, with music from local bands and musicians. It is run by the Ortisei tourist office.
Selva's market is called Mountain Christmas, Nadel da mont in Ladin. The village centre has nine wooden huts and, above them, thirteen small wooden cable car cabins hanging from a 350-metre chain of lights, along with a set of historical photographs. From 27 to 30 December, 8:00 to 18:00, the village hosts the 30th snow sculpture competition: the sculptors, most of them from the valley, carve blocks 3 metres a side by hand, without power tools.
Where Christmas markets in Val Gardena (Ortisei and Selva) falls in the Dolomites year, and what happens in the other weeks: Best time to visit the Dolomites: a month-by-month guide.
Good to know
- Admission: Entry is free: you only pay for what you buy or eat at the huts. The official sources mention no tickets.
- Ortisei, provisional opening times: on 28 and 29 November shops 16:00 to 19:00 and food stalls 16:00 to 20:00, then closed from 30 November to 4 December. On 5 December shops 11:00 to 17:00, from 6 to 8 December 11:00 to 19:00, with the food stalls always open until 20:00.
- From 9 December to 6 January in Ortisei, shops open 16:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and the food stalls 16:00 to 20:00; at weekends both start at 11:00. From 21 December the food stalls open every day from 11:00 to 20:00. Special days: 24 December 11:00 to 17:00, 25 December food stalls only, 31 December shops until 17:00, 1 January from 16:00.
- Selva, provisional times: opening on Sunday 29 November, 15:00 to 19:00, then 5 to 8 December, 11 to 13 December and 18 December to 3 January, always 15:00 to 19:00, with the food stalls open until 20:00. The calendar lists no other opening days.
- By train: the nearest stations are Ponte Gardena (Waidbruck, 18 km), Chiusa (Klausen, 23 km), Bressanone (Brixen, 34 km) and Bolzano (40 km), and bus line 350 runs up the valley from there. With the Val Gardena Guest Pass, issued by participating accommodation, public transport in South Tyrol is free on your arrival and departure days.
- On the first four weekends of the markets, the tourist board says, Trenitalia runs a special Christmas train between Milano Centrale and Bolzano.
Official website (tickets & info) ↗
Dates, times and prices change every year: always check the official pages before you go.