Cold enough for snow to hold and wet enough for it to fall, over late December and early January. 2,596 towns and cities that draw visitors around the world were scored at Christmas, and 48 rate Good or better. The eleven below lead, spread so no single region takes over.
The shortlist
- 167 · GoodKutchanJapan
Midday at Christmas feels like −7°C, and the Snow rating averages 67, Good. The snowy spell here lasts about two and a half months, from mid December to February. See late December on the map.
- 262 · GoodRovaniemiFinland
A typical midday at Christmas feels like −15°C; the Snow rating puts it at 62. The snowy spell here lasts about five and a half months, from late October to early April. Open it on the map at late December.
- 362 · GoodÖstersundSweden
Midday at Christmas feels like −11°C, and the Snow rating averages 62, Good. The snowy spell here lasts about three and a half months, from late November to early March. See late December on the map.
- 462 · GoodRochesterMinnesota, United States
A typical midday at Christmas feels like −10°C; the Snow rating puts it at 62. The snowy spell here lasts about two and a half months, from December to mid February. Open it on the map at late December.
- 561 · GoodTromsøNorway
Midday at Christmas feels like −9°C, and the Snow rating averages 61, Good. The snowy spell here lasts about four and a half months, from late November to early April. See late December on the map.
- 661 · GoodDuluthMinnesota, United States
A typical midday at Christmas feels like −12°C; the Snow rating puts it at 61. The snowy spell here lasts about three and a half months, from late November to February. Open it on the map at late December.
- 761 · GoodSteamboat SpringsColorado, United States
Midday at Christmas feels like −9°C, and the Snow rating averages 61, Good. The snowy spell here lasts about two and a half months, from mid December to February. See late December on the map.
- 860 · GoodKenoraCanada
A typical midday at Christmas feels like −18°C; the Snow rating puts it at 60. The snowy spell here lasts about three and a half months, from late November to February. Open it on the map at late December.
- 960 · GoodQuebec CityCanada
Midday at Christmas feels like −11°C, and the Snow rating averages 60, Good. The snowy spell here lasts about three and a half months, from late November to early March. See late December on the map.
- 1058 · GoodBorşaRomania
A typical midday at Christmas feels like −7°C; the Snow rating puts it at 58. The snowy spell here lasts about six weeks, from late December to January. Open it on the map at late December.
- 1157 · GoodOsloNorway
A typical midday at Christmas feels like −7°C; the Snow rating puts it at 57. The snowy spell here lasts about two months, from mid December to early February. Open it on the map at late December.
Places with a guide of their own
Ranked the same way, but only among the places that have a guide of their own:
By region
How this list is worked out
The data
Every figure comes from a decade of weather-station observations, blended into one typical year and read at midday, local solar time. Scores here are averaged from late December to early January; a city missing a reading for any part of that stretch is left out rather than scored on part of it.
The rating
Snow: Cold enough to hold snow with snowfall likely — a proxy, not measured depth. Least reliable in the mountains, where valley-floor stations under-read (see the note). A place is also left out when its typical readings contradict its own rating, for example a high score alongside frequent rain. Snow is a proxy: cold enough for snow to hold, with precipitation likely. It is not measured snow depth, and it is least reliable in mountains, where the weather stations sit on valley floors.
The spread
To keep the list from being one coastline, entries are at least 300 km apart, no more than five come from any one region of the world, and no more than two from one country unless the list would otherwise run short. A higher-scoring place can be left out for that reason.
Only places that draw visitors
Towns and cities with plenty of hotels, guest houses and holiday lets nearby for their size, or a great many of them in all, counted from Overture Maps Places, an open dataset. That keeps out places the weather favours but nobody travels to. Where two places share one resort or city, the one a visitor would name is kept.
The dotted links open the map at that place and time of year, on the same layer. The map remembers the time of day you last chose there; set it to midday to see these exact numbers.