What's on in Åre, Sweden through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Sweden, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Ski season (5 Dec – 3 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Sportlov weeks, Winter sports week in Sweden

• Holiday

  Sportlov weeks

  8 Feb – 8 Mar · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Swedish schools take their winter break in staggered weeks through late February, and Are fills with families for all of them. Lift queues and bed prices both peak. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (5 Dec – 3 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Sportlov weeks, Easter week

• Holiday

  Easter week

  25 Mar – 13 Apr · usuallyEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Paskveckan is the week the whole country goes skiing, and Are is where a lot of it goes. Long light days, spring snow, and accommodation booked a year out. Source ↗

Still on: Sportlov weeks (8 Feb – 8 Mar (usually)), Ski season (5 Dec – 3 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Easter week, Are Sessions

• Festival

  Are Sessions

  30 Apr – 3 MayMusic festivalCrowdedBook early

  The closing weekend is a festival: music in the village, slush on the lower slopes and people skiing in fancy dress. It falls over Valborg, so the whole country is off anyway. Source ↗

Still on: Easter week (25 Mar – 13 Apr (usually)), Ski season (5 Dec – 3 May (usually))

Busy — Are Sessions, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Are Sessions (30 Apr – 3 May), Ski season (5 Dec – 3 May (usually))

Peak crowds — Midsummer, Summer holidays in Sweden

• Holiday

  Midsummer

  19–20 JunNational holidayClosuresCrowdedBook early

  Midsummer Eve, the Friday between 19 and 25 June, is the day Sweden stops: most shops, offices and many restaurants close, people dance round maypoles over herring and schnapps, and accommodation wherever Swedes go for the weekend books out. Source ↗

• Season

  Summer lift and trail season

  20 Jun – 20 Sep · usually

  The Areskutan cable car, the bike lifts and the marked walking routes open around midsummer and shut in September. Outside that window the mountain is yours but you walk up.

• Festival

  Are Bike Festival

  1–5 JulSporting eventCrowdedBook early

  Five days of downhill and enduro racing at the start of July, and the one time in summer the village is as full as it is in March. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Are Bike Festival, Summer holidays in Sweden

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Summer lift and trail season (20 Jun – 20 Sep (usually)), Are Bike Festival (1–5 Jul)

Busy — Summer holidays in Sweden, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Summer lift and trail season (20 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Are autumn market

  20–30 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  A market weekend at the end of September, timed to the fjallbjork turning yellow on the slopes above. It is the last busy weekend before the village closes down for a month. Source ↗

Still on: Summer lift and trail season (20 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Hostlov (autumn break), Autumn break in Sweden

• Season

  Mud season between the lifts

  1 Oct – 4 Dec · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Summer trails and lifts close in September and reliable snow rarely arrives before December, so hotels and restaurants scale back or shut for a few weeks and the village empties out. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Hostlov (autumn break)

  19 Oct – 2 Nov · usuallySchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Swedish schools take a one-week autumn half-term in late October, staggered by region, and Are fills with families and wilderness-camp activities whichever week is local to them. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Hostlov (autumn break), Autumn break in Sweden

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Mud season between the lifts (1 Oct – 4 Dec (usually)), Hostlov (autumn break) (19 Oct – 2 Nov (usually))

Busy — Christmas holidays in Sweden, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Ski season

  5 Dec – 3 May · usually

  Sweden's biggest ski area opens in the first half of December and the lifts usually run to the start of May. Midwinter is dark and cold; the season is really bought for March and April. Source ↗

Still on: Mud season between the lifts (1 Oct – 4 Dec (usually))