Arosa Gay Ski Week 2027 Brings Rainbow Winter Magic to Switzerland
Arosa Gay Ski Week returns to Switzerland in January 2027. Discover the Swiss Alpine resort, what happens during the week and how to book your trip.
A Swiss mountain village will welcome LGBTQ+ travellers from around the world this winter as Arosa Gay Ski Week returns from January 16 to 23, 2027.
Now running for more than two decades, Arosa’s annual event combines a winter holiday in the Swiss Alps with skiing, parties, entertainment and plenty for visitors who have no intention of spending every day on the slopes.
This is a separate event from European Gay Ski Week in Val Thorens, France, which takes place in March. Arosa is further east in Switzerland and offers a smaller Swiss resort experience with its own event, accommodation packages and programme.
A Swiss village with a long LGBTQ+ welcome
Arosa is located in Graubünden in eastern Switzerland, around 1,800 metres above sea level. The village is surrounded by mountains and connects with neighbouring Lenzerheide to create a ski area with around 225km of pistes.
Gay Ski Week has been held here since 2005, but Arosa’s LGBTQ+ welcome extends beyond the event itself. Rainbow flags can be seen around the village during the winter season, while hotels involved with the event actively welcome LGBTQ+ guests.
That makes this less about temporarily taking over a ski resort for a week and more about visiting a destination with a long relationship with LGBTQ+ winter tourism.
What happens during Arosa Gay Ski Week?
Skiing and snowboarding are obviously a big attraction, but they aren’t compulsory.
The programme brings visitors together away from the slopes too, with previous editions featuring après ski, cabaret, concerts, dinners, parties, pool events and night sledging. One of its more unusual traditions is a drag race in the mountains.
The full entertainment programme for January 2027 is expected to be announced during autumn 2026, so there will be more to come before visitors arrive.
For anyone who doesn’t ski, Arosa also offers winter walking, restaurants, wellness facilities and plenty of opportunities to simply enjoy the Alpine scenery.
Where can you stay and book?
One of the easiest ways to organise the trip is through the official Arosa Gay Ski Week website. Packages are available through 13 partner hotels, with options combining accommodation and breakfast with an event pass and ski pass. Seven, five and three night packages are available, allowing visitors to choose between the complete experience and a shorter stay.
Visitors who prefer to arrange their own hotel can also buy passes separately, so booking independently doesn’t mean missing the official events.
Getting to Arosa from the UK
Arosa’s location might look remote on a map, but reaching the resort doesn’t require hiring a car and driving into the mountains.
UK travellers can fly to Zurich and continue by train to Chur. From there, the Rhaetian Railway climbs through the mountains directly into Arosa, with the railway station conveniently located in the village.
The final train journey is part of the appeal, swapping airports and motorways for a scenic ride into the Swiss Alps.
Arosa therefore offers something quite different from the usual LGBTQ+ city break or sunshine holiday.
You can ski if you want to, but the combination of a picturesque Swiss village, winter scenery, social events and a longstanding LGBTQ+ welcome means the trip doesn’t have to revolve around the slopes.
