Livigno with children – high, snow-sure and duty-free

Livigno is one of those resorts that feels a bit like a world of its own. The valley lies at 1,816 metres, tucked away near the Swiss border, and every road here goes over a high pass or through a tunnel. Today the village is a long string of wooden houses, hotels and shops, and it has become one of Italy's most popular ski resorts for families from northern Europe.

Three things stand out: the snow, the altitude and the fact that the whole valley is duty-free. Add to that the fact that Livigno hosted the snowboard and freestyle events at the 2026 Olympics, and you can see why the resort turns up more and more often in travel brochures. This guide is about how it works with children. If you want to compare with other resorts, read our overview of Italy's ski trips.

Two sides of the valley – and why your accommodation matters

Livigno's 115 kilometres of pistes are on two sides of the valley, and they are not linked by lifts:

• Mottolino on the eastern side has the area's snow park, the Olympic snowboard venue and several long, wide runs. This is also where you will find the children's Kids Fun Park and the indoor nursery.
• Carosello 3000 and Costaccia on the western side is the highest part and reaches almost 2,800 metres. This is home to The Beach, the children's cross course, with palm trees and sharks in the snow.

Free buses run between the two sides. The village is more than ten kilometres long, so it pays to choose your accommodation based on where the children will have ski school, not on where the centre is. With a four-year-old in group lessons, you don't want to sit on a bus with ski boots and skis every morning.

There are 31 lifts in total: six gondolas, fourteen chairlifts and the rest button and drag lifts. Many of the beginner slopes down in the valley have magic carpets instead of lifts, which makes the first few days much easier for small children.

Children's areas and ski school

For the youngest, there is more to do in Livigno than in many bigger resorts:

• Lupigno Kinder Park is by the Centrale ski school and has trampolines, adventure courses, a sledging hill, slides and inflatables. This is where many children take their first steps on snow.
• Mottolino Kindergarten is at the very top, in the M’eating Point restaurant at the Mottolino summit. Childminders play with children aged three to seven while their parents ski. Younger children can join in if an adult comes along.
• Kids Fun Park and the Yepi run on Mottolino starts just below the gondola's top station and has a music tunnel, small rollers and a natural halfpipe.
• The Beach – Kids Cross just below the top of Carosello 3000 suits all levels.
• The Minibob at San Rocco run is free and is at the foot of the lift.

Ski school: more than 150 ski instructors trained by the Italian ski school work in Livigno. Centrale, the biggest school, has group lessons for children aged three to fourteen. The three-year-olds start with play and their first steps on skis, and the older children are grouped by level. Book well ahead for the February school holiday weeks, when families come from all over Europe. There is more on how to plan the week in ski trip with children – tips and advice.

Lift passes for children: in the 2026/27 season, children born in 2019 or later ski free with Baby Free if an adult buys a pass valid for the same number of days. Each adult can only bring one free child. Children born in 2011 or later have a junior pass that costs considerably less than the adult pass. If you have a child under three, there is One4Family: the parents share one pass and take turns skiing while the other stays with the little one. It applies to passes of at least six days.

Helmet has been compulsory for everyone who skis, snowboards or sledges in Italy since the 2025/26 season, not just for children.

Reliable snow – the altitude does the work

Livigno is one of the highest ski resorts in the Alps. The village lies at 1,816 metres and the lifts go up to almost 2,800 metres. That is why the snow stays for so long. The 2026/27 season is planned from 28 November 2026 to 3 May 2027, which is unusually long.

The altitude comes at a price: it gets cold. In January the mornings can be among the coldest in the Alps, so pack plenty of thermal base layers, face protection and extra gloves for the children. For families with small children, March is often the best month, with longer days, milder air and still wintry conditions. In the early and late season, from the start to mid-December and from mid-April, there is also accommodation that includes the lift pass in your stay.

Duty-free – what it means for you

Livigno has had special tax privileges for several hundred years, because the valley was so isolated and poor. Today Livigno lies outside the EU customs territory, and that status is written into both Italian law and EU rules. In practice, fuel, alcohol, tobacco, perfume and electronics are cheaper than in the rest of Italy. The shops are packed tightly along the main street.

There are allowances for how much each traveller may take out of the valley. The allowances only apply to adults over 17, and they cannot be pooled within the family. If you buy more than the allowance, it must be declared at customs on the Foscagno Pass or at the Swiss border. For most families, the main benefit is that it is cheap to fill up the hire car before heading home.

The Olympic venue from 2026

During the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, on 6–22 February 2026, the snowboard and freestyle events were held in Livigno. Livigno Snow Park on the Mottolino side had halfpipe, slopestyle, big air, snowboard cross and ski cross. Aerials & Moguls Park on Carosello 3000 had moguls and aerials. The snow park is still there, and for teenagers who ride park it is a good reason to choose Livigno.

Getting to Livigno

Livigno is not a resort you pop over to for an afternoon. Allow a full day of travel from Sweden, whichever way you go.

• Fly to Bergamo or Milan: from Bergamo, the drive takes about three and a half to four hours, and from Malpensa even longer. The road goes via Lecco, Sondrio, Tirano and Bormio and then over the Foscagno Pass at 2,291 metres. The pass is open around the clock all winter, but snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory from 15 October to 30 April.
• Fly to Innsbruck: from here you drive via Landeck and Switzerland, through Zernez and over the Ofen Pass to the Munt la Schera tunnel. The tunnel is about 3.5 kilometres long and so narrow that traffic runs one way at a time. There is a toll, and vehicles may be no more than 3.6 metres high. Check the opening times before you set off.
• Transfer: in winter, Livigno Express buses run between Livigno and the major airports.
• By train: from Zernez in Switzerland, a bus runs through the tunnel in about 40 minutes. From Tirano, the terminus of the Bernina railway, the bus via Bormio takes just over two hours. We describe how travelling to the Alps by train works in train to the Alps – how it works.

Bring passports or ID cards for everyone, including the children, as several routes cross the Swiss border.

Does Livigno suit your family?

Livigno suits families who want to be sure of snow, like a long, relaxed village and don't need a big linked lift system. If you would rather have an elegant ski area with shorter distances between the lifts, compare with Madonna di Campiglio. If you are after steeper skiing and fewer people, read about Alagna Valsesia. And don't forget the ski trip packing list, and plan in a rest day at the Aquagranda leisure pool, where the Slide&Fun area welcomes children up to fourteen.