Living in Val di Fassa: where everyone else comes on holiday
Moena, Canazei, Campitello, the Marmolada, the Sella and the Catinaccio: Val di Fassa is one of those places many people know before they have ever been there. Living here is different, and it is worth knowing what that means before you make the move.
All six municipalities in the valley sit above 1,000 metres. Winter is a real winter, travelling takes mountain time and the rhythm of life changes with the seasons. In return, forests, trails and ski slopes are not something you travel to at the weekend: they are what you find when you step outside your front door.
Services and everyday life above 1,000 metres
Just over 10,000 people live in Val di Fassa, and there is a year-round community here. The Scuola Ladina di Fassa includes nursery, primary and secondary schools across several municipalities in the valley, as well as upper secondary programmes in languages, science and the arts. For younger children, there is also an intermunicipal nursery in Soraga, open eleven months a year. There are shops, sports facilities, services for families and local healthcare services. For hospital care, the main reference point is Cavalese, in the neighbouring Val di Fiemme.
The scale is still that of the mountains, and some things require travelling. Moena is around 73 kilometres from Trento, while Canazei is around 90. In normal conditions, that means roughly just over an hour by car from the lower valley and around an hour and a half from the upper valley. You are not cut off from the world, but distances are real. They are part of the choice.
Working in Val di Fassa: tourism, but not only tourism
Tourism is the engine of the local economy, and the numbers give a sense of its scale: in 2025 Val di Fassa recorded more than 5.2 million overnight stays, compared with a resident population of just over 10,000. Alongside tourism there are businesses and jobs in crafts, retail, construction, cooperatives, services, education and professional activities. In recent years, companies working in services and digital sectors have also begun to establish themselves in the valley or in nearby Val di Fiemme.
For professionals whose jobs allow some flexibility, this opens up new possibilities. Living in Fassa while combining days in the office with days working remotely can be a practical option. In other words, the place where your job is based does not necessarily have to be the same place you choose to live.
Living in Fassa means choosing the Dolomites as part of everyday life, in a community that is here all year round and where, for some professions, work and mountain life can finally exist in the same place.
