In the spirit of the holiday season, i decided to make this. My answer? Any snow level in a Mario game. (Except that ascending one in M3) Oh and Christmas NIGHTS.
any snow level in mario, serious sam, halo, borderlands, and zelda. also, muscle tower in dbz:budokai 2, and mount lanakila in pokemon sun/moon, the snow on in megaman x4 and x8 pretty sure there are more, but i'll post them later
The second half of Uncharted 2. The locations in that game are still beautiful to look at, and I love the recreation of the Himalayas. I'd also like to give a shout out to Batman: Akrham Origins since its story is set during Christmas.
Phendrana Drifts - Metroid Prime Ice Temple - Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Sherbet Land - Mario Kart 64 White Land - F-Zero Ice Cap Zone - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Freeze Man's stage - Mega Man 7 Cold Man's stage - Mega Man & Bass Chill Penguin's stage - Mega Man X Frost Walrus's stage - Mega Man X4 North Wall - ActRaiser Snowfield - Contra Ellis - Thunder Force III
Good choice. I also like the Christmas Headhunt expansion for Borderlands 2 and the Saint's Row 4 expansion "How the saints saved Christmas." Also, the world of illusion Christmas level.
Any of the snow stages in DKC (Donkey Kong Country) and Super Mario World Worlds 4 and 6 (Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3 (Mario All-Stars version and the original NES)) Chill Penguin's stage (Mega Man X) Blizzard Buffalo (Mega Man X 3)
World 6, Level 10 in Super Mario Bros. 3. You can actually pick up a Hammer Bros. Suit in a Question Block in that level.
Christmas Nights into Dreams hands down. The original disc will always remind me of Holidays and it oozes with Christmas magic.
Project Omega from No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in Harm's Way http://kotaku.com/the-sad-story-behind-a-dead-pc-game-that-cant-come-back-1688358811
I honestly thought I'd be the first one to mention that, and it was the first response Probably my favorite area in the game, and great music.
Couple people mentioned it already, but Frost Walrus' stage in Megaman X4 is great. The music is especially great.