Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina sits at about twelve hundred metres in a broad basin with the Tofane, Cristallo, Sorapis and Pomagagnon walls standing around it, which gives it an amphitheatre setting that few resorts match. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956, the first to be televised, and is a host again for the 2026 Games with Milan. The bobsleigh track, the ski jump remains and the ice stadium date from the earlier Games. Summer brings via ferrata routes, many of them following First World War military lines through the Tofane and Lagazuoi, where tunnels cut into the rock are still walkable with a torch.

What you actually see

• The Dolomite ring - Tofane, Cristallo and Sorapis walls around the basin.
• The 1956 legacy - ski jump remains, ice stadium and the bobsleigh track.
• The Lagazuoi tunnels - wartime galleries cut into the rock, walkable today.
• The via ferrata network - protected climbing routes across the ranges.

When to go

December to April for skiing and June to September for walking and via ferrata. Cortina has no railway, so access is by road. The 2026 Games will disrupt normal seasons.

Honest expectations

It is expensive by Alpine standards and the town centre is oriented to shopping. Road access can be slow on peak weekends. Via ferrata require equipment and experience.

Nearby

Tre Cime lie north; Lago di Braies is over the pass.