Cortina d’Ampezzo

Cortina d'Ampezzo is regarded as the Queen of the Dolomites and one of the most elegant mountain resorts in the Alps. The town at around 1,200 m hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1956 and is, together with Milan, one of the hosts of the 2026 Winter Games. All around rise famous peaks such as the Tofane, Cristallo and the nearby Tre Cime.

Highlights

• Elegant resort before a grand Dolomite backdrop
• Host of the Winter Games 1956 and (with Milan) 2026
• Ski areas Tofane, Faloria and Cinque Torri
• Starting point to Misurina and the Tre Cime

Good to know

Practical info

Background & History

Cortina d'Ampezzo lies in a wide, bright valley basin, framed by some of the most famous peaks of the Dolomites such as the Tofane, the Cristallo and the Croda da Lago. The region was for centuries part of Habsburg Tyrol and came to Italy only after the First World War, which is reflected to this day in the independent Ladin culture and language of the Ampezzo Valley. This Ladin population preserves a very old Rhaeto-Romance tradition with its own customs, costumes and tales, which ranks among the oldest linguistic testimonies of the entire Alpine region.

Cortina became famous as a sophisticated luxury resort and above all as the venue of the Olympic Winter Games of 1956, which made the place known worldwide and shaped its infrastructure. Even before that, Cortina had established itself as an elegant travel destination, whose lustre was later enhanced by numerous international film productions that used the spectacular mountain backdrop as an impressive stage. Around the place runs, with the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage, whose pale rock faces arose from the remains of a prehistoric tropical sea. Thus Cortina d'Ampezzo unites alpine elegance, living Ladin heritage and one of the most magnificent mountain landscapes in the world, which shows an ever-new face with the change of the seasons.