23 March 2022
On February 5, 1956, the seventh Winter Olympic Games came to a close in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Seventy years later, on February 6, 2026, the 25th edition of the Games will be held here again in Milan. This is why you should visit the queen of the Dolomites while waiting for Milano Cortina 2026
Cortina d'Ampezzo is the queen of the Dolomites, and it will once again take on Olympic status during Milano Cortina 2026. In 1956, it hosted the first edition of the Winter Games in Italy. Those emotions will re-emerge 70 years later, giving every spectator the magic of the competitions in one of the most beautiful natural settings in the world. Cortina will host the women's ski events on the Olympia delle Tofane slope, as well as the luge, bobsleigh, and skeleton at the Sliding Centre. The Olympic Ice Stadium built for the 1956 Games will be renovated to house the curling competitions. The Dolomites will also be the setting for some of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic competitions: para-alpine skiing, para snowboarding, and wheelchair curling.
While looking forward to 2026, here are the three things you should do in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Watching the sunrise at a high altitude in Cortina and skiing down the empty slope in the first light of dawn: a cable car ride while it's still dark, breakfast in a mountain hut overlooking the Dolomites, and the pure pleasure of carving out your own path on an immaculate snow slope
Cortina's beauty shines in the moonlight: go up to a mountain hut with mountain skis or snowshoes and enjoy the silence of the Dolomites before having a dinner of traditional dishes in the toasty "fornel," or come to the observatory to see the stars and dine in the company of others who appreciate the constellations, planets, and nebulae.
Experience sports history in the heart of Cortina, just like in a movie: the queen of the Dolomites reveals its Olympic heritage through the lens of the seventh art. This story should be savoured: it goes back to the 1956 Winter Games and is immersed in famous films that used them as a set, from 007: For Your Eyes Only to Vertigine bianca.
