Cortina d'Ampezzo is a ski resort in Italy with 120 km of pistes and 25 lifts. Skiing reaches up to 2,932 m above sea level and the village sits at 1,224 m. Accommodation with lift pass included can be booked directly, you arrange your own travel there.
Cheapest places to stay in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Lift pass options
Prices above include the resort's default lift pass. Here is how the price per person changes if you pick another one when booking:
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Cortina d'Ampezzo is Italy's most glamorous ski resort and a legend among Alpine destinations. "The Queen of the Dolomites" has been a favourite among royalty, film stars and the international jet set ever since the Winter Olympics of the 1950s. In February 2026 the Winter Olympics returned to Cortina, triggering a wave of investment in infrastructure and lift systems.
The village sits at 1,224 metres above sea level, surrounded by some of the Dolomites' most dramatic peaks: Tofana, Cristallo and Cinque Torri. The landscape is magnificent and has inspired countless films, including the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". Cortina's corso, the main pedestrian street, is lined with luxury boutiques, elegant cafés and fine restaurants.
Skiing is spread across five separate areas that are connected far better through new lift projects ahead of the 2026 Olympics. Tofana is the largest and most demanding area, with the famous Olympic women's downhill run and spectacular off-piste opportunities. The Cinque Torri area offers magical skiing among the five iconic rock towers.
Cortina isn't cheap, but for those seeking the ultimate combination of world-class skiing, Italian elegance, gourmet food and the beauty of the Dolomites, it's hard to beat. An evening stroll along corso Italia with an espresso or Aperol Spritz in hand, as the Dolomite peaks glow pink in the last light of the day, is an experience that stays with you for life.
Ready to book a ski holiday in Cortina d'Ampezzo? Find accommodation with lift pass included in the price. You arrange your own travel there.
The lift pass included covers the ski area at Cortina d'Ampezzo. The offer at the tour operator states which pass is included. Regional passes covering several ski areas are bought locally.
Accommodation with lift pass in Cortina d'Ampezzo ›Did you know this about Cortina d'Ampezzo?
Cortina d'Ampezzo is often known as the 'Queen of the Dolomites' and hosted the Winter Olympics as far back as the 1950s, a feather in its cap that the resort built on when the Games came back, preparing to host the Games again in 2026. The dramatic mountain scenery has attracted film-makers over the years, including for a classic James Bond film, and the village's elegant corso has long been a haunt of royalty and international celebrities.
5 tips about Cortina d'Ampezzo
- Beginner-friendly area Socrepes-Pocol has gentler terrain and is a good choice for anyone wanting to feel confident during their first days on skis.
- A challenge for the experienced Tofana offers demanding pistes and access to off-piste for those who want to test their limits in dramatic Dolomite surroundings.
- Explore several valleys With accommodation and a lift pass covering all five ski areas, it pays to move between them for varied views and different types of piste.
- Travel outside peak season Book weeks outside the half-term holidays and Christmas for better prices on accommodation and lift passes, as well as quieter pistes.
- Soak up the local atmosphere Round off your day on the slopes with a stroll along corso Italia and an Aperol Spritz or an espresso as the peaks turn pink in the evening light.
Pistes and lifts in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina offers 120km of pistes across five ski areas: Tofana, Faloria-Cristallo, Cinque Torri-Lagazuoi, Socrepes-Pocol and San Vito di Cadore. A total of 37 lifts serve the area, with pistes ranging from 1,224 metres to 2,932 metres. Ahead of the 2026 Olympics, major investments have been made in new lifts and connections between the areas.
Tofana is the largest area, with challenging pistes and the Olympic women's downhill run. Cinque Torri offers skiing among iconic rock formations with outstanding views. The Lagazuoi descent, which follows a First World War path, is one of the Dolomites' most spectacular runs with over 1,400 metres of vertical drop. For experienced skiers, Cortina has some of Italy's best off-piste opportunities.
Piste map for Cortina d'Ampezzo
The map downloads as an image file. On your iPhone it lands in the Files app. Tap the icon at the bottom of the address bar to open the map straight away.On your iPad it lands in the Files app. Tap the icon at the top right of the address bar to open the map straight away.On your phone it lands in the Downloads folder. Tap the download notification that appears to open the map straight away.The file lands in the Downloads folder. You can also look for the icon at the top right of the screen and open the map from there.
Snow reliability in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo stretches from village level at 1,224 metres up to 2,932 metres, giving a considerable difference in altitude between the lower and higher parts of the ski area. The higher slopes around Tofana and Cristallo generally enjoy better conditions for stable snow than the village level itself.
As the resort is not classed as snow-sure, it is worth checking the current snow conditions before you travel, particularly if your stay falls at either end of the season. That said, the 120 kilometres of pistes served by 37 lifts offer plenty of scope for finding well-groomed runs higher up, even if the lower-lying pistes are affected by milder spells.
Best time to travel to Cortina d'Ampezzo
The best time for skiing in Cortina is from January to March. January offers the best snow conditions and a quieter atmosphere. February is high season with carnival celebrations and international events. March brings sunny skiing, longer days and a particularly beautiful light on the Dolomite peaks. After the 2026 Winter Olympics the new lifts and the upgraded pistes remain.
Will there be lift queues in Cortina d'Ampezzo?
Cortina d'Ampezzo is part of Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the lift system there carries 41,442 people an hour across 25 lifts. 15 of the 25 lifts are gondolas, cable cars or high-speed chairlifts, the kind that clear a queue quickly. The fastest lifts carry up to 3,000 people an hour, for example Lacedel-Socrepes. Per kilometre of piste there is less lift capacity than at an average resort on this site, so a busy week is felt more clearly here. The queue you actually notice is almost always down in the valley between eight and half past nine. If you are on the lift before eight you avoid it.
When is Cortina d'Ampezzo busiest?
How busy the slopes get is not decided by the English half term but by when the Italians are on holiday. These are the weeks that fill Cortina d'Ampezzo in the 2026/2027 season.
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Italy: Italy has no national ski holiday. Instead it is Carnevale that fills the resorts, when Italians take their settimana bianca.
24 January to 9 February: Carnevale, with carnival Sunday on 7 February and Shrove Tuesday on the 9th - England: The English February half term is 15 to 19 February 2027 for most councils, with a few areas breaking up a week earlier. The Easter holidays run from 26 March to 9 April.
8 to 12 February: half term in a few council areas, for example Hull
15 to 19 February: half term in most of England, including London, the Midlands and the North
26 March to 9 April: Easter holidays for most English schools - Easter holidays: Easter 2027 is early, on 28 March. Austria and Germany take their holidays around the weekend, while the French holidays fall after Easter, in April.
20 to 29 March: the whole of Austria, all states at the same time
22 March to 3 April: most German states, including Bavaria, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia
3 April to 3 May: the French zones, which fall after Easter 2027 and only affect the highest resorts - Long weekends: Long weekends fill the slopes with day visitors from the nearest cities, even when no schools are on holiday.
26 December to 3 January: Christmas and New Year, the most expensive period of the year
6 January: Epiphany, a public holiday in Austria, Italy and parts of Switzerland
27 to 29 March: the Easter weekend. Easter Monday is a public holiday across the Alps, but Good Friday is a working day in Austria, Italy and France
1 to 2 May: May Day, a public holiday across the Alps
After Shrove Tuesday things calm down quickly. The second half of February and March offer both lower prices and plenty of room on the slopes.
Major events in Cortina d'Ampezzo
- World Cup, downhill and super-G, 15 to 17 January 2027. The Olympia delle Tofane is one of the most spectacular courses on the women's tour. A classic weekend with a high atmosphere and prices to match.
Opening and closing dates are typical values derived from altitude, not confirmed dates for this season. Check the resort's own website before booking.
Who will you share the slopes with in Cortina d'Ampezzo?
1,081,186 overnight stays over the whole of 2025. Tap a country or a segment of the circle to highlight it.
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1
Italians
43.0%
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2
Americans
10.3%
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3
British
4.6%
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4
French
3.5%
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5
Germans
3.4%
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6
Poles
2.3%
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7
Spaniards
2.2%
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8
Australians
2.1%
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9
Dutch
2.0%
- 10 Others 26.6%
Source: the Veneto regional statistics office. The figures cover the whole year, not just winter.
Snow right now. There is no snow cover in the valley or at the top right now. The figures are modelled by Open-Meteo, not measured by the lift company, and were fetched 16 October 2026 at 20:24.
The lift pass included. The stay comes with the Cortina d'Ampezzo lift pass, which covers 120 km of piste. The pass is worth around €530.
How to get to Cortina d'Ampezzo
You arrange your own travel: we sell the stay, not the transport. Here are the three ways people get to Cortina d'Ampezzo, so you can pick the one that suits you.
By air. The nearest airport is Venice (VCE). Pure flying time from London is around 2 hours, and from there it is 2 hours on to Cortina d'Ampezzo. You can cover the last stretch in one of two ways:
- Private transfer. A private driver meets you in the arrivals hall and drives straight to your accommodation with no stops. The price is per car, not per person, ski boxes can be booked in advance, and the driver waits even if the flight is late.
- Hire car at the airport. With SmartCarRental you collect the car in the arrivals hall. That gets you to the neighbouring villages on the same lift pass, lets you shop at valley prices rather than resort prices, and frees you from transfer timetables. Winter tyres are standard at Alpine desks.
By car. Many drive. Taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone and arriving at Calais, it's roughly 1,222 km to Cortina d'Ampezzo, around 13.4 hours of pure driving time through France. Remember that studded tyres are banned in France and Germany.
Last-minute deals in Cortina d'Ampezzo
Last-minute offers, that is late dates the operator still wants to fill, appear from January onwards. Once the season is under way we will show them here on this page.
Cortina d'Ampezzo is suitable for
Suitable to some extent
⭐ Excellent choice
⭐ Excellent choice
Good snow reliability
Read more about ski holidays
Ready to book? Choose from accommodation in different price ranges. Lift pass is included in the price, and you arrange your own travel there.
Accommodation with lift pass in Cortina d'Ampezzo ›Frequently asked questions about Cortina d'Ampezzo
The 2026 Winter Olympics were hosted in February 2026 by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, with the alpine events taking place in Cortina. It was the second time the resort had hosted the Olympics, following 1956. Major investments have been made in new lifts, pistes and infrastructure that will benefit visitors for many years to come.
Cortina's five ski areas have historically been separate, but ahead of the 2026 Olympics they were connected far better with new lifts and gondolas. All the areas are included in the Dolomiti Superski pass, with 1,200km of pistes. A ski bus runs between the areas that are not yet connected by lift.
Cortina boasts Italy's most exclusive Alpine shopping street along corso Italia, with designer boutiques, jewellers and sports shops. The nightlife is elegant, with cocktail bars and restaurants. It's more sophisticated than wild, focused on Italian style rather than Austrian party atmosphere.
