Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Winter Olympics: Complete Guide

The Italian Alps host a Winter Olympics for the third time on 6–22 February 2026. The first was Cortina in 1956. The second was Turin in 2006. The third spreads across two regions, four provinces and seven host territories — the most geographically dispersed Winter Games ever staged. Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites of Veneto, is the headline name on the masthead, hosting women's alpine skiing, all sliding events (bobsleigh, luge, skeleton) and curling. The opening ceremony, however, is in Milan; the closing ceremony in Verona.

For anyone flying in to watch, that dispersion creates real logistical decisions. Where do you stay? Which venues match your tickets? How do you move between them, especially with restricted Olympic-zone access in Cortina? This guide is the practical version, written from Malpensa Airport's perspective because most international visitors arrive there and our drivers are running daily Cortina runs from January 2026 to mid-March.

Cortina back on the Olympic stage — 70 years after 1956

The VII Olympic Winter Games of 1956 transformed Cortina from a quiet Dolomite mountain town into an international name. The Eugenio Monti bobsleigh track from those Games is the same one being used in 2026, restored over three years at a cost of €120 million after a long debate about whether to reuse it (eventually decided yes) or build a new track in Innsbruck (decided no in 2022).

The 2026 Games are formally called Milano Cortina 2026 — the dual-host naming reflects that Milan handles the ceremonies, the ice sports and the urban-arena format, while Cortina handles the mountain events and the sliding centre. Beyond those two anchor hosts, the Games extend to Bormio (men's alpine in Valtellina), Livigno (freestyle and snowboard parks), Predazzo and Tesero (cross-country skiing and ski jumping in Val di Fiemme), Anterselva/Antholz (biathlon in South Tyrol) and Verona (closing ceremony at the Roman arena). Seven hosts in two regions.

Key dates: ceremonies, competition, paralympics

• 4 February 2026 — preliminary rounds begin (curling, ice hockey opening matches)
• 6 February 2026 (Friday) 20:00 — Opening Ceremony, San Siro Stadium, Milan. Attendance 65,000.
• 6–22 February 2026 — competition window. 116 medal events across 16 disciplines.
• 22 February 2026 (Sunday) 20:00 — Closing Ceremony, Arena di Verona. Attendance 12,000 (the Roman arena's capacity).
• 6–15 March 2026 — XIV Paralympic Winter Games. Same venue pattern, smaller scale.

The flame is lit in ancient Olympia, Greece on 7 December 2025, arrives in Italy on 18 December 2025, and tours the country for 50 days before reaching Milan for the opening. Routes through the host cities are published two weeks ahead — public, free to watch.

What sports does Cortina d'Ampezzo host?

Cortina holds 20 medal events across three venues, all within a 6 km radius of the town centre.

• Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre — all six women's alpine medal events: downhill, super-G, slalom, giant slalom, alpine combined and team parallel. The Olympia delle Tofane piste hosts these races; capacity 18,000 standing along the course. Final-day weekend tickets sold out by January 2025.
• Cortina Sliding Centre (Eugenio Monti track) — bobsleigh (men's two and four, women's two and monobob), luge (men's, women's, doubles, team relay), skeleton (men's and women's). Track length 1,748 m, 16 curves, vertical drop 142 m. Capacity 7,000 at the finish stadium.
• Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium — round-robin and finals for men's, women's and mixed doubles curling. Wheelchair curling at the Paralympics. Capacity 4,400.

Total ticket-seat capacity in Cortina venues across all sessions: about 480,000.

Other venues across the 2026 Games

Venue	Sports hosted	Distance from Cortina
Milan (Mediolanum Forum, PalaItalia, Rho Arena)	Figure skating, short track, speed skating, ice hockey	410 km
San Siro Stadium, Milan	Opening ceremony only	410 km
Bormio — Stelvio	Men's alpine skiing (all 6 events)	290 km
Livigno Snow Park	Freestyle skiing, snowboard (15 medal events)	310 km
Predazzo — Trampolini di Stalimen	Ski jumping, Nordic combined	180 km
Tesero — Stadio del Fondo	Cross-country skiing (12 events)	175 km
Anterselva / Antholz	Biathlon (11 events)	40 km
Arena di Verona	Closing ceremony only	270 km

Anterselva at 40 km is the closest neighbour venue — feasible as a same-day trip from Cortina by car (1 h 15 min driving, longer with Olympic traffic management). Bormio is 290 km away and a 4 h drive in winter: realistic only as a 2-day side trip.

The Olympic debut: ski mountaineering (skimo)

Three medal events make their Olympic debut in 2026: the men's sprint, the women's sprint and the mixed relay in ski mountaineering. The discipline — known as skimo — has been a European mountaineering sport for a century, but only entered the Olympic family in November 2018 (IOC approval for 2026).

The format: athletes climb a fixed course on skins, transition to descent, and ski down through gates. Sprints take 2–4 minutes per athlete; the mixed relay 25 minutes. The venue is the Sponda di Bormio in Valtellina, not the Stelvio downhill — different mountain, 6 km away from the alpine skiing venue. Tickets €25–60 (sprints) and €40–80 (relay).

How to get to Cortina from Malpensa Airport

Distance Malpensa (MXP) to Cortina d'Ampezzo: 425 km. Driving time in winter without Olympic restrictions: 4 hours 30 minutes. With Olympic-period road management on the SS51 (the only road into Cortina from Belluno): add 30–90 minutes depending on day and time.

Route: A8 east to Lainate, A4 east through Brescia and Verona, A27 north from Mestre toward Belluno, then SR48/SS51 up into the Dolomites to Cortina. The last 70 km is mountain road — winter tyres or chains legally required.

Olympic-period access (verified as of May 2026): from 1 February to 1 March 2026, central Cortina is split into restricted zones. Spectators with valid event tickets receive an Olympic Pass digitally on their phones — this functions as both venue ticket and vehicle access permit for designated zones. Vehicles without a Pass park at perimeter lots and shuttle into the centre on dedicated Olympic shuttle buses (free, every 10 minutes, 06:00–01:00).

Alternative airports to Malpensa:

• Venice (VCE): 165 km, 2 h 30 min — best option for non-international guests
• Treviso (TSF): 132 km, 2 h — Ryanair hub, useful for European arrivals
• Bologna (BLQ): 280 km, 3 h 45 — busier but cheaper flights from southern Italy
• Innsbruck (INN, Austria): 165 km, 2 h 45 — over the Brenner, only practical for ski-equipment-heavy groups already in Austria

For passengers flying long-haul (US, Asia, Middle East, Brazil), Malpensa is usually the cheaper and more direct option despite the extra distance. We see roughly 80% of our Cortina-bound Olympic guests arrive at MXP.

Private transfer prices (our service, Olympic period)

• Mercedes E-Class (2 passengers): €820 one way, €1,500 round trip with 5-day wait
• Mercedes V-Class (up to 6 + luggage): €940 one way, €1,750 round trip
• Mercedes S-Class VIP: €1,150 one way
• Mercedes Sprinter (up to 8 + skis): €1,180 one way

Olympic-period prices are about 30% above standard winter rates, driven by Belluno-area road restrictions, mandatory shuttle transitions and limited Cortina parking. Winter tyres standard. Child seats free. English-speaking Italian driver, briefed on Olympic Pass procedures. Pay after the ride.

Critical booking note: Olympic-period transfers must be booked at least 14 days in advance — the dedicated parking permits we use for Cortina perimeter lots are issued in advance and cannot be obtained day-of. Book at malpensa-transfer.com or WhatsApp +39 327 753 7776.

Driver's tip — the Bormio-Cortina double: if you have tickets for both Bormio men's alpine and a Cortina sliding event, do not try the 290 km road transit in one Olympic-period day. The A22 + SS51 combination is jammed. Better to stay near Bormio for the alpine days and shuttle back to Cortina mid-Games for sliding tickets. Our drivers run that exact pattern for several US Olympic broadcasters.

Where to stay during the Olympics

Cortina hotels in town (4* and 5*) were sold out by mid-2024. What follows is the realistic 2026 picture for late bookers:

• Hotel Cristallo Resort (5*L) — Olympic press hub. Public sales closed.
• Grand Hotel Savoia (4*) — central. Limited corporate-package availability through Olympic Hospitality.
• Hotel de la Poste (4*) — historic, Corso Italia. Limited last-minute drops on cancellations.
• Borca di Cadore (15 min south) — newer 3* and 4* properties opened for the Games, around €380–560/night. Hotel Boite, Bellevue.
• San Vito di Cadore (20 min south) — Hotel Marcora, Hotel Antelao, €300–480/night.
• Auronzo and Pieve di Cadore (30 min south) — chalets and B&Bs, €180–320/night, but plan for a 35-minute shuttle ride to Cortina.
• Bolzano (1 h 30 north) — bigger hotel inventory but a long daily commute. Only practical with a private transfer.

Olympic Hospitality (the official ticket-plus-accommodation packager) still has corporate packages available as of May 2026 — starting around €4,500 per person for three nights with two event tickets. Booking.com and Airbnb show occasional cancellations; check daily in the final two weeks before the Games.

Tickets, fan zones and watching outside the venues

Tickets sell through milanocortina2026.olympics.com. Prices vary by sport and round:

• Curling preliminary round: €30–50 per session — the most affordable Olympic ticket
• Bobsleigh / luge / skeleton qualifying: €50–100
• Alpine skiing women's downhill (final day): €200–380 standing
• Opening Ceremony, San Siro: €300–1,800 (Category A nearly impossible to find by mid-2026)
• Closing Ceremony, Arena di Verona: €250–1,200

As of May 2026, about 30% of tickets remained in primary sale (mostly curling, biathlon, freestyle qualifying, and lower-category sliding seats). High-demand sessions (Italian ski team events, finals) are on resale-only via the official platform — average resale markup 80%.

Fan zones (free, public):

• Corso Italia, Cortina — main outdoor fan zone, big screens, food trucks, daily 10:00–01:00
• Piazza Duomo, Milan — central Milan fan zone
• Piazza Bra, Verona — Verona's fan zone (paired with closing ceremony)
• Bormio town centre and Livigno main piazza — for those venues' events

Pub watching: the major hotels' lobby bars and several Cortina restaurants run sport-specific viewing — Hotel Ancora, El Camineto, Baita Fraina. Reservation needed for Italian-team events.

Beyond the venues — Cortina as a Dolomites destination

Cortina d'Ampezzo sits at 1,224 m in the centre of the Dolomites — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009, covering 142,000 hectares of vertical limestone. If your trip is more than just events, the surrounding mountains deliver some of Italy's best winter landscape:

• Tre Cime di Lavaredo — the three iconic peaks visible from the Auronzo refuge. In winter, a 40 km drive then a half-hour snow walk to the panorama point.
• Lago di Misurina — frozen lake 15 km north of Cortina, ringed by mountains. Sunset photo location.
• Tofana di Mezzo cable car — 3,244 m summit accessible without skis. CHF/EUR price restructured for Olympic period — check before going. Outside Olympic days the standard return is €38.
• 5 Torri — open-air war museum on the WWI Italian-Austrian front, accessible by chair lift. Free, atmospheric.
• Lagazuoi tunnels — restored WWI tunnels accessed by cable car from Passo Falzarego, 18 km west of Cortina.

Our drivers can build day routes that combine an Olympic ticket morning with a Dolomite landscape afternoon, or vice versa, depending on traffic windows.

FAQ

When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?

6–22 February 2026. Opening Ceremony Friday 6 February 20:00 at San Siro, Milan. Closing Ceremony Sunday 22 February 20:00 at the Arena di Verona.

How far is Cortina from Malpensa Airport?

425 km, 4 hours 30 minutes by car in winter outside Olympic restrictions. During the Games add 30–90 minutes for road management on the SS51.

Does Cortina have its own airport?

No. The closest airports are Venice (VCE) 165 km, Treviso (TSF) 132 km, Innsbruck (INN, Austria) 165 km. Bolzano has a small regional airport but few international connections. Most international guests arrive Malpensa (MXP).

What sports happen in Cortina?

Women's alpine skiing (Tofane), all sliding events — bobsleigh, luge, skeleton (Cortina Sliding Centre with the restored Eugenio Monti track), and curling (Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium). Total 20 medal events.

Where is the opening ceremony of Milano Cortina 2026?

San Siro Stadium, Milan. Friday 6 February 2026 at 20:00. Capacity 65,000. The closing ceremony is at the Arena di Verona on Sunday 22 February.

Can I drive into Cortina during the Olympics?

Restricted. From 1 February to 1 March 2026, central Cortina requires a valid Olympic Pass for vehicle access. Without a Pass, park at perimeter lots and take free Olympic shuttle buses. Private transfer providers like us hold the necessary permits and drop guests at hotel addresses.

Is Cortina d'Ampezzo the same as the Dolomites?

Cortina is the main town in the central Dolomites area, in Veneto province of Belluno. The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage mountain range covering 142,000 hectares across five Italian provinces. Cortina is the most internationally famous Dolomite town.

Has Cortina hosted the Olympics before?

Yes, in 1956 — the VII Olympic Winter Games. 2026 is its second Olympics. The Eugenio Monti sliding track from 1956 has been restored and is reused in 2026 for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton.

Related routes

• Malpensa to Cortina d'Ampezzo transfer
• Malpensa to Bormio transfer
• Malpensa to Livigno transfer
• Malpensa to Anterselva (biathlon venue) transfer
• Cervinia vs Zermatt 2026 ski guide

Book your Olympic-period transfer

Tell us your venue, your event date and your accommodation address. We hold the Olympic-zone permits, build the route around road management, and put you at the gate in time. Mercedes V-Class, S-Class or Sprinter. Fixed quote in 30 minutes. Booking deadline 14 days before arrival. Book online or WhatsApp +39 327 753 7776.