The bell tower and the Tofane above the old centre of Cortina d'Ampezzo
TheMediterranean.com The Luxury Gateway
DestinationsStayResortsSailCruisesFlyTrainsLiveLuxury Real EstateShopDineExperiencePlan a Trip

Home›The Alps›Italian Alps›Cortina d'Ampezzo

Luxury in the Italian Alps

Cortina d'Ampezzo

The Queen of the Dolomites: a wide valley ringed by pale peaks, the Corso Italia’s boutiques and cafés, and Olympic slopes in 1956 and again in 2026.

Cortina d'Ampezzo below the TofanePhotograph: Pexels

Benvenuti

The Queen of the Dolomites

Cortina d’Ampezzo lies in a wide green valley in the Veneto, ringed by the pale peaks of the Dolomites, which UNESCO named a World Heritage site in 2009. Until 1918 the valley belonged to Austria, and its Ladin culture, its wooden houses and its bell tower still speak of that past.

Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956, the first to be shown on television, and became the playground of Italian society and Hollywood: Hepburn, Sellers and The Pink Panther. In 2026 it shared the Winter Olympics with Milan, and the women’s alpine races were run on the Olympia delle Tofane.

In the evening the town takes its passeggiata along the Corso Italia, among furriers, jewellers and cafés. On the mountain, the Cinque Torri, the Lagazuoi and the Giau Pass hold some of the most beautiful rifugi in the Alps.

A few words of Italian
EnglishItalianSay it
Hello / Good dayBuongiornobwon-JOR-no
Good eveningBuonaserabwon-ah-SAIR-ah
PleasePer favorepair fah-VOR-eh
Thank youGrazieGRAHT-see-eh
The bill, pleaseIl conto, per favoreeel KON-toh, pair fah-VOR-eh
Enjoy your mealBuon appetitobwon ah-peh-TEE-toh
GoodbyeArrivederciah-ree-veh-DAIR-chee
The Giau Pass road winding through green pastures below the Dolomite walls
The Giau Pass, above Cortina

Where to go

Cortina d'Ampezzo at a glance

When to go, the one best hotel and restaurant, and how to arrive by private jet and helicopter.

Cortina d'Ampezzo

The "Queen of the Dolomites", in a wide valley ringed by the peaks of a UNESCO World Heritage site, and co-host, with Milan, of the Winter Olympics in February 2026.

When to goWinter, December to April; summer, June to September. Signature event: the women's World Cup downhill races in January.

  • Stay
    Ancora Cortina

    One MICHELIN Key, on Corso Italia, a house dating from 1826 redesigned for owner Renzo Rosso.

  • Dine
    Tivoli

    One MICHELIN star.

Arrive privately
By private jet or helicopter
Treviso (TSF/LIPH), with private-aviation handling, then about 40 min by helicopter or a chauffeured drive. Bolzano (BZO/LIPB) is about 1 hr 50 by road.
A green meadow and fir trees below great pale Dolomite peaks, timber chalets at the edge
Meadows and chalets below the Dolomites

Stay

Luxury hotels and chalets in Cortina d'Ampezzo

The officially five-star hotels.

The five-star hotels

The 6 confirmed, officially five-star hotels in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

See all 6 hotels

Cortina d'Ampezzo (Veneto)

  • Mandarin Oriental CristalloCortina

    Closed for renovation; reopening in early 2027.

  • Grand Hotel Savoia Cortina d'Ampezzo – a Radisson Collection Hotel

    Five-star; winter and summer. A historic grand hotel on Corso Italia in the centre of Cortina.

  • Rosapetra Spa Resort

    Five-star; winter and summer. A boutique hotel of 34 rooms, eight of them suites, with a spa and indoor pool; a Small Luxury Hotels of the World member. Visit website ↗

  • Faloria Mountain Spa Resort

    Five-star; winter and summer. A spa resort in Nordic-inspired architecture between Mount Faloria and the 1956 Olympic ski jump. Visit website ↗

  • Hotel Tofana Cortina

    Five-star; winter and summer. A ski-in, ski-out hotel at Pocol directly on the Rosà piste of the Tofane area, open since 2018. Visit website ↗

  • Ancora Cortina

    Five-star; winter and summer. A historic hotel on Corso Italia, reborn as a Leading Hotels of the World member.

Tagliatelle with a rich ragù and shaved cheese in a dark bowl, a glass beside it
Fresh tagliatelle at the table

Dine

The best restaurants in Cortina d'Ampezzo

The finest tables.

On the mountain

Lunch on the slopes, the way the Alps do it best.

  • Rifugio AverauCortina d'Ampezzo

    Run by Sandro Siorpaes and his children below the Nuvolau in the Cinque Torri area, named by Gambero Rosso among Cortina's five best huts for its cooking and wine cellar. Visit website ↗

Chairlift seats above larch meadows, the Dolomite walls beyond in the clouds
A chairlift in the Dolomites

Travel

Private jets, helicopters and first-class travel in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Treviso for jets, then forty minutes by helicopter, and the airlines to Milan.

Private jet airports

  • Treviso Airport (Antonio Canova)

    Treviso is about 30 minutes from Venice and joins the same A27 route north to Cortina and the Dolomites, typically saving only ten to fifteen minutes on the drive compared with Venice.

A great tower of pale rock above snowy slopes and a bare larch, under a deep blue sky
The Dolomites in winter

Airlines to Milan Malpensa

First and business class.

See all 17
Chalets and green meadows below the pale Dolomite walls at Cortina d’Ampezzo
Cortina d’Ampezzo in early summer

Experience

Events and things to do in Cortina d'Ampezzo

The Cortina year: the great events, month by month; each event's own website gives this year's dates.

The pedestrian Corso Italia in Cortina d'Ampezzo, with shops, café tables and the green-roofed church
The Corso Italia, Cortina d'Ampezzo

Shop

Luxury shopping in Cortina

The Corso Italia.

Shopping streets

  • Corso ItaliaCortina d'Ampezzo

    Cortina's pedestrian main street has Louis Vuitton at Corso Italia 76–78, its first store in an Italian mountain resort, and Moncler at number 98, with Prada, Loro Piana and Dior also on the street and the historic local house Franz Kraler.

A red helicopter flying close to a sheer Dolomite rock wall
A helicopter in the Dolomites

Plan your trip

Luxury travel in Cortina d'Ampezzo: your questions answered

Where is Cortina d'Ampezzo?

In the Veneto in north-eastern Italy, at 1,224 metres in a wide valley of the Dolomites. Private jets land at Treviso, about forty minutes away by helicopter; Venice is about two hours by road.

Did Cortina host the Winter Olympics?

Yes, twice: in 1956, and in 2026, when it shared the Games with Milan and held the women’s alpine skiing on the Olympia delle Tofane.

When is the best time to visit Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Winter, December to April; summer, June to September. Signature event: the women's World Cup downhill races in January.

Where are the best luxury hotels in Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Ancora Cortina, one MICHELIN Key, on Corso Italia, a house dating from 1826 redesigned for owner Renzo Rosso.

How do you arrive in Cortina d'Ampezzo by private jet?

Treviso (TSF/LIPH), with private-aviation handling, then about 40 min by helicopter or a chauffeured drive. Bolzano (BZO/LIPB) is about 1 hr 50 by road.

Do you tip in Italy?

A per-person cover charge (coperto) for bread and table setting is normal and is not a tip, and a service charge (servizio) may already be on the bill. Leaving a few euros, or up to about 10% for excellent service, is appreciated.

What should you wear in Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Italians dress with care in the evening, in the resorts as in the cities, and smart dress is expected at dinner in the grand hotels of the mountains and the lakes. In the mountains, ski clothing is normal at lunch in the huts and at après-ski. Check each hotel's dress code.

Spaghetti with spinach, mushrooms and pancetta in a white bowl, a wine glass behind
Pasta, Italian style

Beyond Cortina d'Ampezzo

More in the Italian Alps

The other great resorts of Italy, and The Alps beyond.

The Italian AlpsCortina d'Ampezzo, Alta Badia, the Dolomites and Lake ComoExplore the Italian AlpsThe AlpsFive countries, seventeen resorts, first class onlyExplore The Alps
A waiter setting down a plate of baked lasagna beside a bottle and wine glasses
Dinner is served

Customs and etiquette

Customs and etiquette in Italy

How Italy does things.

Language
Italian is spoken across the Italian Alps and the great lakes (Como, Maggiore, Garda), with important exceptions. The Aosta Valley is officially bilingual in Italian and French, and many locals also speak a Franco-Provençal patois. In South Tyrol German is the majority language (about two-thirds of the population), Italian is spoken by about a quarter, and Ladin, a Rhaeto-Romance language, by about 4 per cent, mainly in Val Gardena and Val Badia; place names appear in German and Italian, and in the Ladin valleys also in Ladin (Ortisei is Urtijëi; Selva is Sëlva). In Cortina and the rest of the Veneto Dolomites, Italian is the language, with Ladin in some valleys. English is spoken in the leading hotels.
Greetings
"Buongiorno" is the polite greeting until the afternoon, and "Buonasera" from mid-afternoon on; greet staff on entering a shop or restaurant. In South Tyrol "Grüß Gott" and "Servus" are used as in Austria, and German is the natural first language in most villages. Friends greet each other with a kiss on each cheek; a handshake is right on first meeting.
Dress
Italians dress with care in the evening, in the resorts as in the cities, and smart dress is expected at dinner in the grand hotels of the mountains and the lakes. In the mountains, ski clothing is normal at lunch in the huts and at après-ski. Check each hotel's dress code.
Dining and shopping
Lunch is usually served from about 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm and dinner from about 7.30 pm, later on the lakes in summer. Most bills carry a cover charge (coperto) per person for bread and table service; it is legal and shown on the menu. In towns many shops close for a long midday break and on Sundays; in the resorts most open daily during the season.
Tipping
A per-person cover charge (coperto) for bread and table setting is normal and is not a tip, and a service charge (servizio) may already be on the bill. Leaving a few euros, or up to about 10% for excellent service, is appreciated.
Mountain etiquette
The FIS Rules for Conduct apply on the pistes. Italian law also requires skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear a helmet, and requires everyone on the pistes to hold third-party liability insurance, which can be bought with the lift pass. In mountain huts (rifugi), book ahead, bring a hut sleeping bag, keep quiet in the evening and take rubbish back down.

Every list on this page is checked by hand and dated: last checked October 2026. Hotels, restaurants and events link only to their own official websites, where confirmed.

A still mountain lake with a refuge on its shore, autumn larches in red and gold around it
A mountain lake in the Dolomites in autumn

The Mediterranean Season Letter

Where to be, every season

Four letters a year, one for each season: the Mediterranean from spring to autumn, and Beyond the Mediterranean, into the Alps, in winter. The one best hotel to book, and the events worth crossing a sea for.