Guide to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italian Alps

Cortina d'Ampezzo is Italy's most stylish and chic ski resort in a gorgeous setting. Surrounded by the magnificent Dolomite mountains, the town lies in the north of the Veneto region, only 30 miles from the Austrian border. There are 3 major ski areas, the Dolomiti Superski pass covers 12 valleys and opens up hundreds of ski runs. There are plenty of long, well maintained and uncrowded runs for the intermediate skier and big nursery slopes for beginners. Cortina d'Ampezzo is not really recommended for fanatic skiers, but it's great for cross country skiing and for those who enjoy lazy strolls, shopping and lounging on sunny terraces amongst stunning scenery.

Mountain Information Cortina d'Ampezzo

	Resort Altitude	1224 m
	Vertical Drop	2020 m
	Top Lift	3248 m
	Lifts	47
	Total Runs	78 (140 km)
	Longest Run	9 km
	Advanced Runs	8
	Intermediate Runs	18
	Beginner	47
	Cross Country	58 km

Getting to Cortina d'Ampezzo

The quickest and cheapest way to travel to Cortina d'Ampezzo ski resort is to first find one of the many cheap flights to Venice. Cortina d'Ampezzo is located about 100 miles from Venice. Driving time from Venice to Cortina is about 2 hours. The nearest train stations are Dobbiaco (Fortezza - Dobbiaco train line) and Calalzo (Venezia S.Lucia - Calalzo di Cadore train line). Both railway stations are about 20 miles from Cortina. Regular bus services are available from both train stations, and there is also daily bus service from Venice to Cortina, travel time 4 hours. From Milan to Cortina count on around 5 hours driving time. Trains from Innsbruck and Munich arrive at Dobbiaco, a 50 minute bus ride from Cortina.

Accommodation in Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina is not recommended for budget skiers. Accommodation is mainly in hotels, with some pensions and B&B. Central locations are best, as the two main lifts are at opposite sides of town. The 5 star Christallo and Miramonti are the most upmarket, some other fine hotels are Hotel de la Poste, Parc Victoria, Parc Faloria, Menardi, good value Montana and Olimpia and the family-run Aquila. Catered chalets and self catering apartments are mostly out of town. The tourist office has a special rental apartment list available. Quality of room size, furnishings etc. can be variable, best check the room before accepting it.

Bars, restaurants and apres ski

Cortina is renowned for its upmarket shopping, luxury restaurants, wine bars and sophisticated night clubs. The pedestrianised centre throngs with promenading well-dressed Italians after 5pm. Popular meeting points are the old Enoteca wine bar and the Clipper. Discos start up after 11pm, the VIP Club, Hyppo, Metro Club, The Limbo and the Bilbo Club are some of the hotspots, but partying is expensive in the nightclubs.
Most of the best dining restaurants in Cortina lie outside the main town. Mountain restaurants are very accessible, with good food and lovely sunny terraces, but get very busy at weekends. For more basic Italian fare of pasta and pizzas try the good value eateries around the centre, such as The Croda Caffe, Passetto, Cinque Torri and Il Ponte.

Activities

Cortina is the place for enjoying the scenery, the town, the restaurants and the shopping. The pictoresque traffic-free town centre is full of art galleries and museums, designer clothing, jewellery shops, antiques, and mouth-watering food outlets. There are also an Olympic-sized skating rink and Bobsleigh run, a swimming pool, sleigh rides, skidoos, ice climbing, snowshoe walks, curling and horse riding. Excursions to Venice and other towns are scheduled most days from Cortina. Snowboarders will find the best powder snow at the Tofana pistes and there is a terrain park with half pipe at Faloria.