Guide to Madonna di Campiglio, Italian Alps

Madonna di Campiglio is perhaps the most famous of the Brenta Dolomite ski resorts in Italy, with a surprisingly low number of foreign visitors. The location is breathtaking, with pine forests and lakes surrounding the rugged peaks of the Brenta Dolomites. Madonna di Campiglio has become Italy’s largest resort in terms of beds, runs and lifts. The tree lined slopes are extensive, especially for beginner and intermediate skiing with plenty of long, scenic red and blue runs, and relatively crowd free. For advanced skiers, there is the challenging black run from the Spinale Direttissima down to the village. Close by are the adjoining resorts of Folgarida and Marileva, providing a total of 150 km. of pistes. The Dolomiti Superski lift pass grants you access to 12 resorts in the Dolomites and 1200 km of groomed slopes and 460 state of the art lifts. Madonna itself is a very smart Italian town with excellent shopping and après ski.

Mountain Information Madonna di Campiglio

	Resort Altitude	1550 m
	Vertical Drop	985 m
	Top Lift	2580m
	Lifts	27
	Total Runs	41
	Longest Run	8 km
	Advanced Runs	7
	Intermediate Runs	13
	Beginner	21
	Cross Country	20 km

Getting to Madonna di Campiglio

The quickest and cheapest way to travel to Madonna di Campiglio ski resort is to first find one of the many cheap flights to Venice, Verona or Bergamo airports.
The closest international airports are in Milan, Verona and Venice. Local buses connect the train stations at Merano, Bolzano and Trento with the mountain resorts. A shuttle bus connects Madonna with the main airports in Verona and Milan once every Sunday. By car, Madonna di Campiglio is about 110 miles (2 hrs) north of Verona.

Accommodation in Madonna di Campiglio

Madonna’s hotels are mostly modern and of a good standard. There are not as many cheaper restaurants here as in many other resorts, so taking half board lodgings could be a good option to save money. Many of the 27000 guest beds are in apartments, hotels range from luxury to the more affordable, and traditional chalets and Bed & Breakfast accommodation are also present. The tourist board can provide listings of apartments in the town and there are several other rental agencies. Thousands of new rooms have sprung up in the Palu section, (which are a bit of a walk from the lifts) and above in the Campo Carlo Magno,(which are separated from the town's shopping and nightlife). Most of the original village hotels are at the base of the slopes. A wise move would be to make your selection based on location. Madonna also has a series of mountain refuges for skiers who want a head start and wish to stay on the slopes.

Bars, restaurants and après ski in Madonna di Campiglio

Restaurant meals can be pricey here. Belvedere and Pappagallo have good food, Ristorante al Sarca has plain but good value meals. Two good pizzerias are Le Roi and Antoco Focolare. There are only 3 discos in the area, crowds are mixed from the young to more middle aged. Bar Suisse, La Cantina del Suisse or Franz Josef’s Stube are some of the popular venues. The Des Alpes has a pricey disco and a cosy piano bar. Evening cabarets are held in the restored Habsburg ballroom.

Activities in Madonna di Campiglio

Other activities include a natural ice rink, cinema, bowling, heated pool, parapenting, fitness room, snowshoeing, walking trails, dog sledging, ice biking and night skiing. Snowboarders will enjoy the Groste terrain park and bordercross course, which is used for championship events.
Also there is the World Cup Slalom race here every December, antique car racing on ice in January, and the Habsburg Carnival in February, not to forget some fantastic sightseeing in Trento and Verona.