With the Winter 2026 Olympics around the corner, the world turns its eyes to Milan and Cortina, Italy. Although the name “Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games” makes it sound like these two areas are close to each other, they are actually more than 255 miles apart—basically, an almost five-hour drive. In fact, this year’s Winter Games will be the most geographically widespread of any prior Olympics.
We shared some fun facts about Milan in a previous post, so we wanted to give some equal exposure to Cortina d’Ampezzo (called Cortina for short) and the beautiful Dolomite Mountains, where Cortina is located.
Andiamo!/let’s go
- Cortina is called “Queen of the Dolomites” and “Pearl of the Dolomites.” It’s famous as a luxury ski resort area.
- Cortina previous hosted the Olympics Winter Games in 1956.
- The movies “For Your Eyes Only” and “The Pink Panther” were filmed in Cortina.
- Olympics events that will be held in Cortina include Alpine skiing, the biathalon, bobsledding, curling, and luge. In addition to Milan and Cortina, some Olympics events will take place in the towns of Valtellina and Val di Fiemme in northern Italy, along with a closing ceremony in Verona.
5. There’s a lot to do in Cortina. In addition to those famous winter activities, there’s golfing, mountain biking, horseback riding, and kayaking. If you’re a little less adventurous, you can browse more than 250 shops.
6. The Dolomites (called Dolomiti in Italian) are part of the Italian Alps. Just like you’ve heard of the Swiss Alps, the Italian Alps are famous and include the Dolomites, the Aosta Valley, South Tyrol (a German-speaking region) and Piedmont. In addition to Switzerland and Italy, the Alps also span Austria, Germany, France, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Slovenia.
7, The Dolomites are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites because of beautiful rock cathedrals and natural beauty. One nearby resident said when you climb to the top of a peak in the Dolomites, you can see the world from a completely new perspective.
8. The Dolomites stay busy! Do some research online, and you’ll see that many recommend that visiting from June to August is an ideal time for spectacular hiking views. However, this is also peak season, when you’ll explore there along with many other visitors. You also will face higher prices. Of course, winter is the best time to visit if you’re into skiing and other winter sports. Perhaps a visit in the fall or spring is best to enjoy some of the views without the full impact of crowds.
9. It’s not all pasta, all the time in Cortina and the Dolomites. Much of the famous local cuisine features German influences and includes knödel (a type of bread dumpling with herbs), Schlutzkrapfen (a ravioli dish), Spinatspatspazlen mit Schinken-Käsesauce, which is spinach spaetzle with ham and cheese sauce. We’ll let you google the pronunciation of that one as we’re not sure how to say it! Another famous dish in the Dolomites is Spaghetti Bolognese mit Speck, or bolognese spaghetti with a type of local ham. Another dish recommended to us? Turtres, a type of fried dough filled with spinach and ricotta. Find a recipe for them here. And don’t forget to try any local cheeses!
10. The locals are multilingual. There’s more than just Italian spoken in the Dolomites. German and Italian are spoken by most people from the Dolomites, in addition to the ancient romance language of Ladin. Still, if you’re visiting a local tourist area and speak English, you should be in good shape to communicate with others.
Buon viaggio!
Italy Dreams 