Cortina d'Ampezzo

Cortina sits inside a natural amphitheatre of pale limestone towers. Italian style, Ladin heritage, long lunches and a UNESCO landscape create a destination where the scenery is as celebrated as the descent.

Cortina d’Ampezzo lies in the Veneto at 1,224 metres, in a wide valley ringed by the Tofane, Cristallo, Sorapiss and the Cinque Torri. Part of Austria until 1918, the valley keeps its Ladin language and its Regole, communal institutions that have managed the forests and pastures for centuries. The Dolomites around it were inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2009.

Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956 and shared the 2026 Games with Milan. Its skiing belongs to the Dolomiti Superski network, with the Tofana, Faloria and Cinque Torri areas around the village. The Corso Italia, the pedestrian main street, is lined with the shops, cafés and bars that make Cortina’s evenings as celebrated as its slopes.

The ski season runs from early December to early April, with Christmas, New Year and the February weeks the most social. Each January the Olimpia delle Tofane hosts the women’s World Cup downhill and super-G, one of the classic fixtures of the circuit. February and March bring the sunniest, most settled weather, and lunch at the mountain huts of the Cinque Torri is a ritual in itself.

Summer is equally strong: from late June to September the Dolomites are a theatre of walking, climbing and via ferrata routes, and the Lavaredo Ultra Trail runs around the Tre Cime in late June. Autumn, when the larches turn gold, and late spring are quiet, with many hotels closed between the seasons.

Two historic grand hotels define Cortina. The Miramonti Majestic Grand Hotel, opened in the 1890s, stands alone in its meadow south of the village, facing the Tofane and the Pomagagnon. Cristallo, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, looks down over the town from the slopes above it, with a large spa and views across the valley. In the centre, the Hotel de la Poste has been a meeting place on the Corso Italia for generations.

The choice is between the quiet of the grand hotels and the life of the village. LVXVRY books Cristallo through Marriott STARS & Luminous — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges the programme attaches to the stay — and advises on and arranges stays at the Miramonti Majestic and the de la Poste.