Ski Cortina: resort guide
There is nowhere quite like Cortina. A famous racing town and host of the 1956 Olympics, it certainly has some serious skiing. But it is also Italy’s most fashionable resort, and many visitors take their lunching and early-evening parading/shopping more seriously than their skiing. The result is that pressure on the slopes is low. No queues, no crowds, pistes rarely reduced to boilerplate by heavy traffic. We have had some of our most enjoyable piste skiing here.
And don’t let this talk of fashion put you off. More of the visitors are driving Fords than Ferraris – though we concede few are driving Cortinas. And lodgings need not be expensive: there are more three-star than four-star hotels, and Inghams runs a good-value chalet hotel right on the focal Corso Italia.
The scenery is just jaw-droppingly wonderful. The town is ringed by dramatic limestone towers and cliffs, tinged pink at dawn and dusk. We were back here in 2015, and our jaws dropped once again.
Cortina is a sizeable town spread across a wide, impossibly scenic bowl. Although it runs World Cup races, it is not a hard-core ski resort – 70 per cent of all Italian visitors don’t step on to the slopes. By 5pm everybody is cruising the Corso Italia in smart gear and laden with big bags containing additional supplies of smart gear.
Cortina is pure Italy. The Veneto region has none of the Germanic culture that you’ll find in parts of the Südtirol, only a few miles away. It now attracts more than a few Russians.
Within reach to the west is the Alta Badia, with Corvara at one corner of the Sella Ronda circuit – all on the Superski megapass. It can be reached by public bus, but is much easier by tour-op coach, taxi or your own car.
We like
Magnificent Dolomite setting
Marvellous for novices
Sella Ronda area within reach, just
Attractive, very Italian town
Lots of off-slope diversions
No crowds or queues
We don't like
Modest area of slopes, split into several separate areas
Erratic snow record
Expensive by Italian standards
Still quite a few slow lifts
Few tough runs
Village charm
The heart of Cortina is the cobbled Corso Italia – traffic-free thanks to the one-way ring-road system (often busy, choked at weekends). The Corso is lined by chic shops selling designer clothes, jewellery, antiques, art and furs. There is also an excellent co-op department store, but proper ski shops are to be found on the nearby ring road, or the streets leading to it. The soaring, floodlit church campanile at the heart of the Corso adds to the atmosphere.
Convenience
Cortina is the antithesis of the modern ski-in/ski-out resort. Walks, buses and taxis are just part of life here. Relax, and you’ll get used to it. It’s probably best to stay close to the Corso and the Faloria cable car, so that some days, at least, you won’t need the convenient and punctual free ski-bus. Or stay in one of the swanky hotels in the suburbs that operate shuttles. A car can be useful, for getting to other areas such as the Sella Ronda.
Scenery
Cortina is surrounded by some of the most stunning mountain scenery in the skiing world – the Dolomite mountains are magnificent, with cliffs and peaks rising up from pretty wooded valleys, and tinged pink at dawn and dusk.
Where to Ski and Snowboard
This guide is taken from Where to Ski and Snowboard, edited by Chris Gill and Dave Watts. Chris now produces Where to Ski guides to individual countries. Find out more and receive an exclusive book discount.
