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Voykit pocket guide · Italy
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Come for 3 nights if you ski or hike; skip as a day-trip from Venice — the transfer eats 5–6 h of your day and the lifts close at 17:00.
Cortina is Italy's most expensive mountain resort, a compact town in a glacial valley ringed by the Tofane, Cristallo and Faloria groups. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956 and again in 2026. Winter is skiing on 120 km of local pistes; summer is hiking and via ferrata reached by cable car and bus. Three nights is the minimum that justifies the trip.
- Country
- Italy
- Best months
- Late Jun–Sep (hiking), Jan–Mar (skiing)
- Avoid
- Nov and mid-Apr to mid-Jun (lifts and many hotels closed, wet and windy)
- Stay
- 3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR, €). Cards and contactless are widely accepted in cities; small cafés, markets and rural places may prefer cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget €90–140 excl. bed · Mid €140–230 excl. bed · High €230+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad sell prepaid SIMs in shops and at airports; a passport and an Italian tax code (codice fiscale, issued in-store) are needed.
- Emergency
- All emergencies (EU) 112 · Police 113 · Fire 115 · Ambulance and mountain rescue 118
- Plugs
- Types C, F, L · 230 V · 50 Hz · Italian type L plugs have three pins in a row; most sockets also take two-pin Europlugs (C), and bivalent sockets take Schuko (F).
- Tipping
- Bar: Leave €0.10–0.20 of change on the counter if you like.; Restaurant: Coperto or service may already be on the bill; leave €1–2 a person or round up for good service.; Taxi: Round up to the next euro.; Hotel porter or housekeeping: €1–2 per bag or per night.; Tour guide: €5–10 per person for a half day.
- Water
- Tap water is safe unless signed otherwise; Rome's nasoni fountains run all day. Restaurants serve bottled water (naturale or frizzante) unless you ask for tap (acqua del rubinetto).
- Toilets
- Few public toilets; use bars (buy a coffee), museums and stations, where some charge €1.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee at the bar | €1.50–3 |
| Plate of pasta or a bowl of soup | €12–20 |
| Beer: draught / supermarket can | €5–7 / €1.50–2.50 |
| Taxi, 8 kmTaxi, 5 mi | about €30 |
| Local bus ride | €3 (check) |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €15–30 |
| Museum entry (Rimoldi, Zardini) | €5–10 (check) |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- VCE · Venice Marco Polo
- 160 km; Cortina Express coach direct from the airport, about 2.5–3 h99 mi; Cortina Express coach direct from the airport, about 2.5–3 h
- TSF · Treviso
- 130 km; the Cortina Express stop is in town, not at the airport81 mi; the Cortina Express stop is in town, not at the airport
- INN · Innsbruck
- 170 km; no direct coach, taxi or package transfer only106 mi; no direct coach, taxi or package transfer only
Typical fares
- Venice airport → Cortina, Cortina Express
- about €30, 2.5–3 h (check)
- Calalzo station → Cortina, Dolomiti Bus
- €3, about 30 min (check)
- Taxi, 8 km
- about €30
Get around
The centre is walkable in 15 minutes. Local orange buses (Se.Am.) cover the town; Dolomiti Bus and SAD run to the passes, trailheads and neighbouring valleys, but infrequently — ski buses pause 10:00–14:00 and stop at 17:00. Taxis are expensive (about €3/km, charged from where the car starts). A car helps in summer, but winter traffic and parking are tight.The centre is walkable in 15 minutes. Local orange buses (Se.Am.) cover the town; Dolomiti Bus and SAD run to the passes, trailheads and neighbouring valleys, but infrequently — ski buses pause 10:00 AM–2:00 PM and stop at 5:00 PM. Taxis are expensive (about €3/km, charged from where the car starts). A car helps in summer, but winter traffic and parking are tight.
See and do
Known for
- Tofana and Faloria ski areas
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo
- Cinque Torri
- 1956 and 2026 Winter Olympics
- Ladin culture and the Dolomites
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Tre Cime di Lavaredo | Bus to Rifugio Auronzo, then the level loop path around the massif | About 1 h each way plus 3–4 h on foot |
| Cinque Torri and Lagazuoi | Bus to Passo Falzarego, chair lift to Cinque Torri, cable car to Rifugio Lagazuoi | About 45 min each way |
| Lago di Sorapiss | Bus to Passo Tre Croci, then path 215 for 6 kmBus to Passo Tre Croci, then path 215 for 3.7 mi | About 30 min transfer plus 2 h up |
| Marmolada | Car or bus toward Malga Ciapela, then the cable car | About 1.5 h each way |
| Venice | Cortina Express coach to Venice or the airport | 2.5–3 h each way |
Sleep
- Corso Italia and town centre
- Walk to shops, restaurants and the Faloria lift; the most expensive beds.
- Near the bus station (south end)
- Faloria and Cristallo access, coaches to Venice and the Dolomites; practical for a short stay.
- Near the Ice Arena (north end)
- Tofana cable car on foot; quieter, still 10–15 min walk from the centre.
- Outlying hamlets (Chiave, Majon, Verocai)
- Cheaper rooms and parking, but you need a car or the orange local bus.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Good morning | Buongiornobwon-JOR-no |
| Thank you | GrazieGRAH-tsyeh |
| How much is it? | Quanto costa?KWAN-to KOS-ta |
| Can I pay by card? | Posso pagare con la carta?POS-so pa-GA-re kon la KAR-ta |
| Where is the bus stop? | Dov'è la fermata dell'autobus?do-VEH la fer-MA-ta del-LOW-to-bus |
| Help! | Aiuto!a-YOO-to |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Say buongiorno (until mid-afternoon) or buonasera on entering shops and bars; avoid: Walking in and pointing without a greeting
- Cheek kisses: Two kisses, right cheek first, among friends; follow their lead; avoid: Kissing strangers or in business settings
- Dress: Smart-casual in cities; covered shoulders and knees in churches; avoid: Beachwear, bare chests and flip-flops away from the beach
- Queues: At delis and pharmacies take a number (numerino); avoid: Assuming the crowd at a bar counter is chaos — pay at the till first where asked
- Restaurants: Wait to be seated and ask for the bill; avoid: Splitting a bill item by item with a large group
- Conversation: Food, football and family are safe openers; avoid: Mafia jokes and north–south stereotypes
- Dinner at a home: Bring pastries, wine or flowers (not chrysanthemums, which are for funerals); avoid: Refusing seconds too firmly
Scams and watch-outs
- Taxis are very expensive: about €3 per km, and the meter starts from where the taxi leaves, not where you are.
- Ski buses do not run 10:00–14:00 and stop at 17:00 — plan the last lift and the last bus together.
- Shoulder seasons (Nov, Apr–mid-Jun) are wet, cold and windy, with lifts and many hotels shut.
- Late Dec–early Jan the Cimabanche pass often records the coldest temperatures in Italy.
- Check road conditions before driving; mountain passes are cleared later than the valley road.
Very safe for a mountain resort; the real risks are altitude, weather that turns in an hour, unmarked off-piste and expensive taxis. Tell someone your route and carry a charged phone.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Cortina d'Ampezzo yet. Suggested stay: 3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Tofana and Faloria ski areas
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo
- Cinque Torri
- 1956 and 2026 Winter Olympics
- Ladin culture and the Dolomites
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Infopoint Cortina (Dolomiti.org): www.dolomiti.org/en/cortina
- Comune di Cortina d'Ampezzo: www.comunecortinadampezzo.bl.it/
- Cortina Express: www.cortinaexpress.it/en/
- Dolomiti Bus: dolomitibus.it/
- Dolomiti Superski: www.dolomitisuperski.com
- Parco naturale regionale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo: www.dolomitiparco.com/
- Wikivoyage: Cortina d'Ampezzo, revision 5268114 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5268114
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
A questo indirizzo, per favore
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Cortina; the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and Irish embassies are in Rome, with consulates in Milan. Check your own before travelling.
Infopoint Cortina, Corso Italia 81, is the place to ask about lifts and trail conditions.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/cortina-dampezzo). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.