Cortina d' Ampezzo ski hotels and holiday packages
So tell me about it...
Cortina is one of the top Italian ski destinations and is appreciated as much as St Moritz, Lech and Courchevel. Cortina d’Ampezzo has the name of one of the most modern and fashionable ski resort in Italy. It boasts with wonderful skiing opportunities for skiers of all levels and it has special facilities for snowboarders. Cortina is also known as the "Regina delle Dolomiti" - Queen of the Dolomites - since it is in the heart of the wonderful Dolomites. It is surrounded by forests and wide ski slopes, below the towering craggy red rock mountains.
In winter the resort offers 110 km of ski slopes, 58 km of cross-country skiing, which is served by a total of 37 lifts: 23 chair lifts, 5 cable cars and 9 ski lifts. The marked pistes are 140 km across the Cortina valley. The local ski area is suited to meet the needs of all ski levels and the ski runs are wonderfully uncrowded in the week. The resort is one of the most preferred in Italy and this is the place where Italians love to go.
The magnificent Dolomiti Super Ski is accessed by a cable car at the Falzarego pass and it is great for expert skiers. The pistes in Cortina d’Ampezzo are great for intermediate skiers and beginners, and the wonderful skiing holiday is guaranteed by the many modern and comfortable ski facilities. Cortina d’Ampezzo is split in three different areas and is accessed by buses and cable cars. The two chief ski areas have 90 and 60 km of slopes. The ski season runs from November to April and snow coverage is guaranteed by artificial snow making machines.
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Entertainment
Cortina is the place for enjoying the scenery, the town, the restaurants and the shopping. The pictoresque traffic-free town centre is full of art galleries and museums, designer clothing, jewellery shops, antiques, and mouth-watering food outlets. There are also an Olympic-sized skating rink and Bobsleigh run, a swimming pool, sleigh rides, skidoos, ice climbing, snowshoe walks, curling and horse riding. Excursions to Venice and other towns are scheduled most days from Cortina.
Gourmet & nightlife
Cortina is renowned for its upmarket shopping, luxury restaurants, wine bars and sophisticated night clubs. The pedestrianised centre throngs with promenading well-dressed Italians after 5pm. Popular meeting points are the old Enoteca wine bar and the Clipper. Discos start up after 11pm, the VIP Club, Hyppo, Metro Club, The Limbo and the Bilbo Club are some of the hotspots, but partying is expensive in the nightclubs.
Most of the best dining restaurants in Cortina lie outside the main town. Mountain restaurants are very accessible, with good food and lovely sunny terraces, but get very busy at weekends. For more basic Italian fare of pasta and pizzas try the good value eateries around the centre, such as The Croda Caffe, Passetto, Cinque Torri and Il Ponte.
Shopping
There are 250 elegant shops and boutiques stocked with the latest Italian fashion: shoes, clothing, jewels, antiques, art galleries, high quality local handicraft works, in a word, the best.
Corso Italia, the heart of Cortina, has been a pedestrian street for 20 years now. In summer and winter late afternoons it is busy with visitors strolling up and down to have a look at the very elegant shop windows. Many guests choose Cortina for their shopping both for the wide selection of articles and for the convenience of finding almost everything within a short walk.
Beginners
Beginners should stick to the Pocol-Socrepes area and the lower lifts on Cristallo, as well as several at Faloria.
Intermediates
The intermediate will find Tofana, Faloria and Cinque Torri enjoyable areas.
Experts
The best slopes for the expert skier are in the Tofana area, with the Forcella Rossa and Stratofana runs. Experts will enjoy shooting down the Lagazuoi. The cable car ride to the peak is a thrill in itself.. The off-trail skiing is also exhilarating.
Snowboarders
Snowboarders are welcomed on all of Cortina’s slopes and there’s a funpark with a half-pipe, as well. Beginning snowboarders find the resort a great place for learning with wide, gentle slopes. Seventy-three miles of trails are dedicated for cross-country skiers. Every year the resort hosts the Dobbiaco-Cortina race on a 30-kilometer (19-mile) track.
There are scores of private babysitters and services available through the hotels or private homes where skiers stay. Child-care services are relatively inexpensive, and children seem to get more than their share of affection from the Italians who take care of them. The ski school also runs a children’s ski course for those old enough to begin skiing.
