Veneto ski guide

Cortina d’Ampezzo is the ‘Queen of the Dolomites’, a title nobody has disputed for more than a century. This small Ampezzo basin is ringed by an amphitheatre of Dolomite walls that change colour from dawn to dusk, the phenomenon known as enrosadira, which people in the Agordino call ‘the burning mountains’.

Cortina has built its reputation where elite sport, culture and high society meet. Visitors who step off the Frecciarossa train in Venice and head north up the Piave valley arrive with very high expectations, and Cortina rarely disappoints: the shops of Corso Italia, the Posta Hotel, the fudge shops, the unmistakable Ampezzo accent, the cafés where famous faces from sport and show business cross paths. It all adds up to an atmosphere no other Italian alpine resort can match.

Cortina and the Olympics

But Cortina is not just glamour. In 1956 it hosted the VII Winter Olympics, a symbol of Italy’s post-war revival and an event that opened the Dolomites to international mass tourism.

Seventy years later, history repeated itself: with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Cortina was back at the centre of the world stage. The ski area hosted the women’s downhill and super-G, biathlon was held at Antholz-Anterselva in South Tyrol and cross-country skiing in the Tarvisio area. The Olympic investment is turning Cortina’s slopes and lifts into a state-of-the-art system for decades to come.

Arabba and Civetta

The Veneto Dolomites do not end at Cortina.

Arabba, in the Valparola, is the natural way into the Sella Ronda from the Veneto side: a small, no-frills resort loved by hardcore skiers for its technical black runs and easy access to the four-valley circuit.

Civetta, above Alleghe and its mirror-like lake beneath sheer rock walls, is one of the most scenic ski areas in Italy. The north-west face of Monte Civetta, called ‘the Wall of the Dolomites’, can be seen from almost every run and makes a backdrop of rare power.

The Marmolada and the Dolomite passes

The Marmolada, the ‘Queen of the Dolomites’ by altitude (3,343 metres), is the largest glacier in the Dolomites and the only one in the area with summer skiing. Its high runs offer excellent snow and views that on clear days stretch from the Sella group to Lake Garda.

The Falzarego and Pordoi passes, which link the province of Belluno with Trentino and South Tyrol, are world-famous cycling climbs in summer (the Pordoi has been the Giro d’Italia’s ‘Cima Coppi’, its highest point, dozens of times) and key crossing points between ski areas in winter.

A UNESCO landscape

In 2009 the Veneto Dolomites were listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, together with the neighbouring provinces, confirming internationally how extraordinary this landscape is. Skiing in the Veneto is more than a sport: it is a journey through one of the most precious natural treasures on the planet.