Until mid-March, Cortina hosts the Winter Olympics and Paralympics: its renovated venues stage the bobsleigh and curling competitions. For the occasion, new hotels and venues have opened, and the jet-set glamour has returned—recalling 1956, when Cortina was already the “Queen of the Dolomites” and host of the Winter Games. Here are a few ideas for enjoying Cortina during the Games—and afterward, too.
1
Olympic bobsleigh and curling
Italy’s oldest bobsleigh club is in Cortina, and it became legendary thanks to the chase scene in For Your Eyes Only. For the Olympics, on a rebuilt track that follows the original layout, bobsleighs will fly through curves and straights, reaching speeds of up to 140 km/h. The curling stadium has also been renovated; it hosted the opening ceremony of the 1956 Winter Olympics.
2
Ski safari with dolomite Mountains
In theory, during the Olympics you can’t ski on Cortina’s slopes. But those who wish can organise an off-piste ski safari with the specialised guides of Dolomite Mountains, who not only know the most scenic routes but also the mountain huts serving the best alpine dishes. WEBSITE
3
A wellness interlude
Until Easter, Cortina hosts the Salotto della Salute e della Longevità, a pop-up space with an area dedicated to Lucia Magnani’s Long Life Formula—an anti-aging method that combines preventive medicine, antioxidant nutrition, physical activity, and thermal treatments.
4
Lunch (or dinner, as you prefer)
SanBrite, just a few turns from Cortina’s center, has redefined mountain cuisine by starting from the land. Wood, glass, and landscape express an idea of agricucina that begins with the family’s barn and dairy. In just a few years, the restaurant earned a Michelin star and a Green Star. Around it revolves Piccolo Brite and the El Brite de Larieto alpine hut, where it all began in 2004. At the heart of this project are chef Riccardo Gaspari and his wife Ludovica Rubbini, who transformed the family business into a coherent ecosystem linking cuisine, territory, and sustainability. WEBSITE
5
Après-ski at altitude
In the Faloria ski area, Super G has opened—a club for après-ski dancing with DJ sets, champagne, and ski boots on, until darkness falls over the slopes. Open all day with a bar and mountain cuisine, it has direct access to the lifts—and therefore the slopes.WEBSITE
6
Downtown aperitivo
To live at the pace of the Cortina crowd, aperitivo hour is spent at the Posticino, a hotel founded in 1804 and ever since run by the Manaigo family—long beloved by guests, Hemingway included, for its traditional and warm hospitality. The evening can continue at the Grill della Posta for a classic dinner. WEBSITE
7
Caviar and champagne evening
At the old El Toulà—jet-set haunt during Cortina’s golden years—Raf and Max Alajmo, three Michelin stars in Padua, have arrived. They’ve taken over and modernized the historic lodge. Amid wooden furnishings, paneling, and fur-covered chairs, they offer a “caviar and champagne” aperitif: Baeri Imperial Siberian sturgeon caviar with focaccia and plant-based sour cream, paired with the house Cuvée Pure. For dinner, the signature dish is Risotto with marrow, caviar, and champagne, dedicated to Alfredo Beltrame, who opened the legendary El Toulà in 1964. WEBSITE
8
Nightclub—no phones allowed
L’Ancora, one of Cortina’s oldest hotels, has come back to life after an elegant yet disruptive renovation. Fireplaces in the rooms, turntables, lipstick messages on mirrors. Behind the scenes are Renzo Rosso, fashion entrepreneur (founder of Diesel), and Vicky Charles, designer of many Soho House interiors, who have mixed colours, styles, materials, and objects to create a curiosity-filled wunderkammer. Among them is a club where mobile phones are forbidden—for an analog night where what happens remains a mystery. WEBSITE
