Last updated on May 6, 2026
Last February, my family and I went to Cortina d’Ampezzo for the 2026 Winter Olympics. After experiencing the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, we knew we had to experience another Olympic event. And what better place to do that than the Italian Alps? The 2026 Winter Olympics had two co-host cities: Milan and Cortina. While Milan hosted perhaps the most popular events, such as figure skating, we decided to settle nearby Cortina to combine the Olympic Games with skiing. I really think Italians do it best when it comes to ski culture, including food and drink. Read below how you can experience the Winter Olympics in the Italian Dolomites and mark your calendar for the next Winter Olympics in the French Alps in 2030!
How far in advance should you plan for the Winter Olympics?
How far in advance should you plan for the Winter Olympics? Pre-registration for early access to ticket sales took place approximately one year in advance. I registered before January 2025 for early access tickets to purchase in February 2025. The advantage of this was that many events had a 20% discount, so I got curling tickets for 40 EUR and Luge and Skeleton tickets for 60 EUR. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get the tickets you want at the first ticketing event. The tickets are released in batches and there are many options to purchase tickets for new events. During my first ticket access, I only obtained curling tickets. On the second ticket release I was able to get bobsled, luge and skeleton tickets. That said, even if you don’t plan a year in advance, you can buy tickets much closer to the actual start of the event. I bought downhill skiing tickets a week before the event!
Can you resell your tickets?
Yes! You can sell your tickets through the official ticketing platform approximately 1-2 months before the event. This also means that you can resell tickets for the original ticket price up to 2 months before the event. The process is quite simple and you only pay a small platform fee to resell your tickets.
How to Experience the Winter Olympics – Where to Stay
I believe the hardest part of experiencing the Winter Olympics is finding accommodation. For months we were looking for an Airbnb or hotel near Cortina. The prices were astronomical for the few seats available. We ended up booking an apartment for 5 nights for around 2400 EUR (480 EUR per night) for 4 adults and 2 children. Not cheap! However, the apartment was in the center of Attachmentswhich was about 1 hour drive from Cortina. That meant driving 2 hours each way every day to see Olympic events. And we alternated events and childcare, which meant my parents had to drive alone for an hour on mountain roads in the dark at night. Luckily, I found another apartment in the city about a month before the Olympics San Vito di Cadore15 minutes outside Cortina. It was a 5-minute walk from the Olympic shuttle bus to Cortina and also a 5-minute drive from the San Vito ski slopes. My advice would be to book free cancellation accommodation and then keep actively looking until the Olympics. New options appear! And try to sit as close as possible to the shuttle buses to the event location.
How to experience the Winter Olympics – Combine skiing with Olympic events
What made our Winter Olympics so fun was that we combined skiing with Olympic events. For this reason, we consciously chose to host Olympic events in Cortina, and not, for example, in Milan. If we had chosen Milan it would have been a completely different trip – there was no skiing involved. Since the Olympic events take place in Cortina and the town of Cortina is therefore very difficult to reach, we opted to ski in San Vito di Cadore instead. It was fantastic! We basically had the mountain to ourselves! We ski in the morning and afternoon until about 3pm and then head back to our Airbnb to get ready for the evening Olympic events. All of our Olympic events started at 6pm or 7pm for the most part, so leaving about 2-3 hours earlier was ideal so as not to be rushed. From San Vito it was a short 15 minute bus ride to Cortina, but then you had to walk about 20 minutes to the Olympic stadiums and events. We alternated between Olympic events and childcare. One evening my parents were going to watch the kids and my husband and I were going to the Olympics. The next night we would do the opposite. It worked pretty well!
Can children participate in the Winter Olympics?
So yes, children can go to the Olympics. However, each person entering must have a ticket. This means that children (even babies!) all pay full price. Events such as tobogganing, bobsledding and alpine skiing all take place outdoors. Only curling (of the events we saw) was indoors. It can be quite cold! Especially at night. For each event we dressed in full ski gear (ski pants, long underwear, ski jackets). I think the kids would have been pretty miserable late at night in the cold. If you have to take the kids to an event, dress warmly, try to attend indoor events and focus on the day rather than the evening.
How to experience the Winter Olympics – Transportation during the events
We rented a car to take us from Venice airport to San Vito di Cadore. However, to actually attend the Olympic events, we took the Olympic shuttle bus and didn’t use the car at all. Don’t plan on driving into the Olympic host cities! They are closed to everyone except the residents. A few months before the Olympic Games they share the park & ride locations and shuttle buses. We booked parking spaces for the park & rides; However, since we were just walking to the shuttle bus stops, the Park & Ride tickets were completely unnecessary. Oh yes! Better safe than sorry! If you need to drive to the shuttle bus, make sure you reserve parking in advance. There were also city buses that entered Cortina and transported those going to the Olympics for free. So between the city buses and the special Olympic shuttle buses, there are plenty of ways to reach the Olympic host city.
And that was our experience attending the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy! We hope this post gives you more insight into how to experience the Winter Olympics and we look forward to the next Winter Olympics in the French Alps in 2030!
