On a mile-high terrace, I took my seat at an old wooden table, shed a layer, and slid on my ski goggles to look up at the sun. A paraglider on skis was dipping between the peaks of Tofana and Cristallo in Cortina’s Ampezzo Valley. This is winter in Northern Italy.
It’s pink rock spires at sunset over an Aperol Spritz and antipasto, or apple strudel if you prefer. And it’s an adrenaline rush: On that day this past January, I’d just skied to the mid-mountain Restaurant Col Drusciè down what will be the Milano-Cortina 2026 Women’s giant slalom course.
Winter sports fans and fans of Italy have so much to look forward to over the next year. The Olympics are coming to Northern Italy’s majestic Alpine region, showcasing utterly charming mountain towns and villages that may not be on every traveler’s radar. The 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games kicked off in Turin in Italy’s northwest Piedmont region on March 8 and will run until March 15. Then, the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics will take place in the UNESCO World Heritage–designated Dolomites next year, running from February 6 to 22, 2026, followed by the Winter Paralympic Games, from March 6 to 15.
So if you want to get in on the Olympics action by attending the games, or would like to plan an Olympics-inspired Italian mountain escape for skiing, hiking, biking, climbing, or après-ski sipping, before or after the events, these are the Italian villages hosting the events that are absolutely worth checking out.
The easy-to-access ski village of Bardonecchia is conveniently located on the outskirts of Turin in Piedmont, Italy.
Photo by MikeDotta/Shutterstock
Bardonecchia
On the outskirts of Turin, Italy’s fourth largest city, is Bardonecchia—an easily accessible family ski village hosting snowboarding and other events in the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Where four valleys meet at towering peaks, this Romanesque town was established in 1871 as a tourism destination along the route that connects the French and Italian Alps via the nine-mile Fréjus Rail Tunnel. From here, you can still travel via the high-speed mountain railway system to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, home to Vanoise National Park and Les 3 Vallées ski resort.
Where to stay: Chaberton Lodge & Spa, in the Sauze d’Oulx ski resort area, is a chic mountain escape that overlooks lakes, meadows, and ski trails. Sauze d’Oulx was the site of the freestyle-skiing events during the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, and it’s a quick drive to Bardonecchia. Visiting in summer? Stop by the nearby Exilles Fortress, which dates back to the seventh century, with panoramic mountain views.
Bormio is as charming in summer as it is in winter.
Photo by Michelle Heimerman
Bormio
Like most northern Italian mountain towns, Bormio is as enticing snow-capped as it is in summer. It’s in a little gem of a valley on the northern tip of the Lombardian Alps—five hours to Cortina and two and a half to Milan by car—that has been known since the Roman Empire era for wellness. Bormio is home to nine natural thermal springs that feed into three wellness spas: Bormio Terme Spa, QC Terme Bagni Vecchi, and QC Terme Bagni Nuovi. With valley vineyards and 400 miles of hiking trails, it’s no wonder this place was nicknamed “Magnificent Land.” Here, the legendary Stelvio slope, one of the most challenging runs in the world, will also be the location of the Winter Olympics 2026 men’s downhill competition (and it previously hosted other Alpine Ski World Championships and World Cup races).
Where to stay: For centuries, locals have been plunging into the Roman baths and hot springs accessible via old caves at QC Terme Bagni Vecchi, which is now also a stylish wellness retreat and hotel within the Stelvio National Park. For dinner, try the in-town Osteria La Bajona, the city’s oldest restaurant, which dates back to the 1300s; it offers traditional hearty alpine food and famous regional Nebbiolo wines.
The small town of Cortina packs a big punch when it comes to mountain landscapes and charm.
Photo by M. Vinuesa/Shutterstock
Cortina
A new bobsleigh and skeleton track is currently being built, and the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium is getting a facelift. I saw the progress while riding down on the Tofana Cortina cable car above this snow globe of a village. Along cobblestone streets, mannequins in windows are decked out in ski goggles and fur. There’s the famous après-ski requisites like Hotel de la Poste, and, of course, Cortina’s iconic bell tower, which you might recognize from the 1956 Cortina Olympics—the first Winter Olympics televised to a multinational audience.
While you can fit only so many people in a small Italian mountain village, what helps is that Milano-Cortina 2026 spans the biggest space of any Olympics in history, with events from the biathlon to cross-country skiing spread across nine mountain villages, including Milan.
“Cortina is a quite small town in the mountains, and the Olympic project could have a huge impact,” Michele Di Gallo, the general manager of Fondazione Cortina, which is responsible for all Cortina Olympics venues, explained to me that day on the slopes. “That’s why this is a special edition of the Olympics and Paralympics. Host villages are spread across four main touristic regions of northern Italy.” Driving over steep, narrow mountain passes for hours between most of them isn’t going to be easy (it’s nearly five hours between Cortina and Milan alone). But you can cover a lot of ground on skis, in a cable car, and even on skis pulled by a horse, or by biking across the 12 interconnected Dolomiti Superski resorts.
Where to stay: The Faloria Mountain Spa Resort in Cortina d’Ampezzo is tucked into the quiet, shady side of the valley and thus has incredible snow. This secret luxury escape feels like home, but with a former Michelin-starred chef in the kitchen. On a multiday ski safari, let Dolomite Mountains tour company guide you to cozy alpine huts, such as Restaurant Col in Drusciè (with an observatory for stargazing) and Rifugio Scoiattoli, overlooking the famous Cinque Torri (five towers).
In La Villa, the aprés-ski scene is as impressive as the snowy slopes.
Photos by Michelle Heimerman
La Villa
Conveniently located 45 minutes to either the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic village of Cortina d’Ampezzo or Anterselva/Antholz, where the biathlon will be held, is La Villa in the valley of Alta Badia. This is the beating heart of the Dolomites and home to some of the region’s best ski resorts and nature parks. The village of La Villa readily connects visitors to the famous Sellaronda trail, which takes skiers of any ability on a scenic tour of the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage site, and is open in the summer for hiking or biking. (It’s where I skied down the Gran Risa slope, host of the Alpine World Cup). I couldn’t leave without hitting the Dolomites’ highest peak, the melting Marmolada glacier, under which Austro-Hungarian soldiers dug tunnels during World War I. Go while you can! Ride the gondola to Europe’s highest museum with a skilled Dolomite Mountains mountaineer guide to learn about their war uniforms, weapons, and household items they survived on, found in mint condition as the glacier melted. La Villa is also just an hour and a half from the site of the 2026 Olympic ski jumping in Predazzo and Olympic cross-country skiing in Tesero. The soul of Alta Badia really belongs to its inhabitants, a 2,000-year-old community still speaking a Latin dialect that occupies cabins built by their ancestors centuries ago. These 30,000 mountain people carry on traditional farming in the shadow of world-class ski resorts.
Where to stay: In the center of La Villa, Hotel Antines is an easy walk to the chairlift and delivers beautiful mountain views and traditional Ladin meals of dumplings, speck, spaetzle, and fresh alpine cheeses and vegetables—next to music by the fireplace. Go on a Sommelier on the Slopes hut-to-hut wine tour and dine at the Ladin Bio Lüch Ruances. You won’t regret it.
The village of Sestriere, located on the border with France, accesses the Via Lattea ski area.
MikeDotta/Shutterstock
Sestriere
The Italy-France border town of Sestriere sits within the ski area of Via Lattea, which translates to “the Milky Way.” This valley village was established by Giovanni Agnelli, the founder of Fiat, as a holiday retreat for his factory workers, and it became Italy’s first ski resort in 1928. (Fiat’s former test track in Turin was converted in 2022 into one of Europe’s largest gardens.) Sestriere also hosted the World Cup this past February, and it’s hosting alpine skiing and snowshoeing during the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
Where to Stay: Feel like an Olympian in the Villaggio Olimpico Sestriere, a hotel originally built to house athletes for the 2006 Winter Olympics at the base of the slopes. For dinner, immerse yourself in local Northern Italian flavors like Barolo-braised beef at Ristorante Caropepe.
