Cortina is an absolutely stunning resort town in the Italian dolomites. Here you can find adventure, relaxation, high end stores, great food, beautiful streets, and enjoy the dolce vita Italian mountain style!
We loved visiting Cortina before heading into the mountains to hike the Alta Via 1 through the Dolomites. Here are some tips, ideas, where to stay, and things to do in Cortina D’Ampezzo.
When to Visit
We visited Cortina during the summer for hiking. It was an incredibly beautiful time to be visiting. The weather was amazing. During the day we were able to walk around in shorts and tank tops and in the evening it was throw on a sweatshirt kind of weather, which is my personal favorite.
One really important thing to note about the Dolomites is that they are known for afternoon storms. If you are going to be hiking it’s important to get out early and do your hiking in the morning/early afternoon. We had a lot of storms in the afternoon/evenings during our hike and even a little bit in Cortina itself.
It’s also important in any mountain town climate to have layers and be prepared for anything. Visiting in the winter would be fantastic as well as you have access to many ski resorts from Cortina. The winter Olympics will be here in 2026! We’d love to return to see Cortina in winter someday.
Where to Stay
You have a number of options when visiting Cortina and I will be honest, it’s not the cheapest of places to visit. We booked our travel and hike through Mont Blanc Treks so they set us up with the hotel and I am so glad we trusted them to do this. The hotel we stayed at was fantastic! It was called Hotel Ambra Cortina and it was BEAUTIFUL!
We walked in the door to the most beautiful lobby and charming bar area. We were handed a glass of prosecco to enjoy on arrival and shown to our room with a balcony and mountain view. The room was huge and the bed was so comfortable. The highlight of the room was a giant bathtub with mountain views out the window!
Breakfast here was fantastic as well and the staff of the hotel were so incredibly kind and welcoming. They couldn’t have been more helpful to us before setting off on our adventure through the mountains. We loved staying here. Make sure to book in advance if you want to stay here, we tried to add another night closer to the time of our trip and they were fully booked! If you book through my affiliate link I may earn a small commission at absolutely no cost to you. This helps me to keep this blog completely ad free and share all of my travel knowledge with you!
Things to do/see/eat
Shop at high end stores: This isn’t my usual thing to do, but this town is definitely the spot to be if this interests you. They have Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Dior, the list goes on and on. I thought it was really neat to see the way these stores were designed to fit the mountain vibe! I clearly can not yet afford to shop at any of them!
Shop at less high end stores: Cortina also has some great little touristy shops, souvenir shops, mountaineering shops etc. It’s not ALL about the high end here! Popping in and out of the cute tourist shops can be quite enjoyable too!
Il Vizietto D’ Cortina: I booked this place a month or so before visiting and I was so glad when we showed up in town and saw how cute it was. It was the perfect place for a cozy dinner, you could sit inside or on the terrace and the food was fantastic. I would say it’s important to have a reservation here although you likely don’t have to make it months in advance, a few days should do. They were turning people away throughout our whole dinner so it was definitely a popular spot.
LP 26: This place was always bustling every single time we walked by. It looked perfect, the food looked amazing and everyone was chowing down on prosciutto and drinks. We didn’t get to try it, but I know I would have loved it!
Bars/Wine Bars: There were so many charming bars with mountain views in this town that you could hang out at! The place just has a full on vacation vibe and we loved it in the summer I am sure it would be so cozy and fun in the winter as well!
Mini Golf: Cortina really felt like a family resort area and had the activities to prove it. They had the nicest little mini golf course with incredible mountain views. The course did have a nice little beer and snack hut too for parents to hang while kids were golfing etc. I thought it was such a nice vibe.
Cable Cars: We didn’t experiment with the cable cars during our time here as we were heading out to hike for a week straight… but Cortina also provides you the option to go up into the mountains. You can take the cable cars up to see different viewpoints or to start different hikes in the area. If we had stayed longer we surely would have gone up, even just for the views! It should be noted that cable cars are not super cheap even in the summer months. You should be prepared for $20 USD as an average cost of a cable car ride. However, they are truly stunning, taking you to amazing places, and really are an event in themselves as you get to see incredible views as you ride!
Hiking
If you’re thinking about hiking the Alta Via 1 or want more information about hiking in the Dolomites, cool rifugios, etc then you should check out my blog post here!
Everything you need to know to hike the Alta Via 1
And if you want more information about staying in Rifugios (mountain huts) you should check out my post here!
If you want to know how to prepare for a hiking trip like this you can also check out my post here.
12 Ways to Prepare for a Hiking Adventure
If you’re interested in more places that I loved to stay in Italy check out my free guide.
FREE Guide to my Favorite Stays in Italy
Before & After Cortina
If you’re looking for activities/places to go before and after the Dolomites check out my posts on Venice, Prosecco Hills, and Treviso.
My posts will sometimes contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and book through my links I will earn a small commission at NO COST to you. This helps me to keep sharing out this awesome info! I also will FULLY recommend things that I acquire NO commission on and I just think are truly good recs. You will always get the truth from me here I would never recommend something I didn’t love.