The peaks of the Tofane, Cristallo, Pomagagnon and Sorapiss surround it, and the whole area is part of the UNESCO Dolomites World Heritage Site. The town has about five thousand residents, and many more in the holidays, with elegant shops, bars and a long history as a mountain resort.
It sits on the Great Dolomites Road, which runs from Bolzano to Cortina over the Costalunga and Pordoi passes and the Falzarego Pass, which at 2,105 metres leaves Cortina to the west. Further afield, the Passo Giau at 2,236 metres, the Tre Croci and the road to Misurina and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo are all close. These are some of the most beautiful mountain roads in Europe, with hairpins, tunnels and walls of rock, and the surface is generally good. They are also popular, so weekdays and early mornings are best, and in July and August the passes can be crowded. The roads are normally open from late spring to October.
Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956 and is a co-host of the 2026 Games, and its Olympic past is visible in the ski jump, the ice stadium and the old bobsleigh run. Films have often used it, including a James Bond adventure, For Your Eyes Only, and an early Pink Panther film. The culture is Ladin as much as Italian, and the Regole d'Ampezzo, an ancient communal body, still manages much of the pastureland and forest.
Fuel is available in Cortina, with stations on the main road, and it is wise to fill up before the passes. The town has plenty of food: casunziei, a beetroot-filled pasta, and Tyrolean-style dishes like canederli dumplings and venison are common, and cafes serve excellent pastry and hot chocolate.
Sit on a bench in the main street at the end of the day. The rock walls turn pink and gold in the evening, a spectacle the Dolomites call the enrosadira.