The internationally renowned tourist center of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy's most popular winter sports resort, lies at the eastern end of the Strada delle Dolomiti in a wide valley enclosed by the high peaks of the Dolomites. The Winter Olympics 1956
Since hosting the Winter Olympics in 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo has become known as the Italian ski resort for the jet set. Expensive furs and fancy cars with shops to match dot the town that boasts a picturesque center and access to three separate ski areas. A haven for beginners and intermediates, the town is flanked by two mountain ridges with Mount Cristallo (a 9,613-foot peak) and Faloria (at 7,690 feet) to the east and Tofana (9,317 feet) and Pocol and Socrepes (7,487 feet) to the west. These areas are linked by bus and taxi but schedules are not necessarily that convenient so skiers tend to pick an area for a morning or afternoon or the entire day and try another area the next day.
Cortina is also connected with the Dolimiti Superski lift ticket. Experts don't have much terrain in this fragmented resort but the 52 lifts offer almost 150kms of groomed runs usually with relatively short lift lines outside peak periods.