How to plan a last-minute Winter Olympics trip to Italy 2026

Ski and snow may be far from your mind as you savour the last days of summer, but if you’re thinking of attending the 2026 Winter Olympics in northern Italy come February, there’s no time to waste.

With the right planning, it’s still possible to be a part of the action this winter – where you can hear skis slide across the snow, and the sweet scrape of skates on ice, as over 90 nations compete for medals. But you’ll need to get organised, as events are scheduled to take place in more than a half dozen destinations throughout the region: figure skating will be in Milan, snowboarding in Livigno, and bobsledding in Cortina, for starters. Given that the past two winter Olympics were hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and Beijing, China, athletes and spectators are thrilled to be heading to a more traditional winter sports venue, and one rooted in Olympic lore (Cortina hosted the 1956 Games) – and, there are some exciting storylines to follow, including American skier Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable comeback and the debut of ski mountaineering (a combination of uphill and downhill skiing).

Following the February events, the 2026 Winter Paralympics will kick off on the 6th of March in the Roman Arena in Verona. The closing ceremony will be held on the 15th of March at the Cortina Curling Stadium, where the new medal event, wheelchair curling mixed doubles, will also take place. Cortina will also host para alpine skiing and para snowboarding, while sled hockey will be showcased in Milan and Val di Fiemme will be the stage for the para biathlon and para Nordic skiing events.

Bouncing between these different games won’t be easy, as some venues are separated by hundreds of miles of winding mountain roads. Experts suggest picking and choosing a couple sports within one geographic area.

If you’re eager to see it all unfold live, we’ll pulled together more tips below. Consider this your cheat sheet to planning a last-minute 2026 Winter Olympics trip.

How to book a hotel for the Olympics

Booking your accommodations should be done strategically, says Katia Brida, a travel designer at Dream Beyond, an agency specialising in the Dolomites. Visitors have multiple options for airports, including the main gateways of Milan’s Malpensa and Venice’s Marco Polo airports, plus smaller hubs in Verona and Treviso. But these tiny mountain towns have limited rooms. Hotels that have set aside rooms from Olympic officials will soon be releasing their remaining inventory, which is likely to be scooped up by September.

“When it comes to accommodation, Milan offers a vast number of options for every budget due to its size,” says Brida. “Cortina, however, is a small mountain town with a limited supply of properties, which naturally drives prices higher.” (Hotel rates in Cortina have tripled over Olympic dates, Brida notes.) “Bormio shares this same characteristic, with limited availability and elevated costs,” she adds. “We strongly suggest considering a stay in the nearby valleys of the Dolomites, such as Alta Badia or Val Gardena, but clients will need to be willing to compromise on the travel time to the Olympic race venues.”

If you want to make some turns of your own between events, the Dolomites, a massive network with over 700 miles of slopes, are your best bet, says Brida. The slopes of Bormio will be almost entirely off-limits during the Games, she says, whereas most of the Dolomites will be unaffected, apart from Cortina d’Ampezzo. “If one is interested in both the Games and skiing, the Dolomites can easily offer both by simply moving from one valley to another,” she says. Dream Beyond can help arrange Olympic tickets and lift tickets, as well as curate an itinerary that showcases the culture, heritage, culinary traditions, and natural beauty of the Dolomites. Ski specialist Dolomite Mountains has curated ski-safari itineraries that explore the top slopes while avoiding the crowds of Cortina.

How to get into Olympic events

If you have your heart set on attending a specific event, say the men’s ice hockey finals or women’s curling, scoring reasonably priced tickets may feel like winning the lottery at this stage. Tickets for all events went on sale to the general public in April, and only premium-priced seats remain for the most popular sports. “Multiple sessions are already sold out, and sports like ice hockey, biathlon, figure skating, and speed skating are selling fast,” says Paul Caine, president of On Location, the official Olympic hospitality provider.