5 Olympic Mountain Towns In Italy You Don’t Know About—But Will Soon

For the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics (February 6–22, 2026) the main host venues will be—no surprise—Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. But there’s a lot happening beyond these iconic destinations—five mountain resorts in far northern Italy will stage a dazzling menu of competitions ranging from men’s Alpine races, snowboarding and biathlon to ski jumping, making the upcoming Olympics the most geographically widespread Games in history.

Get to know these stunning towns—some are unfamiliar to travelers outside Europe—not only as backdrop to all the medal competitions, but as splendid sports havens with top skiing and winter sports facilities, rustic mountain cuisine, high-altitude vineyards and potent mountain spirits and liqueurs.

LIVIGNOEvents: Snowboard and freestyle skiing

Border towns can offer unique travel experiences—the chance to hop between two countries quickly, intriguing cultural and culinary mash-ups with some ‘where-exactly-am-I?’ moments thrown in the mix when road signs appear in two languages and menus offer both goulash and ravioli. In Livigno, a year-round sports haven, the prevailing vibe is hybrid Italian—the Swiss border is only 12 kilometers away. Located in the Alta Valtellina, a high-altitude valley in northern Lombardy, this once hard-to-get-to area, cut off from the outside world during long winters, developed its own Alpine style and traditions which survive to this day..

Called “Little Tibet” because of the altitude (1,816 meters), the town will host snowboarding and freestyle skiing competitions at the Livigno Snow Park and Aerial and Moguls Park during the upcoming Games, where a total of 26 medals will be awarded. For those visiting after the Olympics, the winter attractions include 115 kilometers of ski slopes within the two parks, and some 30 kilometers of cross-country ski tracks in a nearby valley. Livigno is also a great shopping destination as it has long been a duty-free zone (no VAT) for many items.

What to eat and drink: Substantial first courses include pizzoccheri, a local buckwheat pasta cooked with cheese and potatoes, and polenta Livignasca. Desserts, like Torta Engadinese, a nut cake, or Bisciola, the area’s version of panettone often soaked in grappa, are rich and tempting. Local herbal liqueurs/amaros like Tanéda and Bràulio, or such DOCG reds as Sforzato di Valtellina (made from dried grapes) and Valtellina Superiore are the way to go beverage-wise.

Stay: The Hotel Alp Wellness Mota Hotel and Hotel Lac Salin Spa & Mountain Resort offer ski-in/ski-out options. For grand luxe, St. Moritz, about an hour’s drive away, is home to the iconic Badrutt’s Palace.

BORMIOEvents: Men’s Alpine Skiing and Ski Mountaineering

Some of the most closely watched skiing events in the Olympics—the Men’s Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom and Combined—will take place in Bormio; it will also be the site where the men’s and women’s Ski Mountaineering (Sprint and Mixed Relay) competitions make their debut.

All Alpine races will be held on the Pista Stelvio, a slick, difficult World Cup course known for its dramatic jumps and steep (60%) gradient. The Associated Press recently predicted that the upcoming Olympic downhill on the Stelvio will be “one of the toughest in the past 30 years.” (Italian ski legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Alberto Tomba won a World Cup race on this course in 1995.) But recreational skiers coming to Bormio will have no problem accessing less challenging terrain, with 23 of the resort’s 30 slopes falling into the blue or red categories (beginner or intermediate) and 7 pistes classified as black for expert skiiers.

Unlike Livigno whose mountain locale kept it isolated for centuries, Bormio sat on an important trade route connecting Venice and northern parts of Europe. The flow of goods allowed the village to connect with the outside world and flourish during the Middle Ages. In the centro storico, there are landmarks to the town’s ancient prosperity and logistical importance, like the the Torre delle Ore, or clock tower; a 14th-century stone bridge; the frescoed Chiesa di Santo Spirito; and frescoed buildings along the Via Roma.

The town is also known for its ancient spa culture—Romans came here for wellness cures, which were written about by Pliny, the Elder, and much later Leonardo da Vinci. The Bagni Vecchi, the old baths, have been active since Roman times, but visitors can also head to other spa centers like Bormio Terme. The QC Terme Bagni di Bormio includes the ancient baths and another thermal center, Bagni Nuovi.

What to eat and drink: Bormio is all about robust Valtellina specialties, so in addition to what you’ll find in Livigno, try area favorites like pasta with venison ragout; risotto with steam trout; taròz, a rustic green bean, potato and cheese dish; and sciatt, or cheese fritters. For dessert, sample the apple fritters and fruit tarts. The wine and spirits are similar to what you’ll find in Livigno—hearty Valtellina reds and herbal liqueurs like Bràulio made with area botanicals.

Stay: The QC Terme Grand Hotel Bagni Nuovi, located in a grand Art Nouveau building with indoor and outdoor wellness options, and the QC Hotel Bagni Vecchi with Roman-era baths.

Predazza and TeseroEvents: Cross-country skiing and ski jumping

The Alpine villages of Predazza and Tesero lie in the Dolomites’ Val di Fiemme, one of Europe’s most important Nordic-ski centers. The two towns, about nine kilometers apart, will host 21 medal events. This includes 12 cross-country ski (Tesero) and six ski jumping (Predazzo) competitions.

The area is a big draw for recreational skiiers, as both towns feed into the Dolomiti Superski network, where you can access some 1200 kilometers of Alpine slopes with a single pass. Nordic skiers head to the Cross Country Ski Centre in Lago di Tesero (where the Stadium is located and where Olympic XC-ski events will be held).

The towns are sports-centric, although there’s the Dolomites’ Geological Museum in Predazzo and the Val di Fiemme Observatory (1200 meters) in Tesero, along with ancient churches in both towns to see.

The “Violin Forest,” another name for the Paneveggio Nature Park, is close to Predazzo and well-known for the wood from its red spruce trees used to make Stradivari and other top-brand violins. For a schedule of winter guided tours, go to VisitFiemme.it.

What to eat and drink: Head to one of the rifugi, or mountain huts, for dishes cooked with fresh mountain-to-table ingredients. Among the primi to try—strangolapreti and menudoli pastas, barley risottos and polenta with mushrooms. Sweets’ lovers can dig into apple strudel and Fiemme beer cake. High-altitude wines here include the white Müller Thurgau and the light red Schiava.

Stay: The Aman Rosa Alpina is about 50 kilometers away in San Cassiano.

ANTHOLZEvent: Biathlon

While Antholz is well known to nature tourists in northern Italy and Austria, and to biathlon athletes around the world, it’s very much an under-the-radar destination for many travelers. Nine kilometers from the Austrian border. Antholz, which was under Hapsburg rule for centuries, has been part of Italy for just over a hundred years. Not surprisingly, the Austrian legacy has strongly defined the local culture, and the majority of the population speaks German.

The beauty of the great outdoors is the main draw both in summer and winter for hiking, biking, skiing, even ski mountaineering. (In Antholz, you’ll find Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park, home to many glaciers and 38 mountain summits over 3000 meters.) Antholz’s other claim to fame is the biathlon, a centuries-old Scandinavian sport that combines cross-country prowess and marksmanship. The town’s Südtirol Arena Alto Adige, a large stadium that has hosted international biathlon competitions for years, will be the site of 11 biathlon medal events for men and women.

Visitors to Antholz eager to ski can head to the Kronplatz, a mountain in the Dolomites about 15 kilometers away with 120 kilometers of ski runs ranging from beginner to Black Diamond. Off the slopes there are cultural sites in the area to see like the Messner Mountain Museum Corones designed by Zaha Hadid, which studies the history of mountaineering, and the Lumen Museum, devoted to mountain photography, both atop the Kronplatz.

What to eat and drink: You expect hefty cuisine in mountain areas, and the South Tyrol comes through with such dishes as the ubiquitous canederli, or bread dumplings, and Schlutzer, a stuffed spinach and ricotta pasta, along with goulash, barley soup, and cured meats like speck. The dessert to order is kaisersschmarrn, a shredded pancake served with jam.

The Hugo Spritz (prosecco, elderflower liqueur) is the region’s answer to the Aperol Spritz. Grappas and herbal liqueurs and wines like Gewürztraminer and Kerner produced in high-altitude vineyards are popular.

Stay: The luxury hotel, Alpin Panorama Hotel Hubertus, is nearby.