Italy Ski Resort Opening Dates 2026/27

> In a nutshell: Italy’s ski resorts open on a rolling schedule from late October through early December 2026. Breuil-Cervinia leads the way on 24 October, thanks to its glacier connection to Zermatt, while Cortina d’Ampezzo — co-host of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics — opens sector by sector rather than on a single date.

Italy’s resorts split roughly into two groups: the glacier-connected giants that open weeks ahead of everyone else, and the Dolomites resorts that open on a more typical late-November-to-December schedule but bring their own headline events, from new lift openings to Olympic-legacy hype in Cortina.

Below is when 13 of alpy.com’s confirmed partner resorts in Italy are opening for 2026/27, sorted by date, followed by a closer look at five of the most popular. Resort names link to that resort’s rental shops on alpy.com.

All dates sourced from each resort’s own official site or lift company, weather permitting. “Unconfirmed” rows are flagged where the resort hadn’t yet published a 2026/27 date at the time of writing.

Breuil-Cervinia — Opens 24 October 2026

Breuil-Cervinia (2,050m, skiing up to around 3,880m at Plateau Rosà) is officially confirmed to open on 24 October 2026, running through to 2 May 2027 — a full month before most of the Alps even think about opening. The resort’s direct lift connection to the Zermatt glacier on the Swiss side is what makes this possible; Cervinia markets itself around “eleven months of skiing, an endless season.” The nearby Valtournenche sector opens later, around 28 November, with Chamois and Torgnon following through late November and December.

Alpy Tip: Late October in Cervinia means genuinely quiet slopes — most of Europe isn’t skiing yet, so it’s a good window if you want space over crowds.

Cortina d’Ampezzo — No Fixed Date, Sectors Open Late November Into December

Cortina d’Ampezzo (1,224m, skiing up to around 3,244m at Cima Tofana) doesn’t publish a single opening date — its own tourism consortium confirms that lift and slope openings vary by sector, with the Tofana, Faloria-Cristallo, and Lagazuoi-5 Torri areas each opening on different days through late November and early December. What Cortina lacks in a fixed date, it makes up for in December events: a Cortina Fashion Weekend (4–8 December), the traditional San Nicolò and Krampus procession (5 December), and a Cortina Snowboard World Cup (12 December 2026) — all ahead of Cortina’s turn as a Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics host venue.

Alpy Tip: Because Cortina opens sector by sector, check which specific area is running before booking accommodation — Tofana and Faloria-Cristallo don’t necessarily open on the same day.

Selva Val Gardena — Sellaronda Opens Around 27 November 2026

Selva Val Gardena (Wolkenstein, base around 1,563m, skiing up to around 2,950–3,179m in the Sella group) sees its Sellaronda circuit open first, expected around 27 November 2026, with the rest of the local Val Gardena lifts following around 4 December. The wider Dolomiti Super Ski area runs a “Dolomiti Super Première” promotional pass for the opening window, valid from 27/28 November through 19 December 2026.

Alpy Tip: If you’re timing a trip to the Dolomiti Super Première pass window, book your rental gear in advance too — the promotional pricing draws an early-season crowd.

Riscone (Kronplatz) — Expected Around 28 November 2026

Riscone, the base village for the Kronplatz (Plan de Corones) ski area (around 956–1,000m, skiing up to 2,275m), is expected to open around 28 November 2026, also inside the Dolomiti Super Première promotional window. The headline story this season is infrastructure, not an event: three new lifts are debuting, including a ten-seater cable car from Riscone itself, the Ruis cable car, and a new eight-seater Dolomiti chairlift — a meaningful upgrade to how quickly you can move around the mountain.

Alpy Tip: With three new lifts debuting, expect shorter queues at peak points this season compared to previous years — worth factoring in if lift queues have put you off Kronplatz before.

Sestriere — Expected Around 5 December 2026

Sestriere (2,035m), part of the wider Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski area that stretches into France, is expected to open around 5 December 2026, running to around 11 April 2027. The Via Lattea’s linked terrain spans from 1,357m up to around 2,840m across multiple villages, making Sestriere a solid base for a full-week trip once the season is properly running, even without an early-season headline event of its own. The neighbouring Via Lattea village of Sauze d’Oulx is confirmed for the same 5 December opening.

Alpy Tip: Sestriere’s date is less independently confirmed than Cervinia’s — check the resort’s own updates in the two weeks before you travel if you’re planning an early-December trip.

Why These Dates Aren’t Fixed

Every date above depends on snow conditions, and confidence varies resort to resort — Breuil-Cervinia’s 24 October date is a direct official quote and the most reliable on this list, and Livigno, Courmayeur, and La Thuile’s 28 November dates are similarly solid; Sestriere, Selva Val Gardena, and Riscone’s dates come from secondary sources citing official plans rather than a directly confirmed page, and Cortina deliberately doesn’t commit to one date at all. Madonna di Campiglio and Passo Tonale hadn’t published a 2026/27 date at the time of writing, so treat those as genuinely open questions rather than estimates. None of Italy’s resorts on this list has a dedicated, named opening-day party in the style of an Ischgl concert — the closest equivalents are the Dolomiti Super Première promotional pass and Cortina’s cluster of December events.

Booking Your Gear Before You Go

Whether you’re chasing Cervinia’s October opening or timing a trip to Cortina’s December events, alpy.com’s partner shops across Breuil-Cervinia, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Selva Val Gardena, Riscone, Sestriere, and the rest of the resorts above let you book your ski or snowboard rental online in advance, so your equipment is fitted and ready whenever your resort’s lifts start turning.

For more on early-season skiing, see our guide to summer glacier skiing in Europe, or check the Cortina d’Ampezzo ski pass and piste map and full Cortina d’Ampezzo resort guide before you go.

FAQ

Which Italian ski resort opens first for 2026/27? Breuil-Cervinia, officially confirmed to open 24 October 2026, thanks to its glacier connection to Zermatt on the Swiss side.

Does Cortina d’Ampezzo have a fixed opening date? No — Cortina’s official tourism consortium confirms its sectors (Tofana, Faloria-Cristallo, Lagazuoi-5 Torri) open on different days through late November and early December, rather than all at once.

What is the Dolomiti Super Première? A promotional ski-pass window covering the Dolomiti Super Ski area’s opening period, running from 27/28 November to 19 December 2026, spanning resorts including Selva Val Gardena and Riscone/Kronplatz.

When do Livigno, Courmayeur, and La Thuile open for 2026/27? All three are confirmed to open on 28 November 2026.

What’s new at Kronplatz (Riscone) this season? Three new lifts are debuting for 2026/27, including a ten-seater cable car from Riscone, the Ruis cable car, and a new eight-seater Dolomiti chairlift.

Italy’s opening dates stretch from Cervinia’s late-October glacier start to Cortina’s deliberately flexible sector-by-sector approach, with Madonna di Campiglio and Passo Tonale still to confirm their 2026/27 dates. If you want the earliest snow, Cervinia is the clear pick; if you’re chasing events and Olympic-year atmosphere, December in Cortina is hard to beat.

Planning a trip to Italy this season? Compare partner shops and book your ski or snowboard rental now → Search resort options across Breuil-Cervinia, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Selva Val Gardena, Riscone, Sestriere, Livigno, Courmayeur, and more. Save up to 65% compared to walk-in resort prices, with free cancellation until the day before. Over 12,000 customers have rated alpy.com 4.7 stars on Trustpilot.