Thinking of planning a trip to the 2026 Winter Olympics but need to know about location, tickets, venues and more? We’re here to help.

Attending the Olympics is a bucket-list goal for many sports fans, and with good reason. The event only comes along once every two years — and if you’re specifically targeting either the Summer or Winter Games, then you have to wait four years between events.

Each Games is typically held in or near a major international destination, one that many would love to visit regardless of the presence of the Olympics.

It’s one of only a handful of sporting events that attracts the entire world’s attention, with the vast majority of countries sending at least one participant to each Olympics.

And, of course, there’s the pageantry that comes with the two-week spectacle of competition in dozens of sports, the awarding of medals and the emergence of little-known athletes to international fame and glory.

I’m fortunate to have attended one Winter Olympics — the 2014 edition held in Sochi, Russia. It remains the longest trip I’ve taken to date from my home in Southern California, but the effort involved in getting there was absolutely worth it. It was indeed a bucket-list trip.

But, I’m reviving my Olympic wanderlust and have my eyes set on traveling to attend the 2026 Games, too. I wouldn’t have to journey quite as far this time, but I’m excited to go somewhere international nonetheless.

With any trip like this, it helps to know all of the logistics involved in attending an Olympics so that you can know what to expect as you make your plans. That’s where this guide comes in. Here’s everything you need to know about attending the 2026 Winter Games.

When will the 2026 Winter Olympics take place?

The Games will officially take place from February 6 to 22, 2026. While Feb. 6, a Friday, is the date that the Opening Ceremony will be held, a handful of competitions will begin as early as Feb. 4.

The Closing Ceremony is on Feb. 22 and officially closes the Games.

As is customary, the Winter Paralympics will follow, using the same sites utilized for the Olympics. In 2026, they will be held from March 6-15.

What is the location for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

For the first time, two cities are co-hosting the Games: the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy are the two main locations for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Officially, the Games are branded as “Milano Cortina 2026” — the first word being the Italian name for Milan.

Cortina d’Ampezzo is located in the Dolemites mountain range of the Italian Alps, and is notable for having hosted the Winter Olympics once already, back in 1956. Some of the venues and facilities in use for that event have endured and will be utilized in 2026 as well.

An important fact for travelers and Olympic fans to know right off the bat: Milan and Cortina are more than 400 kilometers apart (about 250 miles), and because Cortina is in the mountains, any route between the two involves windy roads and paths. We’ll detail how Olympic organizers intend to manage transportation between the two cities below.

Several other sites will host Olympic events: Bormio and Livigno are among the Alpine resort towns holding competitions. And the city of Verona will host the Closing Ceremony in its historic outdoor stadium.

What sports will be held during the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Competitions during the Winter Olympics are usually split between games held in indoor arenas and outdoor pursuits, mostly on mountain slopes and paths.

Ice hockey and figure skating are major draws for any Winter Games. That is especially true for the men’s tournament in 2026, which will welcome players from the National Hockey League (NHL) for the first time in 12 years.

Other indoor events include speed skating (long-track and short-track, held at different venues) and curling.

Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, the Nordic combined and biathlon are well-known disciplines held on mountain slopes. Ski jumping, snowboarding and freestyle skiing take place on man-made slopes in outdoor venues.

Sliding events such as bobsleigh, skeleton and luge are held on custom-built ice tracks.

One sport is making its Olympic debut in 2026: Ski mountaineering, which combines uphill climbing with downhill skiing.

Where are the venues for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

It has become customary for Olympics to be organized into venue clusters, making it easier for fans attending the Games to identify where events are being held and to reach them. In 2026, here are the designated clusters and the venues within:

Milan

• San Siro Stadium (Opening Ceremony)
• Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena (ice hockey)
• Milano Ice Skating Arena (figure skating, short-track speed skating)
• Milano Ice Park (ice hockey, speed skating)

Cortina d’Ampezzo

• Cortina Sliding Centre (bobsleigh, skeleton, luge)
• Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (curling)
• Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre (women’s Alpine skiing)

Anterselva

• Anterselva Biathlon Arena (biathlon)

Bormio

• Stelvio Ski Centre (men’s Alpine skiing, ski mountaineering)

Livigno

• Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park (freestyle skiing)
• Livigno Snow Park (freestyle skiing and snowboard)

Predazzo

• Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (ski jumping, Nordic combined)

Tesero

• Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium (cross-country skiing, Nordic combined)

Verona

• Closing Ceremony (Verona Arena)

How can fans buy tickets for the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The official 2026 Winter Olympics ticket site is live, but as of March 2025, tickets are no longer available via general sale after the initial window opened in February.

Tickets for the 2026 Paralympic Games are currently available through this site.

Tickets remain available through the 2026 Winter Olympics hospitality site, where event admission can be purchased along with a hospitality experience and optional accommodation.

It’s expected that an official ticket resale site will become live in late 2025, where fans who have already purchased tickets through Milano Cortina 2026 can place them for resale. While technically a secondary ticket market, sellers will not be allowed to overprice their tickets.

For any of the above sites, fans are required to create a user account with Milano Cortina 2026.

If you missed the initial ticket window, it’s recommended that you either explore the official hospitality site or wait for the official resale site to become available. Secondary ticket sites not affiliated with the Olympics will likely come with significant markups in price and aren’t guaranteed to deliver legitimate tickets.

A number of independent agencies offer Olympics travel packages with hotel, event tickets and hospitality included. Itinerant Fan has a relationship with Roadtrips, which offers such packages — contact us at the email provided to learn more.

How can fans get to Milano, Cortina and other host sites?

Milan is a major destination in Italy and thus is served by numerous international flights, including from New York and other big cities in the eastern United States.

Malpensa International Airport (MXP) is Milan’s primary international hub and the destination for travelers coming in on long-haul international flights.

Linate Airport (LIN) is much closer to the city center — about four miles away, compared to 26 for Malpensa — but also much smaller. Because of that, it only serves domestic flights and flights within Europe.

For travelers headed to resorts in the Dolemites and other Alpine towns, Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) is an option. It’s located in the city of Bergamo, about 30 miles northeast of Milan.

If you find the cost of air travel into Milan prohibitive from where you’re coming from, consider flying to another major city and taking the train in. For example, Rome is three hours away by train, while Zurich is 3½ hours away and Paris 7½ hours away. The Milano Centrale train station is located about three kilometers from the city center.

Cortina and the other mountain resort towns are only reachable by motor vehicle. Bus services operate from Milan and other northern Italian cities. This is expected to ramp up significantly for the Olympics — more on that below.

Where should fans stay for the Games?

That depends on where you think you’ll want to spend most of your time — though at this late stage, it’s likely your options are dwindling.

Because of the distance between Milan and the Alpine resort towns, it’s recommended that fans consider staying in the mountain locations if their primary interest for the 2026 Winter Olympics lies in the mountain events. However, Cortina is not a large city as is, and much of its lodging inventory will be used by athletes, delegations and other Olympic officials.

If accommodation in the mountain region is a necessity, a hospitality package will likely be the most convenient option, but those will come at a premium compared to independent bookings.

Milan and the surrounding region has accommodations for every budget, ranging from high-end luxury hotels to apartment rentals on AirBnb, Vrbo and similar sites. Many options remain available, and even the official Milano Cortina 2026 site displays AirBnb listings.

How can fans get around during the Games?

Milan is served by a robust subway and tram network, which will come in handy during the Olympics as well. Most major sites in the city are easily reachable by public transit, including most of the venues in play.

For the Olympics, a dedicated bus network is planned connecting the venues and cities, but few details are currently available. According to the official website, transportation logistics details will be released in September 2025.