Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: what it means for visitors

The XXV Winter Olympic Games took place across northern Italy from 6 to 22 February 2026, under the name Milano-Cortina 2026. It was a distributed games — no single venue hosted everything, and the events spread across Milan, the Dolomites, Trentino and the Veneto. For visitors coming to Milan, the games brought the opening ceremony to San Siro, ice sports to a new arena in the city’s southeast, and the kind of logistical and crowd pressures that accompanied any large multi-week international event.

This article looks at what the 2026 Winter Olympics meant for Milan during the games, and what the city looks like now that they are over.

The opening ceremony at San Siro

The opening ceremony took place on 6 February 2026 at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza — universally known as San Siro — in the northwest of the city. It was the first Winter Olympics opening ceremony held in a summer sports stadium, a decision that drew comment partly because San Siro holds approximately 80,000 people, making it one of the largest capacity venues ever used for a Winter Games opening. Tickets for the ceremony sold out within hours of general sale opening and ranged from approximately €250 to over €1,000 for the best seats.

The ceremony itself lasted around three hours and was produced to coincide with Italian public television’s peak viewing window. The choreography incorporated references to the Ambrosian tradition of Milan, to the Alpine landscape of the Dolomites, and to Italy’s design and fashion heritage. The Olympic torch, which had been carried across Italian regions in the weeks prior, entered the stadium via a relay involving former Italian athletes.

San Siro is reachable by metro M5 (purple line) to Lotto or San Siro Stadio. During the ceremony and on match days, dedicated shuttle buses also run from Lotto. Journey time from central Milan is around 20–25 minutes.

Ice events at PalaItalia Santa Giulia

Most of the ice sports were hosted at a venue built specifically for the games: PalaItalia Santa Giulia, located in the southeastern district of Rogoredo, approximately 8 kilometres from the Duomo. The arena hosted ice hockey and figure skating events, as well as short-track speed skating. Its capacity was approximately 16,000 for hockey and around 12,000 configured for figure skating.

Santa Giulia is served by metro M3 (yellow line) to Rogoredo, with additional connections via suburban railways. The journey from the Duomo takes roughly 20 minutes by metro.

Ice hockey, with its multiple games per day during round-robin group stages, generated consistent crowds throughout the first ten days of the games. Women’s ice hockey especially attracted strong attendance at events held in the afternoons. Men’s hockey, with teams including Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland and Russia competing under their national flags (per IOC rules), drew the largest audiences as the knockout rounds progressed.

Figure skating events — the short programme and free skate events for pairs, women’s singles, men’s singles and ice dance — were among the hottest tickets of the entire games. Tickets in the final allocation had resale values well above face price.

Speed skating at Oval Baselga di Piné

Speed skating events did not take place in Milan but at the Oval Baselga di Piné in Trentino, about 170 kilometres northeast of Milan. This venue, which exists as a permanent speed skating oval and had hosted World Cup events before the Olympics, was retained as part of the games’ plan to use existing infrastructure where possible.

Getting to Baselga di Piné from Milan involved a two-hour train journey to Trento followed by a bus connection. It was a feasible day trip for those with tickets to speed skating events, but required an early start.

Alpine skiing in Cortina d’Ampezzo

The alpine and sliding sports — downhill skiing, ski jump, bobsled, luge, skeleton and cross-country skiing — were divided between Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites, Val di Fiemme and Anterselva/Antholz. Cortina is approximately 160 kilometres from Venice and considerably further from Milan; the journey from Milan to Cortina by car takes around three hours in good road conditions, longer in winter with mountain traffic.

Cortina was the prestige alpine venue: it had hosted the 1956 Winter Games and its Tre Cime di Lavaredo landscape provided some of the most visually striking competition backdrops of the 2026 games. Tickets for Cortina events — particularly the men’s downhill, which is one of the most prestigious events in alpine skiing — were among the most sought-after of the entire programme.

Medal plaza at Castello Sforzesco

The daily medal ceremonies were held in central Milan at the Medal Plaza positioned in the grounds of Castello Sforzesco. This was a deliberate choice to bring the Olympic celebrations into the city’s most prominent public space. Each evening during the games, the plaza filled with spectators watching medal ceremonies on large outdoor screens, with live musical performances and food and drink stalls set up around the castle walls.

Entry to the Medal Plaza area was free to the public, capacity permitting. In the second and third weeks of the games, when medal numbers increased and Italian athletes were performing well in cross-country skiing and speed skating, queues for the plaza began forming two to three hours before ceremonies started. The atmosphere at the plaza on the evenings when Italian athletes received gold medals was, by most accounts, extraordinary.

What the games meant for visitors during February 2026

If you visited Milan during 6–22 February 2026, you encountered a city operating at an unusual intersection of Winter Olympics, fashion week (womenswear shows also scheduled in February) and normal tourism. The practical effects were significant:

Accommodation prices were approximately thirty to forty per cent above normal February rates, which are already elevated by fashion week. The combination of the two events in the same month created the highest hotel prices the city had seen in years.

Transport infrastructure received genuine upgrades. The metro M4 pink line — connecting Milan Linate Airport directly to the city centre in around twelve minutes — opened in time for the games. Previously, Linate Airport was served only by buses. This was a lasting improvement rather than a temporary measure.

Crowds in central Milan were higher than a typical February, particularly on weekends and on days when major events had just concluded in Cortina or Trentino and athletes and spectators returned to the city. The Duomo area, Brera and the quadrilatero were noticeably busier than normal.

Security in the areas around Olympic venues and Medal Plaza was heightened throughout the games, with bag checks at plaza entries and increased police presence around San Siro on event days.

The post-games legacy for visitors

Now that the games have concluded, several changes to Milan’s infrastructure and cityscape are permanent.

Metro M4 is the most significant lasting improvement. The pink line connects Linate Airport to the city centre in around twelve minutes for €1.50 — a substantial upgrade over the pre-existing bus connections that took thirty to forty-five minutes in traffic. If you are arriving at Linate, M4 is now the obvious first choice.

PalaItalia Santa Giulia has been retained as a permanent indoor arena for concerts, sporting events and exhibitions. It is already part of the city’s event calendar.

Castello Sforzesco and its grounds are unchanged — the plaza installations were temporary — but the visibility that the Medal Plaza gave to the castle during the games contributed to increased tourism interest in the area. Visitor numbers at the castle in the months following the games were higher than the equivalent period in previous years.

For an introduction to the Castello Sforzesco itself and the Brera district that surrounds it, the Brera and Sforza neighbourhood guide covers both in detail. The castle houses several civic museums including the Pinacoteca del Castello and a collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts.

Milan 2026 private winter olympics walking tour

The Olympic walking tour covers the main venues and Medal Plaza locations within Milan, providing context for what the city looked like during the games. It is a useful orientation even for visitors who were not in Milan during February.

Milan highlights walking tour

For those planning upcoming visits to Milan and interested in the city’s major upcoming events, the Design Week 2026 guide covers the next major international event in the city’s calendar. The April Salone del Mobile is very different in character from the Olympics but similarly transformative in its effect on accommodation prices and city atmosphere.

The airports to city centre guide covers the updated transport situation including the M4 line from Linate, which now makes that airport considerably more convenient than it was before the games.

For general city orientation, the metro and transport guide includes the M4 line and current ticket prices. The three-day Milan itinerary is a good starting point for planning a visit that takes in the Olympic venues alongside the city’s permanent highlights.

The Milan city centre guide covers Piazza del Duomo and the surrounding streets where the Medal Plaza’s proximity to Castello Sforzesco placed it. For visitors interested in the stadium itself, the San Siro stadium guide covers how to visit and its history as one of Europe’s great football grounds. The accommodation guide is worth consulting for planning any future February visit, particularly given the fashion week overlap that affects hotel prices during that month.

Frequently asked questions about the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

Where was the opening ceremony held?

The opening ceremony took place at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) in Milan on 6 February 2026. The stadium seats approximately 80,000 people and is reachable by metro M5 to San Siro Stadio.

Which Olympic events were held in Milan?

Ice hockey and figure skating at PalaItalia Santa Giulia in Rogoredo (served by metro M3), and the opening ceremony at San Siro. Speed skating was in Trentino; alpine skiing and sliding sports were in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Where were the medal ceremonies held?

At the Medal Plaza in the grounds of Castello Sforzesco in central Milan. Entry was free for spectators, though queues could be long on popular evenings.

Did the 2026 Olympics improve Milan’s transport links?

Yes. The metro M4 pink line connecting Linate Airport to the city centre opened for the games and is now a permanent addition, cutting airport-to-centre time to around twelve minutes.

Can I still visit the Olympic venues after the games?

PalaItalia Santa Giulia is now a permanent arena hosting concerts and sporting events. San Siro continues operating as a football stadium. Castello Sforzesco and its grounds remain open to the public as they were before the games.

Were the 2026 Winter Olympics fully held in Milan?

No. The games were distributed across multiple locations: Milan (opening ceremony, ice sports), Cortina d’Ampezzo (alpine skiing, sliding sports), Trentino (speed skating, some cross-country skiing) and other Dolomite venues. “Milano-Cortina” reflects the two main cities involved.

What happened to ticket prices and hotel rates during the games?

Hotel rates in Milan during the games were roughly thirty to forty per cent above normal February rates. This was compounded by fashion week, which also falls in February, creating the highest accommodation prices the city had seen in many years.