FLORENCE MEDIA

Where to go skiing from Florence this winter

The nearest skiing to Florence is Abetone, about an hour and fifty minutes by car, with the Cimone a little further on the Emilian side. For reliable snow and big terrain, the Dolomites are four hours away: Val Gardena, Cortina and Madonna di Campiglio. Cervinia, five hours, is the high-altitude option for early and late season.

By Florence Media · Updated 4 November 2026

All prices and dates below come from the resorts’ own 2026/27 price lists and announcements, read in early November 2026. Openings depend on snow, especially in the Apennines, so check the lift status before you drive.

First, which kind of trip

There are really two choices from Florence. The Apennines, Abetone and the Cimone, are close enough for a day out and cheap, but they are low mountains and the snow comes and goes. The Alps are four to five hours away, need a night at least, and in exchange give you terrain that goes on for days and snow you can count on.

If you have one free Saturday, go to Abetone. If you have a long weekend, go to the Dolomites.

Abetone, the day trip

Abetone and Val di Luce

Getting there
About 90 km, an hour and fifty minutes by car via Pistoia and the old Modena road
Size
Around 25 runs and 17 lifts across Abetone, Val di Luce, Ovovia and Pulicchio, with Doganaccia above Cutigliano on a separate pass
Lift pass
51 euro on weekdays last season. The 2026/27 season pass is 790 euro
Season
Planned 4 December 2026 to 11 April 2027, snow permitting

Abetone is where Florentines learned to ski, and it still feels like that: a village on a pass, wooden hotels, children in ski school, very little pretence. Val di Luce on the far side is the newer, wider bowl and usually holds the snow best.

Eat down the road in Cutigliano rather than at the top. It is fifteen minutes away and you will remember the food.

Trattoria da Fagiolino

Where
Via Carega 1, Cutigliano, about fifteen minutes below Abetone
What it is
A family trattoria with a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the 2026 guide. Tuscan mountain cooking, handmade pasta, mushrooms, tripe
Price
€€

Rifugio della Saida

Where
Via del Libro Aperto 1, Melo, above Cutigliano
What to order
The tortelli, with ragù or with butter and sage
Note
Phone before going in winter, hours change with the snow

Val di Luce Spa Resort

Where
Val di Luce, at the foot of the slopes
Why stay
You walk out of the hotel onto the snow, and there is a spa for afterwards. Reopens for winter in December
Price
€€€

Hotel Bellavista

Where
Via Brennero 383, in Abetone village
Why stay
A nineteenth century villa that belonged to a Florentine noble family, about 100 metres from the lifts. Rooms are simple, the public rooms are not
Price
€€

Cimone, the Emilian side

Cimone

Getting there
Around two hours fifteen by car, to Sestola or Montecreto
Base areas
Passo del Lupo, Pian del Falco, Lago della Ninfa, Montecreto
Lift pass
44 euro on weekdays, 57 at weekends and over Christmas, plus a 3 euro card

The Cimone is the biggest ski area in the Apennines and a little higher than Abetone, which is why people from Bologna and Modena come here rather than to Tuscany. The weekday pass is the cheapest full day of skiing in this whole article.

The food is the other reason. This is tigelle and gnocco fritto country, and the mountain restaurants are as good as anything in the valley.

Locanda Zita

Where
Piazza San Giorgio 6, in the medieval hamlet of Vesale, a few km from Sestola
What it is
A stone and wood inn with a restaurant and eleven rooms. Handmade tortelloni, game, mushrooms, crescentine
Note
Closed Wednesday and Thursday

Rifugio Calvanella

Where
Via Pian del Falco 109, at the Pian del Falco base
What it is
A small refuge hotel with five rooms and its own restaurant, right by the lifts
Price
€€

Val Gardena, the easiest Dolomites

Val Gardena

Getting there
About four hours by car via the A22, exit Chiusa. Or train to Bolzano, then bus 350 up to Ortisei
Size
Part of Dolomiti Superski, on the Sellaronda loop, with Seceda and Alpe di Siusi above Ortisei
Lift pass
80 euro a day, 89 in high season. Buying online two days ahead takes 5% off

Val Gardena is the Dolomites trip that works without a car, which matters more than it sounds. The train to Bolzano and the bus up the valley take about the same time as the drive and nobody has to do the A22 in the dark.

Ortisei is the village with the most life in the evening. Selva, further up, is where you want to be if the plan is to ski the Sellaronda.

Tubladel

Where
Via Trebinger 22, near the centre of Ortisei
What it is
A rustic dining room that feels like an old Alpine hut, listed in the Michelin guide. Local meat and game, good wine by the glass
Price
€€€

Rifugio Emilio Comici

Where
Plan de Gralba, above Selva, on the Sellaronda
What it is
A mountain hut famous for serving fish at 2,000 metres. Order the seafood platter and accept that it makes no sense
Note
Book for lunch in high season

ADLER Spa Resort Dolomiti

Why stay
The big spa hotel of the valley, in the middle of the village, walking distance to the Seceda and Alpe di Siusi lifts
Price
€€€

Garni Schenk

Why stay
A family guesthouse since 1966, twenty metres from the Ciampinoi chairlift. Bed and breakfast, no fuss
Price
€€

Cortina, after the Olympics

Cortina d'Ampezzo

Getting there
About four and a half hours by car. Without one, train to Venice Mestre or Calalzo, then bus
Areas
Tofana, Faloria, Cinque Torri and Lagazuoi, inside Dolomiti Superski
Lift pass
80 euro a day, 89 in high season

Cortina hosted the women’s alpine races at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the Tofana slopes are the ones you saw on television. The town is expensive and knows it. The skiing is still some of the most beautiful anywhere, especially at Cinque Torri, where you ski past rock towers and First World War trenches.

El Brite de Larieto

Where
Località Larieto, on the road to Passo Tre Croci
What it is
A working farm with a restaurant, run by chef Riccardo Gaspari, with a fifteenth century stube. Their own milk and cheese, mountain cooking
Price
€€€

Rifugio Scoiattoli

Where
Cinque Torri, at the top of the Cinque Torri chairlift
What it is
A 42 seat hut on the slopes, Ampezzo dishes. On some evenings they run the chairlift for dinner and sledging, by reservation
Phone
+39 0436 867939

Hotel de la Poste

Where
Corso Italia, the main street
Why stay
The historic hotel of Cortina, in the same family for 222 years until this autumn, with the bar where the town meets in the evening
Note
Sold in October 2026 and due for renovation into a five star. It stays open until work starts, so check before booking

Hotel Serena

Where
Via Faloria 8, just outside the centre
Why stay
A long-running three star with half board, walking distance from the Faloria cable car in town
Price
€€

Madonna di Campiglio, the Brenta side

Madonna di Campiglio

Getting there
About four hours fifteen by car via Trento. Or train to Trento and a bus up
Areas
Spinale, Grostè, Pradalago, linked to Pinzolo and Folgarida-Marilleva
Lift pass
75 euro in low season, 87 in high, 89 at peak dates

Campiglio faces the Brenta Dolomites, which are a different shape from the ones above Cortina: sharper, darker, closer. The village is smart without being Cortina, and the main lifts start a few minutes’ walk from the centre.

Ristorante Antico Focolare

Where
Viale Dolomiti di Brenta 64, in the centre
What it is
Trentino cooking and pizza in a warm, old-fashioned dining room
Price
€€

Rifugio Graffer

Where
Grostè, 2,261 metres, at the top of the Grostè cable car
What it is
A refuge of the Trentino Alpine Club with a restaurant, self service and rooms. Lunch with the Brenta in front of you
Note
Rooms exist, but ask whether they let them in winter

Hotel Spinale

Why stay
Five stars at the bottom station of the Spinale cable car, in a quiet part of the village
Price
€€€

Hotel Alpina

Where
Near Piazza Righi, in the middle of the village
Why stay
A three star known for fair prices in a town that mostly is not
Price
€€

Cervinia, when the Apennines are green

Breuil-Cervinia

Getting there
About five hours by car. Or train to Châtillon-Saint-Vincent and a bus up the valley
Altitude
Lifts go up to around 3,500 metres, with a link to Zermatt
Lift pass
64 euro on the Italian side, 88 including Zermatt
Season
Planned opening 24 October 2026, one of the earliest in Europe

Cervinia is the answer to a warm December, when Abetone is brown and the Dolomites are still running on snowmaking. It is the highest skiing in Italy, the runs are long and gentle, and you can ski over into Switzerland for lunch. The village itself is no beauty. Look up at the Matterhorn instead.

Chalet Etoile

Where
Plan Maison,, high on the slopes
What it is
Run by the same family since 1974. Aosta Valley dishes, polenta and game, plus fish, and a big terrace facing the Matterhorn
Hours
Lunch, 12:00 to 16:00

Les Neiges d'Antan

Where
Cret de Perrères 10, just below Cervinia
What it is
A quiet hotel outside the village whose restaurant is the reason many people come. Good for dinner even if you sleep elsewhere
Getting to the lifts
Five minutes by the hotel's own shuttle

Hotel Hermitage

Why stay
The classic luxury chalet of Cervinia, with La Chandelle restaurant and its cheese trolley
Price
€€€

Baita Cretaz

Where
Località Campetto 1, on the slopes above 2,000 metres
Why stay
A three star you can ski to the door of, with a Matterhorn terrace. Simple lunches, a more serious menu at night
Price
€€

Quick answers

What is the closest ski resort to Florence?

Abetone, in the Pistoia mountains, about 90 kilometres and an hour and fifty minutes by car. It has around 25 runs and 17 lifts spread across four valleys, and a weekday lift pass cost 51 euro last season.

Can you ski from Florence as a day trip?

Yes, at Abetone or the Cimone. Leave Florence by seven and you are on the lifts before ten. Both depend on natural snow and snowmaking, so check the lift status the evening before. The Dolomites are too far for a day trip and work as a weekend.

Which ski resort is best for a weekend from Florence?

Val Gardena is the simplest: about four hours by car, or a train to Bolzano and a bus up to Ortisei, and it sits on the Sellaronda inside the Dolomiti Superski pass. Cortina and Madonna di Campiglio are similar distances.

How much is a ski pass in Italy in 2026/27?

A day on Dolomiti Superski costs 80 euro, or 89 in high season. Madonna di Campiglio runs from 75 to 89. Cervinia is 64 on the Italian side and 88 with Zermatt. The Cimone is 44 on weekdays and 57 at weekends. Abetone was 51 on weekdays last season.

Can you get to the ski slopes from Florence without a car?

For the Dolomites, yes. Trains run from Florence to Bolzano, Trento and Venice Mestre, and buses continue to Val Gardena, Madonna di Campiglio and Cortina. Abetone and the Cimone are effectively car only.

When does the ski season start in Italy?

Cervinia opens first, planned for late October. Livigno and the Dolomiti Superski areas aim for the end of November. Abetone and the Cimone usually open in early December if there is snow, with Abetone listing 4 December 2026 as its planned start.