A Giant Luxury Ski Resort In Europe Is One Of The Busiest In The World For A Reason

Avid skiers know that the Italian Dolomites have a ton to offer travelers in terms of beautiful views, thrilling slopes, and gorgeous towns full of history. People (both professional athletes and amateur pleasure skiers) from all over the world flock to these high-altitude towns in Italy to enjoy the winter weather, so you can bet that the many ski resorts that call the Dolomites home are extremely busy during the snowy months. That's especially true for the Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta Val di Sole Val Rendena Ski area, one of the busiest ski resorts in the world.

Campiglio Dolomiti di Brenta Val di Sole Val Rendena stretches from Pinzolo resort to the Madonna di Campiglio resort amid the Brenta Dolomites of Trentino. Besides being one of the busiest ski resorts in the world, the area is also the largest in the province. It is located a little over three hours by car from the walkable and fashionable city of Milan, and there are FlySki shuttles directly to the ski area from Milan airports, as well as from Bergamo and Verona. Getting to the resort by bus or rail from many major cities is very simple and accessible. Even hiking there is an option. Overall, the area offers skiers about 156 kilometers (roughly 97 miles) of skiable terrain and has 58 lifts and cable cars to transport them to the top of the slopes.

Although the entire area is often just called Madonna di Campiglio, there are technically three ski sub-areas that make up the resort: Madonna di Campiglio, Pinzolo, and Folgarida Marilleva, the latter of which has 25 lifts and 62 kilometers (about 39 miles) of slopes on its own and even offers lighting for people who want to hit the slopes at night. Put together, the massive ski area has an hourly capacity for over 100,000 people and welcomes about 2.5 million visitors per year.

Just as Cortina d'Ampezzo is the "Queen of the Dolomites," the resort town of Madonna di Campiglio is considered the "Pearl of the Dolomites", attracting celebrities and historical figures like Princess Sissi and Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. The resort town is also home to Ursus Snowpark, one of the premier freestyle snowboarding parks that caters to all levels of winter sports enthusiasts. If you're looking for slower cross-country skiing, the nearby Campo Carlo Magno resort (about a 15-minute drive away) has over 13.7 miles of ski range.

Aside from skiing and snowboarding, sledding is a popular activity in ​​Madonna di Campiglio, which also has a toboggan slope and areas where you can book dog sledding excursions. In addition, the resort town is a wonderful place to walk around and enjoy delicious local cuisine at some of the town's restaurants (several of which have Michelin stars). And if you are visiting the area outside of the ski season, Madonna di Campiglio is located just an hour and a half from Lake Molveno, a lesser-known lake area with pristine shorelines.