The hottest hot chocolate...
In town, the Pasticceria Lovat on Corso Italia purveys serious Austrian cakes, hot chocolate and coffee variations. Great people-watching too.
The ultimate lunch stop...
Glorious views and excellent Italian home-cooking makes Rifugio Averau my favourite. It's at the very top of the Cinque Torri ski area at 2,400m (7,874ft) and if the weather is good then sit outside and enjoy the spectacular views to Civetta and Marmolada while drinking Prosecco and tucking into their 'three pastas' or venison ravioli. Perfection from €20 (£16).
Après beer time...
Fur-clad wine buffs will enjoy early evening at the Enoteca at Piazza Roma. But for beer and atmosphere head for the Haus Hacker-Pschorr (at the back of the Hotel Royal). Cosy booths for your friends, friendly barmaids and great German beer at low prices.
Top of the slopes...
The Armentarola "hidden-valley" piste from Lagazuoi all the way to Hotel Armentarola starts with 360-degree Dolomite views and a look at the museum pieces from this front line of the Great War. Head on to a long red-graded descent through wild and spectacular mountain country, with a short stop at Rifugio Scotoni for its wonderful grilled meats. Then it's a photo-stop at the blue-ice waterfall and a long schuss to the horse-drawn ski tow into Armentarola. The 2km descent from the Marmolada glacier to Malga Ciapela is also sensational.
My word of advice...
Before you go take advantage of the free bus transfer service from Venice airport directly to your hotel, provided by the excellent Cortina Tourist Office. And when you get back use your lift pass to check out dolomitisuperski.com. Click on Ski Performance, type in your pass codes and see your ski routes and how many km of piste and vertical you've skied.
Getting there
Ryanair fly to Treviso from £20rtn. From there you can hire a car for the 1h 45 min drive to Cortina or take the Terravision coach (+39 331 781 4916) which meets the Ryanair flight, costs €20rtn (£16) and takes 3 hours. Expect to pay around €200 (£156) each way for a taxi of up to four (taxicortina.com/; +39 335 637 1419).
The Expert: John Bennett spent last season hosting Ski Club of Great Britain guests around the Italian Alps. The Ski Club has reps in 37 resorts worldwide offering a weekly ski programme for varying abilities. Non-members can try out the repping service for a day for free. For membership and more details visit skiclub.co.uk.
