I went to the Italian Alps for the Winter Olympics. Here are 6 things that surprised me most about the experience.

• I attended two skiing and snowboarding events at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
• Both events were held in Livigno, a high-altitude ski town near the Swiss border.
• We had a great time and encountered lots of surprises along the way.

My first Olympic Games in Paris were defined by swimming arenas, metro transfers, and navigating summer crowds. So, I expected my second round, the Winter Games in Milan Cortina, to feel similar, just colder. I was wrong.

Instead of stadiums in the heart of a capital city, we found ourselves crossing a national border and trudging uphill in snow boots, hearts racing at altitude to attend skiing and snowboarding events in Livigno.

Starting in the Alpine town hosting all of the freestyle skiing and snowboarding competitions, however, turned out to be the perfect way to ease into two weeks of winter sports in the mountains.

Here are six things that surprised me most about the experience.

For us, staying in Switzerland was more convenient than rooming in Italy

There are hotels in Livigno, but by the time we were booking, options were limited, and prices had surged into the thousands of dollars for a few nights.

Staying there simply wasn't realistic for us, so the most practical and budget-friendly option was just across the border in Switzerland.

That meant each morning began with a 40-minute bus ride up the mountain from Zernez. The decentralization seemed like it'd be logistically challenging, but it felt more like a part of the intrigue of these Games.

Unlike the Paris Games, there didn't seem to be as much room for last-minute adventures

When I attended the Summer Olympics in Paris, I found it easy to grab tickets for events happening in the city that same afternoon. However, attending the Winter Games required much more planning.

Events for the Milan Cortina Games are spread across multiple host cities, including Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, and others, which makes bouncing between competitions more complicated.

Milan and Cortina sit nearly 250 miles apart by road, making for a roughly five-hour drive. Livigno is several hours from both cities, so we were largely limited to the events near where we were staying, and traveling between venues adds significant time and cost.

This made it harder to chase last-minute ticket deals, which were rare anyway.

The altitude is part of the experience

Livigno sits at almost 6,000 feet above sea level, and we could feel it. Climbing even a modest hill left us fairly breathless.

Add snow boots, layers, and the excitement of hustling to catch the start of a run, and we started to wonder whether the Games were testing us.

It only made the feats of athleticism feel that much more impressive, though. Watching snowboarders and freestyle skiers soar through the air at altitude — while you're very aware of your own lungs — makes what they're able to do even more surreal.

We had to work for the views

At the Snow Park, not every vantage point comes with a seat and a perfect sightline. Some higher ticket categories included designated seating, but much of the venue was standing-room only.

Although we did have seats for the snowboarding events, getting to them meant climbing a steep, snowy hill to reach the best side views of the course. It was slippery and a few of us fell on our way up (and down) the hill.

After the first athlete dropped in, though, we almost forgot about our struggles to get up to our spots.

From that angle, we could see the speed build and hear the scrape of boards against snow. It was unlike anything I've experienced before.

Some people weren't in Livigno to spectate, but to ski

One of the strangest things about Livigno is how intertwined the Olympics and the town's everyday ski culture are.

On both sides of the mountain, visitors with regular lift passes were casually skiing while we watched the snowboarders and freestyle skiers compete.

Gondolas carried tourists up alongside the halfpipe, giving them a front-row view without ever leaving their ski gear behind. It was surreal.

What's cool about Livigno is that spectators and holiday-goers share the same slopes, blurring the line between focused athleticism and relaxed mountain vibes. This is something we wouldn't have been able to see in a city-based Olympic venue.

The cold didn't stop the excitement

We arrived early for better sight lines of the action on the mountain, which meant standing outside in brisk temperatures for hours.

Once the music started, though, the energy in Livigno was contagious. Luckily, since we were all outside, the crowds never felt claustrophobic or chaotic like they might inside an arena.

We head to Milan next for hockey and short-track speed skating, trading snow boots for city streets. But beginning this journey in the mountains has felt like the most fitting way to ease into two weeks of winter sport at its highest level.