The Milan and Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, events took place in Milano, Cortina and Tesero. I visited the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena for two para ice hockey games and Tesero for a day of Biathlon events. What a fantastic experience and atmosphere! Many attendees were enthusiastically cheering on their country’s athletes and everyone else competing!
Additionally, the Italians sold out the USA vs Italy ice hockey and broke the record for the most attendees at a para ice hockey event with 8992. Luckily, I got to be one of those people! I love watching what athletes can do in the Olympics and Paralympics. It is incredible and inspiring. In fact, sometimes the Paralympics impresses me even more than the Olympics. I could barely comprehend how a visually impaired person could be skiing and shooting by hearing and following a guide? Wow!
Para Ice Hockey in Milan
Venue
Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena is a new, permanent 14,000–16,000 capacity venue built specifically for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. It will be re-purposed after the events end, and looks like it would be good for sports or concerts. Seats are padded and comfortable and the view was good from different areas. Some of the seats were difficult to get to because one end was blocked off and didn’t have a set of stairs. But overall it is well-organised and easy to find seats. There are fast food and drink stalls inside, including a future shop which automatically charges your card for what you take.
Transport
The venue is located near Linate airport just to the east of Central Milano. Luckily, it is easily accessible on the metro 3 to Milan Rogoredo. Then you can either walk for 20 minutes or take a short shuttle bus ride. It was unclear whether the Paralympic shuttle was free. I had assumed it was, but there were announcements to tap the machines with a card or ticket. No one was doing that and I had a day pass anyway. The metro is very affordable and a ticket was 2.20 euros or 7.60 for the whole day. You can use contactless cards which automatically calculate the daily maximum. Be prepared for some walking to the actual arena from the bus stop.
Experience
I am a big ice hockey fan and I’d seen para ice hockey once before before when we went to the PyeongChang Winter Paralympics in South Korea in 2018. By chance, I had seen that we were there during the Paralympics. It was easy to buy train tickets and game tickets for Czechia vs Sweden, and we had a day trip out of Seoul. The atmosphere was fantastic and the game was intense!
This year’s experience was even more exciting because the first game I attended was USA vs the host country Italy. The Italians broke the attendance record for para ice hockey and were cheering the whole time, despite the US winning 14-1. The energy was incredible and I am sure the players could feel it. The second game was a lot quieter in the crowd, with Canada beating Slovakia by a large margin. But the players gave it their all and it was exciting and fast-paced. In general, it seems that there is more scoring in para ice hockey than ice hockey, so that is fun to watch!
If you have never watched para ice hockey, I recommend at least checking out a short video of how they move around. Each person is positioned on a skate sled and they have two sticks that they use for moving around and for handling the puck. They must have incredible upper body strength and stamina!
Para Biathlon in Tesero
Venue
The Tesero Cross-country Skiing Stadium is located in the Val di Fiemme, a beautiful mountainous region in the north of Italy. It’s not too far from the Austrian border, and many signs are in German. The venue was renovated but has been in use for years. All of the seating is outdoors in an arena. Seats are plastic, so it is a good idea to bring a small cushion for comfort and warmth. Athletes start and finish in the stadium, and they shoot on the far side of the stadium. When the skiers go out of the stadium they are out of sight.
Luckily, the weather was beautiful and sunny at 13C, so it was not cold. In fact, I wore far too many layers and had to struggle to get them off in a small portaloo! Expect temporary portaloos that are a short walk away from the seats. Food was limited to sandwiches and some fast food. The security check allowed water and small snacks inside. Bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat.
Transport
Travel by train from Milan was very long and via Verona, about 3-4 hours. It would be better to stay near Verona or on the train line heading to Ora Auer. From Ora Auer, I took a free shuttle bus, which took about 45 minutes, then walked 15 minutes to the venue. The Paralympics information suggested wearing snow gear, but since we had warm weather, trainers were fine for walking. Spectators follow a rubber path to the venue in the case of snow.
Experience
I had never seen a biathlon competition in person before, and only knew about it from seeing it on TV years ago. It is a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting at targets. Each missed shot adds a minute to the total time, and that did make a difference for the final results. For para biathlon, they have seated and standing events. The seated event means that athletes move themselves using only their arms, which must take incredible upper body strength.
I learned some new things while watching the events. First, the cross-country skiing part is not flat. It was incredible to watch athletes ski uphill! Second, the shooting after exertion is difficult enough, but the visually impaired athletes do it by using just their hearing. Finally, the visually impaired athletes follow a guide who they can hear in front of them, and then they also have headsets so the guide can give instructions. The teamwork was remarkable! I feel a lot of admiration for the guides, because they are also incredible athletes and they need to be excellent communicators for their para-athlete to put full trust in them.
Para Skiing, Snowboarding and Wheelchair Curling in Cortina
Since I was not able to visit any Cortina venues, I can only comment on the transport. One lady I met at the Milano Nord Parkun told me about her experience travelling many hours each way to get to Cortina from Milan. Three of the venues were located in Cortina: Tofane Alpine skiing centre in Cortina for downhill skiing, Cortina Para Snow Park for snowboarding, and Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
Transport
The closest cities to this venue are Venice and Bolzano. Trains were suggested as the best option with a paid shuttle to the venue. For example, taking a train from Milan to Venice Mestre, followed by a dedicated Cortina 2026 bus. Or via train to Ponte nelle Alpi. These shuttle buses did have an associated fee as the distance to the venues was far. There was also transport from some park and rides, but drivers were cautioned about the mountainous roads which could have snow.