When you think of winter, skating is one of the first activities that comes to mind. Just a 3-hour drive from Milan, there is a fairy-tale place where you can slip on your skates and slide down an icy path about 3 kilometers long. Amid majestic mountains and snow-capped fir trees, this completely frozen road follows the curves of the terrain and takes skaters on a true journey through nature. With skates on your feet, a nice cap and, why not, the best Christmas songs in your headphones, you will really feel like you are inside a movie.
Prices, locations and opening dates
Suitable for everyone, couples looking for a romantic activity as well as groups of friends and families with children, this unusual skating rink is located an hour from St. Moritz. More precisely, the Eisweg Engadin, begins and ends in Sur En in Switzerland, near Sent, passing by the Inn River and through the Lower Engadine forest. To skate here you do not need to be a professional or have your own skates, which you can safely rent at the start of the rink.
Admission costs 10 CHF for adults and 6 CHF for children, about €11 and €7, respectively. The ticket includes admission to the track for an unlimited time and also a protective helmet. Skate rental costs 5 CHF, just over €5. The rink will be open from Dec. 24 until late February/early March.
Other winter activities to do in and around Milan
During December, all the Christmas-themed activities and experiences begin, which often manage to amaze even Grinches. In Milan in particular, every Friday and Saturday night, Milan’s Unipol Forum becomes an 80s-style skating rink, with lights and music on which to romp late into the night. On the evenings of Dec. 19 and 21, two Christmas Cand lelight concerts replay holiday melodies by the light of a thousand candles in the San Fedele Auditorium. Finally, in Porta Genova you can find the Village of Wonders.
Among the experiences near Milan that you just can’t miss are the Island of Lights, a small island on Lake Maggiore that lights up with a thousand lights at Christmas and can be reached by Christmas speedboats; the Christmas Garden, a scenic lake-view garden transformed for the holidays with twinkling gates, cascades of lights and fairy-tale views less than an hour from Milan; and Santa’s Grotto, a themed family trail of lights, scenery and encounters with Santa Claus inside a marble quarry.