Tignes - introduction

Tignes is the archetypal purpose-built ski resort: perched at a comfortably snow-sure high altitude, it provides easy access to the Grande Motte Glacier, is surrounded by terrain that seems divinely ordained for skiing, and offers a plethora of excellent slopeside restaurants and accommodations. For committed skiers keen to make the most of its extensive intermediate slopes and world-class freeriding in the vast Espace Killy ski area, Tignes is without a doubt the place to be.

The resort encompasses five villages: the central Val Claret, Le Lac, and Le Lavachet, and the outlying Tignes Les Boisses and Les Brévières. While the first three are clusters of apartment blocks in a bowl at the base of the main ski area, the last two are smaller, more idyllic communities down-valley, linked by lift and bus to the ski area. Free shuttle buses run through all five villages until midnight, as well as to neighbouring Val d’Isère. 

Skiers admiring Tignes' iconic Aiguille PercéePhoto: Andy Parant

While it may not have the rustic charm of older Alpine resorts, Tignes is benefiting from a sustained makeover, with ongoing renovations, new builds in more traditional styles and several new designer hotels. Speaking aesthetically, the resort has grown significantly prettier from its brutalist origins in the 1960s.

Finally, owing to the effects of climate change being felt throughout the Alps, Tignes has spearheaded several green initiatives, earning the resort a Flocon Vert in 2022. These include using biofuel to power its snowcats and piste-bashers, installing chemical-free snow cannons, spreading gravel rather than salt on its roads, and providing free and regular shuttle buses.

Highlights

• Excellent ski terrain for intermediate and advanced skiers and snowboarders, with world-class freeriding
• Snow-sure thanks to its high altitude and glacier skiing
• Access to the vast Espace Killy ski area is quick and easy
• Accommodation is much cheaper than in neighbouring Val d’Isère and is largely ski-in/ski-out
  
  

Lowlights

• Not overly beginner-friendly
• Perhaps not as big a party as neighbouring Val d’Isère (but a more affordable one)
• Not much by the way of tree-skiing or idyllic forested runs