Situated in the upper Tarentaise Valley in the French Alps, Tignes lies at the heart of the western half of the expansive Espace Killy linked ski area. Purpose-built in the 1970s, Tignes is not the most attractive resort architecturally speaking. High-rise apartment blocks and a distinct lack of trees means the resort does lack charm. However, if you look past this then you will find a fantastic combination of modern lifts, endless snow, an impressive variety of intermediate runs and vast off-piste terrain.
Tignes is split into two main resort centres - Tignes-le-Lac and Val Claret. Tignes-le-Lac is the main hub of the resort whilst Val Claret is 2km up the valley, beyond the lake. Down the valley from the main villages are two more traditional satellite villages - Tignes-les-Boisses and Tignes-les-Brevieres. Both are well linked to the ski area with their own lifts but they’re isolated from the central hub and have limited shops and restaurants.
Linked with Val d’Isere, Tignes has an incredible 300 km of slopes to explore with a maximum altitude of 3,456m at the top of the Grande Motte cable car. With a great selection of blue and red pistes, Tignes is one of the best resorts for intermediate skiers who like varied terrain. The resort is home to some outstanding powder terrain and is a favourite with snowboarders who appreciate the long, wide pistes and excellent terrain parks.
Tignes has plenty of bars and restaurants and for those who don’t wish to ski there are multiple activities to enjoy from ice skating and dog sledding to ice karting and for adrenaline junkies the Bun J ride - a combination of ski jumping, bungee jumping and zip wire.
