Your best friend on powder days
Tignes
The Skiing Unlocked guide to ...
I’ve spent more time in Tignes than perhaps any other mountain destination anywhere in the world; it was where I first developed my skiing on school trips far, far too long ago, and have spent months here with my work over the last little while. Therefore I know it quite well, and can sing its praises until the cows come home …
Contents
Use the links below to quickly navigate this guide
1. Top 3
2. The Basics
3. Where is it?
4. How do I get there?
5. Where to Stay?
6. The On Snow Experience
7. The Off Snow Experience
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Top 3 reasons for picking Tignes:
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Some of the best lift-access off piste terrain anywhere in the world
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Over 300km of pistes for those who like to stay on the right side of the markers
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Varied and diverse at every turn means there truly is something for everyone and every wallet
The Basics
Tignes is located in Southeastern France, in the Savoie (Savoy) region. The local currency is the Euro (symbol €, trading at around 1.15EUR to £1 GBP, and 0.86EUR to $1 USD). The local language is French. One of the best things about Tignes is how friendly it is to every budget - there is accommodation, transfers, food and drink for all, and one of the reasons it is a really awesome place to be, and perfect for your first ski trip!
The closest airports to Tignes are either Geneva (GVA) in Switzerland or Lyon (LYS) just beyond the Alpine foothills to the west; most people come through GVA. Despite this being in Switzerland, there are no border checks between Switzerland or France; make sure you have the right passport and visas to transfer through Switzerland on your way to your holiday in France!
Skiing Unlocked recommends spending around a week in Tignes; this will give you more than enough time to explore the majority of skiing available and a good number of the restaurants and bars in town. For those on a “once in a lifetime” trip, book a fortnight - that way your touring plans or prayers for powder won’t be scuppered by bad weather! Recent years have seen a dip in fortunes in peak mid-season weather wise, so Skiing Unlocked suggests March - both for the snow and the sun on the lunch terraces - or January to make the most of the early season boom in snow. Expect the half-term (winter break) period to be really busy - French half-term is spread across all of February, with the Brits following in just one of two weeks in the middle of the month.
There is a wide range of skiing available across the 300km of pistes shared with neighbouring Val d’Isere. Beginners are well catered for, as are intermediates and advanced skiers. For experts, things are a bit limited between the piste markers; luckily some great ski touring and some of the world’s best lift-access off piste skiing is available!
The emergency number for France (and all of Europe) is 112; the ski patrol number for Tignes is +33 479 06 32 00; if you’re over in Val d’Isere it is +33 479 06 02 10
Resort website: https://en.tignes.net/
Lift Passes: https://en.tignes.net/skiing/ski-pass-you-need
Where is it?
Tignes is deep, deep in the French Alps - the transfer time of at least three hours from Geneva or Lyon is easily one of the longest in the Alps let alone France. It is nestled right up against the main spine of the Alps, the Italian border running in a ring around the resort in places.
That means that it is high and incredibly snow sure. Skiing here begins in mid-December and runs right through to the end of April. There are five resort villages, starting at 1,550m and climbing to 2,100m - the skiing goes all the way down to this lowest village, and all the way up to the top of the Grande Motte glacier at 3,456m - giving a staggering 2,000m vert from top to bottom.
The high elevation means the resort opens up to a huge number of valleys and bowls, meaning the off piste skiing is almost as extensive as the on piste. Some of my all time favourite off piste routes, including Gasex and Genepe can be found from lift-accessible jumping off points, making this - in combination with the elevation - a surefire favourite for powder hounds.
How do I get there?
The simple answer is to fly to either Geneva (GVA) or Lyon (LYS) airports, then take one of the many hundreds of transfers that bring skiers and snowboarders to the resort every weekend. The great distance many of these travel means that it can be quite expensive, especially for private transfers, but public transfers and “no frills” transfers like Bens Bus can still offer good value.
Taking the train is also an option, from both Geneva and Lyon, and further afield such as Paris or London. You will need to travel to the railhead at the foot of the valley, Bourg Saint Maurice, but regular coaches run through to Tignes from here and are timed to meet the trains - if your train is late, your coach will wait. The transfer time from Geneva and Lyon city centres is about four hours, but it is far less impacted by traffic and bad weather - which have been known to cause chaos on the long road up the Tarentaise - and is a gentle, relaxing way to access the resort.
From further afield, you will need to leave London around 8am, and change at either Lyon or across Paris. From there, the direct TGV will take around 6 hours to cross half the length of France; again, may not be the quickest, but is a really relaxing and of course carbon-limited way of travelling!
Almost all buses will stop three times in the village - in Tignes 1550, which due to its proximity below the dam means it is a bit out of the way by road, again in Tignes 1800, and finally at the main bus stop (gare routiere) in Tignes Le Lac (2000). Shuttle busses link the upper three villages Val Claret (2100), la Lac (2000) and Lavachet every ten minutes, and link gare routiere to 1800 every half hour or so.
Find out more about taking the train to resort with the Man in Seat 61
Where to Stay?
I reckon you will struggle to find a resort with more choices on where to stay than Tignes; there is quite literally something for everyone on every budget. Where is “best” depends on a few different factors.
If you are coming very early or very late in the season, then lifts to and from the lower villages (1800 and 1550) won’t be running; this will limit you to the upper three villages. Access to the slopes from here is also via gondola up to the upper villages and what can be a gnarly ski down in the afternoon (or download via the gondolas); as a result great value can often be found here, and it remind a beautiful, traditional alpine village!
Val Claret has a bit of a reputation as a party town, and is popular with student trips particularly before Christmas and at Easter. It also hosts a range of festivals later in the season, so if you value your sleep it may be better to stay away from here!
Le Lac has it all and is a solid bet regardless of what you are after. Almost everywhere has access to the slopes in less than five minutes, is well served by bars and restaurants, and has great access to the rest of town as and when you need it.
Each little village has their own clusters of ski schools, rental shops, bars and restaurants, so there is no need for FOMO wherever you go!
Some ideas on where to stay include:
Langley Hotel
Okay, so I know the huge long brutalist behemoth that makes up most of Tignes la Lac isn’t much to look at, but there are some good bits here, too. The Langley is one of them, part of a group of seriously tasteful Scandivian-designed hotels designed to give you somewhere you can truly relax after a day on snow. There is a huge spa area and the restaurant offers excellent meals all day long.
Club Med
Perfect for families looking for a completely stress-free holiday, Club Med expanded into Tignes about a decade ago. Their sprawling hotel at the foot of the slopes in Val Claret has everything you need right at your fingertips, including its own cadre of ski instructors!
Self-Catered Apartments
Perhaps no-where else offers the same range of self-catered apartments as Tignes, with options spread across all five villages. The best place to look for these is via the Tignes website itself, although there are plenty of options and even AirBnB has good stock.
UCPA
Book your UCPA adventure through Action Outdoors and get everything - everything - included in your £700. Yes, that is right, an all-inclusive ski trip to one of the world’s greatest ski destinations for £700. Need I say more? UCPA are the French youth hostelling organisation, so expect things to be a little rustic and designed for those aged 18-40, but with ski hire and instruction included you are guaranteed not to worry about anything.
The On Snow Experience
There is so much skiing here in Tignes it almost impossible to know where to start.
To begin my day, I can think of nowhere better than the blue that runs down from the main hub at the top of the Tommeuse, Tufs and Toviere lifts, to the base of the Tommeuse chair - Creux. First thing in the morning, freshly pisted and shining in the glorious sunshine, it is a joy to behold and just brilliant for getting your skis on their edges and carving the f*** out of them.
Elsewhere, the triptych of reds Glacier, Rimaye, and Face take you from the top of the Grand Motte down to 2,100 - a grand total of 1,245m of vert in 20 thigh-burning minutes. The elevation difference here means a perfect top can flow through all different forms of snow throughout the run down, even turning to spring slush right at the foot, providing a challenge even to expert skiers.
One of the best things to do across the whole Tignes-Val d’Iere ski area is the “Four Corners” challenge. You need to hit the two highest points in Val and Tignes (Pisaillis and Grand Motte glaciers, respectively) and two lowest points (La Daille and 1,500) as quickly as possible. This is achievable even for intermediate skiers, and is a fabulous way to get out and see the whole of the resort and really push your skiing.
Outside the piste markers, there is so much fun to be had. If it has been cold enough, then the off piste run to the skier’s left of the Sache run down from the Aguille Percee (eye of the needle) is superb and really, really lonely if timed right.
Genepy is a brilliant introduction to off piste for intermediate skiers, as it is shallow and forgiving at all times; there’s a bit of a schlep out at the other end, however, so be prepared and snowboarders beware! Elsewhere, the off piste bits between Borsat and Fresse (nominally part of Val but spiritually Tignes!) often hold their snow really well and offer a brilliant playground for all levels of skier.
Pushing the boat out some more, from the top of the Grattalu chair there are a million access points to the Chardonnay bowl, from steep no-fall couloirs that require a serious hike in, to more shallow, wider, forgiving entrances. Whatever your poison of choice, it holds snow really well and is almost always good fun.
Finally, Golf and Gasex. Golf is marked on the map as a sort-of itinerary route, but I would advise taking a guide for both of these as the entrance is extremely hidden and requires a bootpack. As a result, however, both are hardly ever touched, and roll and flow down to a busstop on the link road between le Lac and Val Claret that exists … seemingly just to serve these ski routes. It is so so much fun and some of the best skiing I’ve done in resort.
A word of caution, the runs down to resort can become busy and ropey especially late in the afternoon. Nowhere is this more true than Johan Clarey, the black run under the Toviere bubble back to Tignes le Lac. There are plenty of escape routes when you get onto the seriously steep bit right above resort, but it is gnarly from top-to-bottom; you have been warned!
A word on “resort boundaries” - these don’t exist here in the same way they do in North America. You are free to ski anything and everything that has snow on it (and plenty of things that don’t). Just make sure you have the right insurance, as, despite what you have heard about European healthcare, getting pulled off the mountain by Ski Patrol can be very, very costly. The emergency number for France (and all of Europe) is 112; the ski patrol number for Tignes is +33 479 06 32 00; if you’re over in Val d’Isere it is +33 479 06 02 10
The Off Snow Experience
There are so many really good restaurants on snow in Tignes, but two of them are simply superb at both ends of the spectrum. Marmottes is a sprawling self-service restaurant sat smack-bang in the middle of the pistes that offers good, refuelling food at exceptional prices. Le Panoramique, at the top of the Grand Motte funicular, on the other hand offers glasses of wine at 160EUR a pop - quite fitting for (at one point) the world’s highest Michelin-starred restaurant (which is mind-blowingly good, by the way).
There is plenty in between, too. Aspen Coffee Shop in Val Claret does sloppy cheeseburgers and milkshakes at decent prices, whilst La Bouida offers a great aiming point for a trip down to 1550, with endless outdoor tables spread across the bridge over the stream making a brilliant place to soak up the sun.
Elsewhere, the Escalle Blanche offers traditional alpine classics such as tartare, fondue and tartiflette as well as a huge terrace perfect for a beer after the skiing is done, and Le Brasero in Lavachet offers pizza til the cows come home. The rest of the Maison Bouvier set, including their first restaurant the Michelin-starred Ursus in Val Claret are also exceptional dining spots if you’re up for treating yourself.
If you’re in the mood for a post-ski beer, Tignes le Lac is the place to be; The Loop is a Tignes icon, as is The Marmot Arms, both in Tignes le Lac, the former a dream aprés spot at the foot of the slopes, the latter a cosy locals bar (but still full of Brits and even serving cider!) that keeps the chill vibes going late into the night.
Cocoricos in Tignes Val Claret is the place to party the evening away at the foot of the slopes in Val Claret, like all Cocos opening with a live band and transitioning as the sun sets into a pyro-fuelled barrel dancing hotspot. You can also access Tignes from the Folie Douce in Val, but keep your legs about you for the ski down from the top of Tommeuses or get the Toviere gondola back down - keep an eye out for last lifts back.
