Tignes
Resort
Tignes is a group of villages in the French Alps, close to Val d'Isere and part of the Espace Kelly ski area. All are linked by a network of lifts. The villages of Val Claret and Tignes le lac are lively hubs with a great selection of restaurants and shops.
Tignes is a great place to learn to ski with piste covering 300km! . Espace Kelly is a huge area with plenty of gentle lifts and a very relaxed atmosphere which makes it great for families, beginners, yet enough challenging and interesting piste area for more experienced skiers.
There are a wide range of activities to enjoy!. They include the extremities of mountaineering, paragliding, ice-driving, speed-riding (halfway between parasailing & skiing), ice-climbing, mountain biking on snow, micro-light flights and snowmobiling. Bun J Ride - a combination of bungee & ski jumping!!. There is even an ice diving club for those that can't get enough of the cold?! All the family will have fun on the night-time snow-tubing lanes at Val Claret too.
The main resort area is high up in the French Alps at over 2100m with most of the terrain above the tree line, you will also find that Tignes has seemingly endless snow, an extensive array of fun intermediate runs and vast, adventurous off-piste freeride terrain.
The on piste terrain is extensive for skiers at all levels, as well as an enormous off piste and backcountry terrain again for all abilities.
Inspiring off-piste freeride lines for more advanced skiers are everywhere, as are some challenging black piste trails. Ranging from open alpine bowls to extreme couloirs, the freeride terrain in the region is immense.
Tignes is that it has the longest ski season in France. From late June to early August, 6 lifts access 12km of piste trails on 700m of skiable vertical high on the Grande Motte glacier for summer skiing. Opening again from mid-October through to the end of November, the glacier provides quality autumn riding until the entire resort opens for the winter season all the way through to May.
Tignes is lift, piste and pass interlinked with Val d'Isere (the ski area formerly known as Espace Killy). This combined ski network features 300km of runs linked by 78 lifts which give 20 Green, 68 Blue, 40 Red, and 26 Black runs.
Getting there
Tignes lies in the upper Tarentaise valley of the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. From the border of Italy, the resort is only 12 km by road from Val d’Isere. The closest major centre is the town of Bourg St Maurice about 30km by road north of the resort.
The two airports near Tignes are Lyon Saint Exupery (LYS) (220 km) and Geneva (GVA) (170 km). Flights to Chambéry (140 km) and Grenoble (160 km) if you fly in the quickest and most efficient way to arrive in the resort is by a private transfer.