Tignes, France

* Huge ski area - best for intermediates/advanced...

* Excellent snow record...

* Some of the best lift-served off-piste in the world...

* Hotels that are on or very close to the slopes...

For keen skiers there are few better resorts than Tignes. Its slopes (shared with Val d’Isère) suit intermediates and experts best with an exceptional variety of terrain and one of the best snow records in the Alps. The area is also famous for the quality and accessibility of its off-piste.

Our hotels are in Tignes Le Lac, which is equally convenient but better looking and more animated than nearby Tignes Val Claret.

Tignes at a glance...

Resort height:	2100m
Slopes:	1550-3455m
Pistes:	150km	(300km - Espace Killy)
Snow rating:	☆☆☆☆☆

Suitability			Skiing
Beginners	☆☆☆☆☆		Green runs	●	15%
Intermediate	☆☆☆☆☆		Blue runs	●	42%
Advanced	☆☆☆☆☆		Red runs	●	26%
			Black runs	●	17%

Resort			Transfer time
Charm	☆☆☆☆☆		Chambéry	2hr15
Convenience	☆☆☆☆☆		Geneva	3hr
Après-ski	☆☆☆☆☆		Lyon	3hr
Family	☆☆☆☆☆		Grenoble	3hr
Non-skiers	☆☆☆☆☆

Snow reliability

General snow cover	5/5
Snow quality – upper	5/5
Snow quality – lower	4/5
Resort level snow	5/5
Powder potential	4.5/5

The skiing

Tignes shares a huge area of world-class skiing with nearby Val d'Isère, known as L'Espace Killy. The slopes around the Tignes area spread over a vast horseshoe of mountains with mile upon mile of varied intermediate terrain.

The high point (literally and metaphorically) is the Grand Motte glacier, which always seems to have perfect snow and from which there are several long and interesting descents back to the valley.

As in Val d'Isère there are also a number of genuine blacks including the beautiful Sache which takes you down a secluded gully away from the lift system. But, the big draw for experts is the endless off-piste which, like Val d'Isère, is readily accessible from many of the lifts.

Complete beginners are less well catered for. There are adequate nursery slopes in Tignes le Lac and Tignes Val Claret, but few really easy runs to progress to.

The resort

Tignes is split into several distinct parts. The two main purpose-built centres are Tignes Val Claret, at the base of the Grande Motte, and Tignes le Lac where our hotels are situated.

Tignes Le Lac has undergone a lot of work to improve its appearance over the last few years and is the more charismatic of the two, with a wide choice of bars and restaurants and plenty of après-ski. Tignes is not, however, a resort we recommend for non-skiers.