The group of towns on the Tignes side of Espace Killy is a very good built-for-skiing resort.

The series of modern villages string from 5,000 to 6,900 feet with the main village, Tignes le Lac at 6,825 feet. Les Brevieres, Lavachet, Les Boisses and Val Claret are the four other villages at the base of one of Europe’s largest Glaciers, La Grande Motte. The villages, which are really clusters of apartment buildings with shop arcades and restaurants on the first floors, were built in the 1950s after the old town of Tignes was flooded by the construction of the Chevril dam. With door-to-slopes skiing in mind, the layout of the buildings and lift-systems gives skiers 24 different lifts that leave from within the five towns.

Here is the Tignes resort map in pdf format.

The average visitor to Tignes stays in one of more than 15,000 apartment beds as there are only a mere 1,500 beds in the 19 hotels. Reservations are required, especially during the February French school holidays. To avoid the busiest times in any French resort, make sure to plan around the kids.

At a glance, it is hard to appreciate how big this area really is. Tignes is connected seamlessly with Val d’Isère one of Europe’s most famous resorts, to create Espace Killy. The combined network features 300 kilometers of runs linked by 102 lifts. Continuous drops of more than 5,000 feet is one reason Tignes attracts so many skiers.

Tignes is very proud of the Grand Motte glacier. They even built a six-minute, underground funicular from Val Claret to the glacier , which operates in all weather conditions year-round. The funicular has a capacity of over 3,000 skiers per hour.

The runs at Tignes are primarily geared towards intermediate cruisers, while the off-piste terrain ranges from classic difficult couloirs to peaceful rolling snowfields. There is enough physical space that you could not cover even half the resort trails in a three-day stay. Au contraire, if you are into tricks and jumps, you could easily spend all day at the two-and-a-half-kilometer long snow park. An efficient shuttle bus system allows you to end your day in any of the towns and make it quickly home.

The resort is quite international, with plenty of British skiers and riders. From ski school to take-out pizza, you probably won’t have trouble communicating. The après-ski tends to be a little cliquish, as the bars often end up uniligual.

An important thing to know is the bus schedule. Free shuttle buses run around and between the towns every 10 minutes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., every half-hour from 8 p.m. to midnight, and every hour from midnight to 8 a.m.

Parking is taken rather seriously in Tignes. Any cars left on the streets are consistently and diligently towed. Since legal parking is only available in the lots and indoor garages, the bus system is usually your best way to get around.

Office du Tourisme, BP 51, 73321 Tignes Cedex, France
Country code: 0033
Telephone: 479 40 04 40
Fax: 479 40 03 15
Internet: www.tignes.net
Email: information@tignes.net

For hotel and apartment booking, call Tignes Reservation at 479 40 03 03; address is the same as above.
Internet: www.tignesreservation.net

Note: All prices are in Euros unless otherwise noted.

For more information on skiing and staying in the country of France, click the map.