Tignes

From WikiSki

Overview 

Tignes shares the legenday ‘Espace Killy’ Pass with Val d'Isère, a vast region with 310 km of lift linked trails. Generally regarded as one of Europe and the world’s best ski areas (as well as one of the biggest), the skiing offers something for everyone. However, it is experts who will be the most impressed, if only because they don’t find the limitations they do everywhere else. Instead there are endless of-piste options and plenty of hair-raising blacks on the marked trails themselves. Skiing is available 365 days a year.

Contents 1 Location 2 Pros 3 Cons 4 Contacts 5 Planning 5.1 Getting There 5.2 Accommodation 5.2.1 On Mountain 5.2.2 Off Mountain 5.3 Lift Tickets 5.4 Ski School 5.5 Equipment Hire 6 Resort Facilities 6.1 Getting Around 6.2 Parking 6.3 Activities 6.4 Dining 6.5 Bars & Entertainment 6.6 Shopping 6.7 Children 7 Ride Guide 7.1 Beginner Areas 7.2 Groomed Runs 7.3 Off Piste 7.4 Out of Bounds 7.5 Cross Country 7.6 Parks & Pipes 7.7 Bumps 7.8 Powder Zones 7.9 Sheltered Runs 7.10 Snowplay 8 Other 8.1 Weather 8.2 Geography 8.3 History 9 Resources 9.1 Maps

Location

Tignes is located above Val d'Isère, 165 km from Geneva, Switzerland, the nearest international airport. Travel time from Geneva is about 3.5 hours.

Pros

Mostly all accomodation is on snow and walking distance to lifts. Tignes may not be a "pretty" as its neighbour, but its a lot cheaper. Tignes is a "snow-sure" resort, so you will definatly be skiing/riding if you go there!

Incredible amount of off piste options - just be careful of avalanches!

Cons

The 1970's apartments may be a little off putting!!

Contacts

Phone: 33 4 79 40 04 40

Postal: B.P. 51 73321 Cedex Tignes, Savoie F 73320 France

Planning

Getting There

From London: The cheapest option is via budget airline into either Lyon, Geneva, or Chambery, however the later is only serviced by one budget airline. Flight Centre in the UK has some good deals on flights into either Geneva or Lyon. You can also catch the snowtrain from London, which is overnight and usually departs on Friday nights.

Flying into Geneva is the cheapest option. It is possible to catch a train from Geneva to Tignes, with the last leg a bus trip from Bourge St Mouritz up to the mountain. This trip is around 5.5hrs with three train/bus changes. One way journey is about 30Euro.

Private transfers are also available from Geneva, and are around 100Euro return per person. There is also a bus/coach, however the website is currently under maintenance.

Note: Changeover day is Saturday, and can be very very busy. Allow yourself a LOT of extra time on the return journey, especially if you are travelling in February (French school holidays).

Accommodation

On Mountain

There are countless accomodation options in Tignes.

The resort is split into a number of smaller villiages. Val Claret is the highest at 2100m, followed by Le Lac which is a short bus ride away across the lake. Both these precincts(and their smaller little "suburbs") are considered to be the main "heart" of Tignes, and have both the best access to the lifts and the best shopping/apres/nightlife.

Self catered units, which are usually pretty small and not much to look at, start at around 300pounds per unit per week in January, and at least double that in February.

There is an abundance of catered accomodation in Tignes, prices start at around 550pounds per person in January. These place are usually bigger and nicer than the self catered units, however they are more expensive.

The cheapest option in Val Claret or Le Lac is self catered apartments.

Further down the hill you have Tignes Les Boisses. This villiage is situated at around 1800m, and is smaller and quiter than the other two. It is also home to the YHA youth hostel, which offers a real bargain prices, starting at around 400Euro per week, including accomodation, lift passes to Espace Killy, and half board. See www.fuaj.org.

Even further down the hill you have Les Brevierres, which is often called the prettiest villiage in the resort. Accomodation is cheapest here, and is well suited to the budget traveller.

Off Mountain

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Lift Tickets

You can purchase either a Espace Killy lift ticket (Tignes and Val D'sire), or just a Tignes lift ticket. If you are staying for a week or two, consider the Espace Killy lift ticket.

The more days you purchase on your ticket, the bigger the discount you get!

Check out the Tignes website for details.

Ski School

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Equipment Hire

Ski's and snowboards are readily available.

Resort Facilities

Getting Around

The resort is interconnected by lifts and free busses.

Parking

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Activities

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Dining

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Bars & Entertainment

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Shopping

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Children

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Ride Guide

Beginner Areas

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Groomed Runs

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Off Piste

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Out of Bounds

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Cross Country

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Parks & Pipes

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Bumps

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Powder Zones

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Sheltered Runs

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Snowplay

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Other

Weather

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Geography

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History

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Resources

• ski.com.au/resorts

• More info on Tignes at Skicow.com

Maps

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