Tignes Is Excellent (Tignes)

Member Name: Andy_83

Product:	Tignes
Date:	14/01/02 (390 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: In opinion

Disadvantages: In opinion

I went to Tignes this Christmas 22nd December until the 29th and in terms of skiing it was the best place i had ever skiied. It was absolutely superb.

Tignes probably has one of the ugliest villages around. However, its high base (2000m) and its location in one of the best natural snow basins in the French Alps makes it a snowsure resort right through until the end of April. Skiing is fantastic, especially if you ski off-piste where fresh tracks can be left on different slopes everyday for weeks. Beginners and intermediates can also enjoy the huge area linked up with Val d'isere. Both Val and Tignes have glacier skiing for much of the year. Tignes glacier the Grand Motte goes up to 3500m and has some decent runs mainly intermediate but a couple are advanced. Val d'isere has a flatter glacier at La Fornet which is suitable for beginners and intermediates.

The skiing in Tignes is suitable for absolutely everyone, wether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced there is something here for you due to the sheer size of the skiing area that your ski pass covers. The runs around and down into the Tignes Val Claret resort tend to be Blue but there is a red, up the Langres lift, this is espeicially good first thing in the morning when the piste machines have pisted the run and it is not busy. My dad and i got up first thing to do this particular run every morning as it was so good.

Weather Conditions

At 3500m the Glacier gets seriously cold and windy. Apart from here, a lot of the pistes in Tignes are in valleys which are protected from much of the wind and weather. This leads to some spectacular dry and deep powder especially if you don't mind stepping off the piste. Be warned though, if you want to go to Val d'isere in windy cold weather, then wrap up warm because as soon as you leave the Tignes valley there is a windswept plain to cover until you get down to tree level at La Daille.

Facilitie
s

The lift system is modern and effective. Downsides are the fairly long queues for the high speed chair and the Funicular from Val Claret (highest of the Tignes villages 2100m) to the base of the Grand Motte glacier and again for the cable car up to the top of the glacier. Has a snowboard park and is regularly used for ski/board racing and for bump or aerial competitions.

Car parking is large but fills up early in high season. It is possible to get an indoor sport, but book in advance, this makes it more likely that your car will start when you leave in a weeks time!

Plenty of characterful mountain restaurants but food quality can vary. Shopping in the village has just about everything you need although prices are high. One particular resort i must name was "Les Trois Oursoins" or "The 3 Bears" we ate here 3 out of 7 nights and the food was gorgeous, service friendly and efficient. The resturarant had loads of Russ bears all over it and you could actually buy the bears on show, it was simply amazing.

Ski schools are still dominated by ecole du ski france which don't list the english language as a high priority. However, there are a few smaller ski schools who are now specialising in english speaking instructors. Ski guides are also available and essential if you want to really get to some top quality untracked snow SAFELY

The nearest main airport is Lyon (3hrs drive), but Geneva is not that much further and has a greater number of flights from different destinations. Eurostar train travels from London Waterloo through Paris to Bourg St Maurice which is the nearest main off snow village (about 35mins drive). Bourg also has easy and quick access to Les Arcs, La Plagne and the Trois Vallee plus several other smaller resorts. Transport in between Tignes/Val villages via a regular free bus service.

Because of its snowsure and skiing quality, accomodation in Tignes is
not cheap. However, Tignes has several villages associated with it. Le Menuires near the Dam is cheap so is my favourite which is Tignes le Brevieres the lowest village at 1700m. Tignes Le Brevieres has excellent access to the rest of Tignes with generally small queues and great restaurants. Cheaper still is to stay in Bourg St Maurice where there are various forms of cheap accomodation and its where many staff stay.

Like any ski resort of this stature it has loads of bars/restaurants and clubs. However it is less easy finding them all as they are not well sign posted and are often within buildings such as hotels. They are well worth looking for though. The Sub-Zero discotheque is well worth a look.

Pros

- Off piste to die for (hopefully not literally).
- As snowsure as you can get.
- Huge range of runs linked with Val d'isere will ensure skiing different runs for days if not weeks.

Cons

- Cable car up the glacier always has long queues.
- Quite pricey if staying in the main villages.
- Fluent English in main French ski school is not that common.

Summary: