France, Europe
Tignes
1906m vertical, 150km of runs, 300km with Val d'Isère. Grande Motte glacier extends season November to May. Tarentaise, France.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
22 Nov 2025
Closes
3 May 2026
Days open
162
Annual snow
8m
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Tignes operates across 1550 to 3456 metres, delivering 150 kilometres of marked runs and a vertical drop of 1906 metres. The Grande Motte glacier reaches 3656 metres and guarantees skiing from late November through to early May, with summer sessions running from late June to mid-July. Combined with neighbouring Val d'Isère, the Tignes–Val d'Isère ski area offers 300 kilometres of piste served by 78 lifts across over 10,000 hectares of skiable terrain. The resort hosted freestyle skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics and remains a training base for national ski teams.
Tignes divides terrain into 57% beginner, 25% intermediate, 10% advanced and 8% expert, though grading runs above 2100 metres elevation. The 10-kilometre La Sache black run descends through the Vallon de la Sache to Les Brévières, whilst the Grande Motte sector provides wide glacier bowls and red runs from 3456 metres. The Aiguille Percée area features the natural rock arch accessed via the Palafour chairlift, and the Tovière sector connects directly to Val d'Isère via gondola. Two terrain parks operate at the Grattalu chairlift, alongside boardercross and mogul training zones.
Five villages form the resort: Val Claret sits at 2100 metres with direct funicular access to the glacier, Tignes Le Lac operates as the main hub at 2100 metres, Le Lavachet lies between the two, Les Boisses sits at 1800 metres, and Les Brévières occupies the valley floor at 1550 metres. Purpose-built architecture dominates the upper villages, prioritising ski-in ski-out access over Alpine charm, though recent redevelopment has softened the 1960s concrete blocks. Free shuttle buses link all villages until midnight, and 113 snow cannons cover 50 kilometres of piste.
A joint Tignes–Val d'Isère pass costs €48 to €71 per day for adults in the 2025-26 season, whilst Tignes-only passes run €38 to €55. Season passes cost €1299 for the combined area. Children under 8 and seniors over 75 ski free, and the Ski Start beginner programme offers three progression levels with free lifts on initial stages. The resort suits confident intermediates and experts seeking high-altitude terrain, with glacier access extending the season well beyond typical French Alps closures.
1906m
Vertical
80
Runs
150 km
Piste
8m
Annual snow
The Terrain
80 runs across 150 km of piste
Tignes spreads 80 runs across 150 km of piste of terrain. It leans beginner at 57%, with 46 beginner runs to find your feet and 14 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
80
runs
80 runs across 4 grades
Beginner46 runs · 57%
Intermediate20 runs · 25%
Advanced8 runs · 10%
Expert6 runs · 8%
Time it right
When to visit Tignes
The 2025-26 season runs from 22 November 2025 to 3 May 2026, spanning 163 days. The Grande Motte glacier opens first with 20 kilometres of piste, then the full Tignes–Val d'Isère link opens from 29 November once lower sectors receive sufficient snow cover. Summer skiing operates from 21 June to 20 July 2026, offering 700 metres of vertical on the glacier with six lifts accessing 20 kilometres of groomed runs. The resort typically reopens in mid-October for autumn glacier skiing before the winter season begins.
Annual snowfall averages around 8 metres at 2100 metres, with over half the ski area lying above 2500 metres and the glacier providing permanent snow cover above 3000 metres. The resort's position against the Italian border captures both Atlantic depressions and Mediterranean low-pressure systems, delivering reliable accumulation from December through April. Snowmaking covers 50 kilometres of piste through 113 cannons, though natural snow depth at 2100 metres typically exceeds 2 metres by mid-season.
January and February deliver the coldest temperatures and most consistent powder, with the highest villages often registering well below freezing. March offers the sweet spot of long daylight hours, stable snow and warming temperatures, whilst April and early May provide spring corn conditions on south-facing slopes and maintained coverage on the glacier. December can see limited terrain until Christmas, and late November relies almost entirely on glacier skiing.
Winter Fest runs 11-13 January 2026 with snowboard film premieres and exhibitions, the FIS Para Alpine Skiing World Cup visits 2-6 February, and the French Alpine Ski Championships occupy 30 March to 8 April. European Snowpride takes place 21-28 March, and Spring Break programming fills 18 April to 3 May. The Live in Tignes music festival traditionally closes the season in early May with performances across multiple stages.
Season 2025 - 2026
22 Nov 2025
Opens
3 May 2026
Closes
162
Days open
8 m
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Tignes, and where to stay
Tignes sits in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie department of south-eastern France, 30 kilometres from Bourg-Saint-Maurice at the upper end of the Isère valley. The main villages occupy a natural cirque at 2100 metres, enclosed by the Grande Motte massif at 3656 metres, the Grande Casse at 3852 metres, and surrounding peaks forming the gateway to Vanoise National Park. The original village lies submerged beneath Lac du Chevril following construction of the Tignes Dam in 1952, with the dramatic concrete wall now painted with a Hercules fresco visible on the approach road.
Bourg-Saint-Maurice serves as the nearest major town, sitting 30 kilometres and 40 minutes down the valley with supermarkets, a TGV station and the regional hospital. Moutiers lies 45 kilometres north along the N90, whilst Albertville sits 80 kilometres distant at the junction of major Alpine valleys. Val d'Isère occupies the next valley 12 kilometres to the south, connected by lift and piste throughout the ski season. The wider Tarentaise Valley contains Les Arcs, La Plagne and the Trois Vallées within an hour's drive.
The N90 from Albertville and Moutiers provides the sole road access via Bourg-Saint-Maurice, climbing 1000 metres over 30 kilometres of switchbacks with spectacular views of the dam and valley. Geneva Airport lies 220 kilometres and approximately three hours west via the A40 autoroute to Annecy then the N90 through Albertville, with transfer times extending to four hours during Saturday changeover traffic. Chambéry Airport sits 143 kilometres and two hours south via the A43 and N90, offering the shortest airport transfer.
Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport lies 220 kilometres and three hours southeast, whilst Grenoble sits 164 kilometres and three hours southwest. Bourg-Saint-Maurice railway station receives direct TGV services from Paris in five hours and weekend Eurostar connections from London via Lyon, with local buses covering the final 30 kilometres to resort in 40-60 minutes. Altibus operates year-round bus services from the station to all five Tignes villages, with tickets costing €12 for adults and departures coordinated with train arrivals.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Tignes, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Ski-E-O! Is the Ski Resort Tycoon Game We Didn't Know We Needed
I'm not a gamer. I'm a skier and snowboarder who happens to have a laptop. So when a ski resort management game called Ski-E-O! landed on Steam, I wasn't expecting to lose an afternoon to it - but here we are. Real mountain terrain, a full weather system, storms that roll in and wreck your snow base, avalanche danger, and enough depth to make RollerCoaster Tycoon feel simple by comparison. Early access lands in November. Here's what a few hours in the free demo actually looks like.
23 Aug 2026
Sugar Bowl, California, Rebuilds Its Historic Village Gondola
The rumours are true: Sugar Bowl is tearing out its Emerald gondola, in place since 1983, and replacing it with a new 8-person Doppelmayr system - nearly doubling uphill capacity to 1,800 people an hour. It's the fourth generation of a gondola line that dates back to 1953, when Sugar Bowl became the first resort on the West Coast to run one at all, and it's just one piece of a $100 million overhaul touching lodges, parking and snowmaking. Here's what's changing, and what's staying the same.
23 Aug 2026
Two Confirmed Dead as Search Continues After Swiss Alps Fire
The death toll from Thursday night's fire at Restaurant Beverin in Thusis, Switzerland, has begun to firm up. One Swiss outlet, citing Graubünden Cantonal Police, reports that two of the five people initially reported missing have now been confirmed dead, leaving three unaccounted for. The building's collapsed stairwell and structural instability have slowed recovery efforts throughout. Here's what's changed since the fire broke out, and what's still unconfirmed.
22 Aug 2026
Selwyn Snow Resort Closes Early as Rain Ends Its 2026 Season
Selwyn Snow Resort has called an early end to its 2026 season, a day after Victoria's Mount Baw Baw did the same. Rain on Thursday stripped what was left of the snowpack, and the cold nights needed to rebuild it through snowmaking never arrived. It's a rough result for a resort that only just found its footing again after being burned to the ground in the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires and a multi-year rebuild. Here's how the season fell apart, and where Selwyn's been since the fire.
22 Aug 2026
Mt Baw Baw Becomes First Australian Resort to Close for 2026
Mt Baw Baw is calling time on its 2026 season this Sunday at 5pm, becoming the first Australian resort to close for the year after warm spells and rain wore through its snowpack. Lifts stop, but the resort stays open, entry fees get waived, and there's one last Bollywood Weekend before the lights go out. Fifty-seven days after opening, here's how the season ended and what it means for the rest of Australia's struggling snowpack.
21 Aug 2026
Arosa to Replace 40-Year-Old Hörnli Lifts With New Gondola and Chair
Arosa's Hörnli sector is getting its biggest overhaul in decades. The 1986 gondola and 1994 chairlift linking toward Lenzerheide are both being replaced, with capacity up, tower count down and a new base station lower on the hill. At roughly CHF 67 million, it is the largest single investment Arosa Bergbahnen has ever made - and the target opening has already slipped a year, to December 2028. Here is what is changing, and why the timeline moved.
20 Aug 2026
Sundance Mountain Resort Is Getting a New High-Speed Quad and More Back Mountain Terrain This Winter
Sundance Mountain Resort's back mountain is finally getting a proper lift. The Electric Horseman Express opens for 2026-27, unlocking a new bowl next to Bishop's Bowl and three expert gladed chutes across roughly 105 fresh acres - on top of the Storyteller ridge run that debuted in preview form last season. It's Sundance's biggest expansion since 1985, and it turns a three-lift slog into a single six-minute ride to Bearclaw Summit.
19 Aug 2026
Levi and Ruka Confirm October 2 Opening on Farmed Summer Snow
Finland's Levi and Ruka open for the 2026-27 season on October 2, more than seven weeks before most of Europe sees a lift turn. Neither resort is waiting on autumn snowfall - both are skiing on snow buried since last spring, insulated through the Finnish summer and dug back out for opening day. It is not a shortcut. It is a decades-old system now spreading from the Arctic Circle to Idaho, Utah, Vermont and Colorado. Here is how snow farming actually works, and why it is catching on.
19 Aug 2026
Lift system
Tignes operates 34 lifts: 5 gondolas, 1 eight-seat chairlift, 9 six-seat chairs, 6 quad chairs, 3 triple chairs and 10 T-bars. The Perce-Neige funicular from Val Claret transports up to 3000 passengers per hour at 12 metres per second, covering 3484 metres in six minutes to reach 3032 metres. The Grande Motte cable car then ascends from the funicular terminus to 3456 metres, the highest lift-served point in the ski area. Combined uphill capacity across Tignes and Val d'Isère exceeds 145,000 skiers per hour.
The new six-seat Aiguille Percée chairlift installed for 2025-26 travels at six metres per second with capacity for 2800 skiers per hour, completing the upgrade of the Le Lac and Les Brévières sectors following the Marais chairlift replacement. The Tovière gondola provides the main link to Val d'Isère via the Tommeuses sector, whilst the Aeroski bubble from Tignes Le Lac and the Tufs and Bollin chairs from Val Claret offer alternative crossings. The eight-seat Les Boisses gondola connects the 1800-metre village to the main ski area in under 10 minutes.
Access from Les Brévières relies on a modern gondola that whisks skiers 550 vertical metres to 2100 metres, opening the entire Tignes and Val d'Isère network without intermediate changes. The Palafour and Grand Huit chairs serve the cruising terrain above Le Lac, whilst the Grattalu chairlift accesses both terrain parks and the upper Palet sector. Fast six-seat chairs predominate across the main ski area, minimising queue times outside French school holiday periods.
The funicular operates as an underground railway through the mountain, eliminating weather disruption and providing year-round access to the glacier for summer skiing, sightseeing and altitude training. Two trains pass at the midpoint of the 920-metre elevation gain, with the descending train assisting the ascending service through cable-driven counterbalance. Lift pass readers now use contactless technology across most installations, and real-time lift status updates appear on digital boards in all five villages.
34lifts across 6 types
5
Gondolas
1
8-Person Chair
9
6-Person Chairs
6
Quad Chairs
3
Triple Chairs
10
T-Bars
Tignes lift system
Tignes is served by 34 lifts, listed here by type. Check which lifts are turning against the live conditions before you plan your first laps - early lifts and high-speed chairs get you to the best snow fastest.
More Tignes intelligence: trail map, snow report, webcams, resort overview.