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
FIS Weighs Holding World Championships in Almost Every Winter, Starting 2032
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation is looking at a major shake-up to its title events calendar. From 2032, World Championships could run not just in odd-numbered years but in every non-Olympic winter too, effectively putting a global title event on the calendar almost every season. The FIS Council has approved the concept following a feasibility study, though an accelerated rollout as early as 2028 is also under consideration.
4 Sept 2026
Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026
Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.
4 Sept 2026
Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season
Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.
2 Sept 2026
Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6
We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.
1 Sept 2026
Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028
Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.
31 Aug 2026
Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured
An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.
28 Aug 2026
Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do
A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.
27 Aug 2026
Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September
Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.
26 Aug 2026
Tignes Snow Report
Snow Report
Updated 15 Sept 2026
3456m
summit
+0cm
new snow · last 24 hours
Mainly Clear9°C / 18°C · W 13km/h
Snowfall
24 hours
0cm
48 hours
0cm
7 days
28cm
Base depth
0cm
Season total
133cm
Total lifts34
Live open status isn’t available right now.
22 Nov 2025 - 3 May 2026
Hour by Hour
Next 46 hours· Updated Sep 15, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo
7-Day Outlook
3,456 mUpdated Sep 15, 2026 at 6:02 PMOpen-Meteo
Days 1–7
0.0cm
Days 8–14
0.0cm
Tue, Sept 15
Mainly Clear
Temp18° / 9°°C
Snow0.0cm
Wind13 km/h W
Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.
Understanding the Tignes snow report
Tignes snow conditions, updated regularly: current snowfall, snow depth, temperatures, and the outlook for this France resort.
Snow measurements
Snow depth at Tignes is tracked at both the base and summit, since the two elevations often see different totals — roughly a 1906m difference here. We report fresh snowfall over the last 24 hours and 7 days alongside the running season total, in both metric and imperial units.
Weather conditions
Wind and temperature swings matter as much as fresh snowfall. Cold, calm conditions hold snow quality well, while wind-loading or a warm-up can change things quickly — especially given the elevation spread between Tignes's base and summit.
Data sources
We pull Tignes's conditions from on-the-ground mountain reporting, then layer in forecast data so you get a fuller picture than either source alone. The mountain is served by 34 lifts, including a 8-person chairlift and 6 quad chairlifts.
When to check
Conditions can change overnight, so mornings and late afternoons are the best times to check back on Tignes.