The ski area
Tignes sits at 1,550 m at the head of the Tarentaise, a cluster of villages around a lake: Tignes Le Lac, Val Claret, Le Lavachet, Tignes 1800 and, lower down, Les Brévières. The local sectors (Grande Motte, Col du Palet, Tovière and Brévières) add up to around 150 km of slopes and 34 lifts, and the Grande Motte glacier, reached by an underground funicular, tops out at 3,456 m. With Val d’Isère on the same pass the area grows to 300 km of marked pistes and 74 lifts, with a generous spread of blue, red and black.
Altitude is everything here. The 2026/2027 season opens progressively from 21 November 2026, the link with Val d’Isère follows from 28 November, and the lifts turn until 2 May 2027. The glacier also opens for summer skiing.
Who is Tignes for?
Tignes is a resort for people who want to ski seriously. Advanced skiers and freeriders have some of the best lift-served terrain in the Alps, intermediates have endless high reds between Tovière and the Col du Palet, and snowboarders have a long-standing park culture. After skiing, the bars in Le Lac and Val Claret are lively without reaching Ischgl levels. Families can be happy here, but the altitude and exposed terrain make it a better bet for teenagers who already ski than for toddlers.
Practical
From Brussels it is about 900 km and 9 hours, the last stretch a steep climb where winter tyres or chains are compulsory. Geneva airport is 180 km away. The Tignes–Val d’Isère pass costs 78 euros a day or 468 euros for 6 days in 2026/2027, with a free seventh day on the 6-day pass; a Tignes-only day pass is 70 euros.