Tignes

Tignes (French pronunciation: [tiɲ]) is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good transport links in and out of Lyon, Geneva and Chambéry. It is best known as a snow sure ski resort. Together with neighbouring Val d'Isère, it forms the Tignes – Val d'Isère ski area. The proximity of two resorts offers one of the most seamless links between ski areas in Europe, in effect creating a single skiable area of over 300 km piste. Whilst not the largest ski area in the Alps, the level of integration between the two resorts is so good that it is often described as feeling like one of the largest single ski areas as a result. Tignes was the freestyle skiing venue for the 1992 Winter Olympics, co-host city for the 1992 Winter Paralympics and host of the Winter X Games. This, coupled with the year round skiing, season length and large number of ski parks/slalom runs has cemented Tignes as the go to training ground for snow sport athletes. The terrain of valley lends itself to more challenging skiing, with advanced skiers often opting for the resort as their preferred ski area. The town has however strived to improve its appeal to beginner and intermediate skiers with the introduction of easier runs lower down in the valley towards Tignes-Les-Brévières and upgrading existing chairlifts and installing new ones with smaller elevation gains.