Tignes, France

Peter Mason from UNITED KINGDOM writes:

I visited the area in 2000 and had a superb week in January. I went by train and had the benefit of two Saturdays skiing as opposed to travelling to and from the airport. Met a bunch of folks in a chalet in Val D'Isere led by Gerry and Gill who knew everywhere to go both to ski and eat. After a great week I decided that I had only skied about half of the resort and so went back in March staying in Tignes to discover the rest of the area. The second time was even better as I really started to understand how the lifts system linked together and so had to spend less time looking at piste maps and checking times of lifts. Have not missed a year since (except 2007 when I had a triple heart bi-pass and was under orders from the Doc.) All of the different parts have their own attractions and it is a question of both balancing your priorities and budget. I rarely pay more than £250 for a catered week using Skiworld who I believe to be the best operator in the Alps. You do have to wait until a week or so before setting off to get such deals and this means you can almost get three weeks for the price of two normal trips.
My favourite location is Val Claret where you have plenty of bars and restaurants and almost no walking as access to the slopes is close at hand. It is not in the same league as Val D'Isere for nightlife but I believe it does have the best restaurant in Le Caveau where the food and entertainment are the very best. The area sets the standard for ski resorts and I'm convinced that once you've tried it you will definitely want to return. I'm off again on Friday for a pre Christmas trip and hopefully will be back again in the new year. Enjoy

2008-12-09