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 in Europe. It is located in the Savoieregion with good transport links in and out of Lyon, Geneva and Chambery.
It is best known as a ski resort. Together with neighbouring Val d’Isère, it forms the “Espace Killy” 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 300km piste. Whilst not the largest ski area in the Alps, the level of integration between the two resorts has the effect of making it feel as one, often described as feeling like one of the largest ski areas as a result.
Tignes was the freestyle skiing venue for the 1992 Winter Olympics and co-host city for the 1992 Winter Paralympics, helping establishing the resort as haven for high intensity skiing.
The terrain of valley lends itself to comparably harder skiing, with advanced skiers often opting 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/installing new chairlifts with smaller elevation gains.