 Poster: A snowHead
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Going to Tignes Easter '06...
So can anyone help me out? I want the good, the bad and the ugly!! Also what's the nearest airport / transfer time and snow-sureability?
Any help much appreciated!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Snow-Queen, the nearest airport is Bourg St Maurice railway station if you fly by Eurostar or Paris/Calais overnight snowtrain. Lots of people do it that way.
From Manchester, though, I guess you'll be flying into Lyon or Geneva. Transfer-wise there's not much to choose between them. Avoid Saturdays if you want to avoid jams. Reckon on about 4 hours to get there from either airport. Chambery airport is closer, but regularly criticised on this forum for delays and hassles.
Snow reliability in Tignes is as good as it gets.
Yes, it's ugly. The ski landscapes are magnificent, though!
Personally, I'd always stay in Val d'Isere and pay a bit more if necessary. A far more pleasant ski resort.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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David Goldsmith, have to take issue with comparing Tignes to Val d'Isere, IMHO Tignes is the better resort, I think the skiing is better, and the skiing links are better. You don't have to go back to the village to transit from one area to another. OK it's ugly but the snow hides most of the hideousness and the snow cover is relaible, it's usually the first resort to open.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 20-05-05 18:21; edited 1 time in total
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Val Claret is the highest and the easiest on the eye, I'd say.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You want the ugly? This is it: Tignes is snow-sure, but it's certainly not ski-sure; it's so high that bad weather can close every lift in the place.
A couple of years ago I went in late January, and didn't get a proper day's skiing in the whole week. In the whole time I was there, the link to Val d'Isere was open for less than 2 hours, the link to Les Brevieres (? spelling!) was open for one afternoon, Val Claret and Le Lac were linked only for a couple of hours on each of 3 days, and the the funicular opened on just two days. Most days the lifts didn't open until lunchtime, even on the nursery slopes, and fewer than half of the marked pistes opened at any point in the week. And some runs that did open verged on the unskiable - I had to pull my son down one slope, as he wasn't heavy enough to move against the wind. Travelling to a lower resort wasn't an option, either, as the road down the valley was closed on several occasions, and we were afraid of getting cut off if we tried.
On the plus side, we had some pretty awesome powder, and the resort did give a partial refund on our lift passes. And I can't imagine our experience was typical, either.
If it's any consolation, I do want to go back!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Skiing good, transfer bad, resort ugly. Val D'Isere has better nightlife, but Tignes has more convenient skiing. If its skiing you are interested in then Tignes is simply magnificent, if its alpine charm and cozyness then think again. Above posts tend to cover all your questions. Night clubs are in Val Claret but be prepared for a long walk if you are very late and the weather bad.
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| Quote: |
| Skiing good, transfer bad, resort ugly |
I have to challenge the accepted wisdom that Tignes is ugly because it has so many brutally modern buildings. The real problem with the resort's architecture is that they're trying to cover it up.
1960s tower blocks with wood cladding look no better than a cellulite-ridden OAP in a thong, but a well maintained cluster of concrete brutalism (sadly now a very rare sight) is dramatic in its scale and ambition. Set amongst the grandeur of the mountains, Tignes' tower blocks must have looked awesome when they were first built, but the effect has been completely ruined by a rash of modern twee Disneyesque low-rise monstrosities  . We need to see our 1960s heritage preserved for generations to come, not destroyed by the philistine influences of popular taste.
Given New York or Poundbury, I'd take the former every time.
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JJ,
I hope you are taking the mick. Tignes is, and always has been, UGLY! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I tend to agree with Jonny Jones. There is an apartment block opposite the car park in Val Claret which has added (or possibly painted) hideous blue and yellow window shutters in a faux-Heidi style. It is very incongruous. Although Tignes might not be to many people's tastes, at least it had some form of intellectual coherence when it was built. Trying to make it Alpine chalet-like just doesn't do it for me. If you want chocolate-box pretty there are lots of alternatives.
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Got to agree with traxvax on this one Tignes is much better than VD, The nightlife's a bit limited but the food is much better value and certainly no worse (you can even get a decent chili up in Val Claret). It has one of the longest free lifts in the area for its baby slope . . but that slope will keep a beginner happy for nearly a week and if you get there or leave at an odd time it'll give you a nice half day's warm up/down to get your legs in, or sort your rental kit without a long trek down from the glacier. I've always stayed up in V'Claret and never been bored or stuck for something to do in the evenings. Taxis are fairly cheap and the local buses are timed to link in the Eurostar if you're using that travel plan. There is a bus from the main airports but they need to be booked on line before you go.
Oh and many of the rooms/apartments are built on a scale that makes passing someone in a corridor a fairly intimate experience . . . a bog in one was so narrow a (heavy) mate could reach the paper on the door in front of him but couldn't get his hand around to attend to business 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
JJ,
I hope you are taking the mick. Tignes is, and always has been, UGLY! Mad |
Not taking the mick at all. I love picture-postcard Alpine villages, but hate modern buildings that try to pretend they've been there for 500 years. We build differently from our ancestors because we have better technology than they did, and our awareness of different architectural styles from around the world leads to a much more eclectic approach.
Tignes looks magnificent from some directions. From across the lake, the outline of Val Claret's tower blocks is like a miniature mountain that reflects the grandeur of the peaks behind. And, from above, the huge buildings of Le Bec Rouge have a sense of drama that pretty little chalets could never offer. It's just a shame that, close up, so many of the buildings have been shabbily maintained or reskinned in something supposedly more sympathetic.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Johnny Jonesrob@rar.org.uk, what? For me Tignes is not the back bottom of the world, it's the Haemorroid on the back bottom of the world! I've seen more charming architecture in suburban Dallas (which also qualifies as a Haemorroid... )
To plonk these monstrosities down into the middle of the one of the most scenically beautiful parts of the planet is simply a crime. No discussion.
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| Masque wrote: |
| ....It has one of the longest free lifts in the area for its baby slope . . but that slope will keep a beginner happy for nearly a week .... |
Wouldn't go along with that - unless things have changed lately. That slope used to get scraped and hard, albeit with a dusting of snow on the top. It was not pleasant to ski on. Perhaps better artificial snow techniques have improved things lately (not been to the Espace Killy for quie a while, now). As for a beginner being being happy on it for a week - perhaps a little poetic licence? 
Must say Tignes has a lot going for it. But it is ugly. And not many trees around. I think I'll be going to Val D when I go back that way again,
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You know it makes sense.
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Tignes is ugly but so are many of the resorts that were developed in the 60's and 70's with supposedly 'modern' styling. The only one that I feel has any grandeur and does look as if it fits with the scenery is Avoriaz.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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If it's a choice between Tignes and Val d'Isere, I would choose Val d'Isere every time.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Nick Zotov, I've always been lucky and not often seen the guns being used, for an absolute beginner . . . yeah well ok 3 or 4 days but it dous mean that you don't have to shell out for a weeks pass that you'll not use.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Nick Zotov, this year in Tignes, one of our party was quite happy on the free slope for the whole week!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Mike Lawrie wrote: |
| rob@rar.org.uk, what? |
My point is not that Tignes isn't ugly (I think it is), but that putting a few bits of wood cladding on the buildings doesn't make it any prettier. Unless you plan to raze it to the ground, I think that you might as well leave it as it was designed: not pretty, but certainly distinctive.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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rob@rar.org.uk, as they say up here, you can't polish a turd. 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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rob@rar.org.uk. It's been at least five years since I've seen Tignes. I don't think they were making any attempt at hiding things last time I was there. So have they built a Tchernobyl like wooden sarcophagus around the buildings or what? All the better to burn then with 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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In the ugliness stakes Tignes v. Plagne v. Flaine v. Avoriaz who's the winner  perhaps a couple of US resorts could be entered in to this race?
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boredsurfin, I've never been to Tignes but Plagne is much uglier than Flaine in my humble opinion. I actually prefer Aime Plagne to Plagne Centre. Plagne Centre doesn't look like it was supposed to be like that just that it was cheap. Flaine is unusual but the more that I've gone there the more I learnt to actually like the Bauhaus architecture.
What about Les Menuires in the ugliness stakes?
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Plagne Centre is very dated. Its not the buildings that bother me but the fact that skiing is its reason for being thhere, and skiing seems to be the last thing that was considered when it was built. eg crossing from Aime is a long pole or walk. The new funiplagne lift is built in blocks any possibilty of skiing accross from the Boilley sector. La France building straddles the Boulevarde piste, which is for learners, but suffers from pedestrain traffic that has to cross the piste to access the building, and this at a point where the piste narrows. And the list goes on.
Still a great ski resort though.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Wed 1-06-05 9:11; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Masque said "you can even get a decent chili up in Val Claret".
Pray tell where? The Wobbly Rabbit closed a couple of years ago -- the last time I went in there it was just a pretty grotty bar - is there somewhere else or has it re-opened as a Tex/Mex again?
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davehk, It's closed! ßugger!
Yeah it's been a couple of years since I was last there. Next you'll be telling me that Crowded is now a cocktail bar.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I have never stayed there but have always found Les Menuieres, the ugliest place around; even the valley it is in is not particularly attractive.
Perversly I have always liked staying in Tignes though it is no beauty, I have found it friendlier than some and much more down to earth than Val d'Isere.
PS I agree that Avoriaz is actually built in a manner sympathetic to it's surroundings and is at least fairly dramatic to look at.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Wed 1-06-05 13:17; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
In the ugliness stakes Tignes v. Plagne v. Flaine v. Avoriaz who's the winner
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| Quote: |
What about Les Menuires in the ugliness stakes?
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Not been to Flaine, but Les Menuires is by far the ugliest of the rest of the 5 in my book, at least La Plagne looks like there was a concept in the first place I'm not so sure about Les Menuires, although skiing through it is easy!
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For once I agree with David@traxvax, Avoriaz is a good looking resort. Although it doesn't have the high altitude skiing of Val d'Isere / Tignes it does have some decent tree sking, very useful in bad weather.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Chris Reed wrote: |
boredsurfin,
What about Les Menuires in the ugliness stakes? |
Of Course Les Menuires is the ugliest by far and therefore the 'race' is really about second place
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Masque wrote:
Yes, that was my reaction!
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Next you'll be telling me that Crowded is now a cocktail bar
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Wasn't in Feb 2004, which was the last time I was there. Back there again next Feb so I'll let you know!
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Poster: A snowHead
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The Crowded House is still a pub guys.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Tignes is not pretty. I stayed in Tignes les Brevieres in March and thought it was great. A small village (the very bottom part of Tignes), no high rise stuff and still mostly old chalets. Fantastic restaurants too. Gondola goes straight up to Aiguille Percee area. We stayed in a great appartment there which was very reasonable too.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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There are obviously different views on what constitutes ugly. I have no problem at all with architecturally bleak design in bleak environments, such as Tignes (the apartments do need to be about twice the size, though). Avoriaz's architecture is fine too; it reflects the shape of the mountains and doesn't sit up on a ridge dominating the view. These places have got to be better than the bland faux chalets of Meribel and no doubt elsewhere.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have to agree with richmond here, our tastes and views are very different. I think Avoriaz is horrible and I would never consider being based there, but if it was a toss up between there or nowhere or the office then it wins hands down!!. A lot of folks think Flaine is a concrete monster, but I have never viewed it quite that way. Have never stayed in any of the Tignes ski areas ( but will be at La Lac for Christmas this year ) but have skied through and had lunch around Tignes and it is what it is - bloody handy for getting on the piste. La Plagne's Club Med huge cruise liner is an interesting feature, I have only skied La Plagne once, based in Centre, and thought the skiing was very under rated and certainly was a better and more dominant feature than the accommodation/base areas.
Maybe there is no such thing as an ugly or bad ski resort, especially if you hit lucky with the snow/weather conditions.
My 2d's worth and probably not worth that.
CP
BTW. How many sleeps are there until December 23rd
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