There are many great ways to travel to Tignes from all over the world, including by air, train, car, and coach.
Travelling by Car
If you are coming from the UK or mainland Europe, driving is a great way to get to the French Alps and having a car can also give you greater freedom to explore the area while in the resort. The new motorway links across France make driving to the French Alps hassle-free, and the beautiful countryside means many people find the ride very enjoyable. And, if coming from the UK, the Eurotunnel and ferry offer regular and well-priced channel crossings.
Parking when in the resort is also easy and hassle-free, with two car parks in Tignes les Brevieres.
From the UK, channel crossings can be booked via Eurotunnel, DFDS Seaways, P&O Ferries or Brittany Ferries, with the onward journey from Calais taking approximately 10 to 12 hours. You should allow around £100 in petrol and £80 in tolls each way.
If you want to hire a car, we recommend booking in advance and using comparison sites such as AutoEurope to make sizeable savings. If hiring a car from Geneva, it is worth checking both the Swiss and French sides of the airport to compare prices.
While the mountain roads are generally gritted and cleared all the way to our chalets, it is now a legal requirement for cars to have either winter tyres or chains when driving in this mountain range. Chains can be purchased cheaply at the large supermarkets near the resort. And if you are hiring a car, be sure to specify that you need a vehicle with winter tyres/snow chains and a roof rack if required, as hire companies will not automatically provide these.
If you are staying in one of our chalets in Tignes les Brevieres, there are two large open-air car parks: one on the right as you enter the village, and one of the left at the end of the village opposite the Brevieres gondola. The first car park may be the preferred choice if you are staying in Chalet Coeur des Brevieres, while the far one may be the better option for the rest of our chalets, as it is located next to the Chalet Lift which connects the chalets to higher up in the village to the village centre and piste.
Parking
As of Winter 2022-23, the car parks are no longer free for guests. For 7 nights the cost of parking in either of the car parks in the village is €90.00. For Chalet Coeur des Brevieres we would recommend the Brévières Nord car park for all our other chalets we’d recommend the Brévières Sud car park, which is close to the pedestrian village lift (to book the parking click on the links).
For all of our chalets, both in Tignes les Brevieres, please be reassured that you are welcome to drive all the way up to your chalet on the day of your arrival or departure to load or offload your belongings, but we ask that guests do not park outside their chalets for any extended periods of time.
If the parking in the village is fully booked please try alternatives in Tignes les Boisses or Tignes le Lac. If the parking in Tignes is fully booked the next best option is to park in Val d’Isere you can book parking there at: https://www.parkingvaldisere.com/#/mobile-payment/offstreet/valdisere/home. We recommend either of the La Daille car parks as they are the closest to Tignes les Brevieres.
Things to be aware of
• The Cormet de Roseland, the Petit Saint Bernard, and the Col de l’Iseran are all shut from late October until around June, so cannot be used to access the resort
• Do not try to come through the Mont Blanc tunnel to get to Tignes, as this will direct you via a closed mountain pass.
• Be aware that some navigation systems may not know the road closures during the winter months, so it is worth double-checking these when planning your route
• Beware of speed guns and speed cameras, which in France are preceded by a sign saying ‘Pour votre sécurité contrôles automatiques’ alongside a picture of a radar. Speeding fines are common and can cost up to €90.
• One area worth considering is the route into Moûtiers: a high-speed two-lane road that becomes twisty and is often frequented by police. The limit here is 90kph. You should go slower from 5km before Moûtiers on the RN90 from Albertville, just after you pass the turn for ‘Grand Coeur’.
• Take care when travelling through the big tunnel on the way out of Moûtiers. There is a speed camera in the middle and the limit is 70kph. Drivers often only realise that the camera is there at the last moment and slam on their brakes, creating an obvious hazard.
Travelling by Train
France has many great train companies which connect to the whole of Europe and also connect the nearby airports to the resort, making train travel a great option from wherever you are travelling from.
Our friends at Snowcarbon are avid supporters of train travel, as it is a much more environmentally friendly and well-priced travel option for ski holidays. According to figures from Snowcarbon, travelling to the Alps by train saves up to 90% of the emissions versus flying – millions of kilograms of CO2 per season.
We recommend looking at Snowcarbon, Seat61, or Trainline for planning your route and for the different train options at your disposal.
Travelling from the UK?
You may have seen in the news or on social media that sadly the much-loved Ski Train run by Eurostar – which runs between the UK and the French Alps – has been cancelled this year. While sorry to see the Ski Train go, we’ve done some digging so that you can still opt for train travel, meaning you can still significantly reduce your carbon footprint, avoid baggage charges from the airlines, and still easily get to the resort.
Eurostar operates high-speed services from St. Pancras International and Ashford International to Paris. From Paris, you can book a journey with Train Grande Vitesse (TGV) all the way to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, via train booking services including the SNCF. Although not quite as direct, the TGV can often be a fair bit cheaper than the Ski Train. There is also the French ‘Intercités de Nuit’ overnight services which can be a slower but more affordable option, and means you can get to resort for first thing in the morning, giving you a full day of skiing on the day you arrive.
Snowcarbon has a very useful website for comparing prices and finding the cheapest travel option for your trip, and also have a great route planner which you can use here:
Trains arrive at Bourg-Saint-Maurice station, from where it is approximately a 25-minute journey to Tignes les Brévières, or 45 minutes to Val d’Isère. Taxis to resort from Bourg St Maurice usually cost in the region of €60 – €80. Alternatively, it is worth looking into availability with AltiBus, which provides a regular and reliable bus service up and down the mountain.
Travelling by Air
The nearest major airports to Tignes and Val d’Isere are Geneva, Grenoble, and Lyon. Most airlines serve these destinations, including budget carriers such as EasyJet and Ryanair. Chambery is a conveniently located alternative option, although flights to this airport are generally more limited and higher in cost.
Skyscanner is a really useful website for comparing prices and finding the cheapest travel option for your trip. It is worth noting that flights tend to increase in price closer to departure dates, so early booking is recommended.
We also advise checking the cost of ski and snowboard carriage with your preferred airline before booking, as this can significantly increase the final cost of your flights. Many guests find it cheaper and easier to take advantage of our well-discounted ski and snowboard hire, saving them both the expense and the hassle of transporting their equipment.
When choosing which airport to fly into, we also recommend you check with us to compare the prices of transfers to the resort as these do differ between airports.
Tignes les Brévières is approximately a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Geneva, Grenoble, and Lyon airports, while Chambery is approximately just two hours away. If you are staying in Val d’Isère you can expect to add a further 20 minutes on to your journey.
Travelling by Coach
Budget coach services run throughout mainland Europe, and, although timely, can be a fantastic option for those looking to reduce travel costs. Omio is a great website to find and book coach travel to the French Alps from all over Europe. A lot of these coaches may only travel to the nearest large city or airport, but then from here you can find local busses or trains for the last leg of your journey.
If travelling from the UK, Snow Express offers a service from London to Tignes at very competitive rates – almost certainly cheaper than a combined flight/airport transfer.
(Click on the map to open in Google Maps)