Tignes or Val Thorens?
These two are close on 6 of 9 measures. That is the honest answer: the numbers will not choose for you, so the difference below that matters to you is the one to decide on.
France
Tignes
Glacier skiing, a long season and serious lift-accessed off-piste. Tignes le Lac is functional rather than pretty; Val Claret puts you closest to the Grande Motte.
Worth knowing. Functional concrete rather than a village. You are here for the glacier.
Choose it if
Off-piste
About £1,287 a week from London
France
Val Thorens
Europe's highest major resort at 2,300 m, which buys near-guaranteed snow from late November to early May. The trade-off is a purpose-built village with little charm and a treeless bowl that turns miserable in a whiteout.
Worth knowing. Purpose-built and treeless — a whiteout leaves you nothing to see by.
Choose it if
A non-skiing partner
About £1,305 a week from London
Side by side
| Tignes | Val Thorens | |
|---|---|---|
| Snow reliability | 92/100 | 96/100 |
| Size of the ski area | 300 km linked | 600 km linked |
| Top lift | 3456 m | 3230 m |
| Cost before travel | €1260 | €1290 |
| Families with young kids | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Snowboarders | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| A non-skiing partner | 3/10 | 4/10 |
| Budget and après | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Off-piste | 9/10 | 7/10 |
Bold marks the winner. Rows where neither is bold are close enough that the difference would not change a decision. Cost excludes travel, which depends on where you leave from.
Piste kilometres, lift counts and prices are indicative and compiled from public sources — they have not yet been checked against the resort's own figures for this season. Costs are planning estimates, not quotes. Spotted one that is wrong? Tell us.