Family holidays in Tignes

If you’re coming for a ski holiday with a young family, look for accommodation near any of the lifts. The fewer steps your little people have to take in ski boots, the better (for all concerned!).

Tignes is popular with families. It has:

• ski-in/ski-out accommodation
• most of the accommodation is in self-catering apartments
• each village also has a good selection of hotels if you prefer a full service holiday

Tignes le Lac: central location, nursery slopes, large choice of accommodation.

Val Claret: busy hub, lively après-ski, better value accommodation, ten minutes by bus from the resort.

Les Brévières: quieter, charming village further down the valley, direct access to the ski area.

Les Boisses/Tignes 1800: developed towards families with newly built ski in/ski out accommodation and nursery ski areas. 

If you plan on enrolling in ski school, find out where your meeting point will be so that you can make sure you know how to get there in the morning. The main meet up areas are in Le Lac and Val Claret, at the bottom of the nursery slopes.

Lift passes make up a significant portion of the cost of a family holiday to the mountains, so it pays to check you’re buying the right ticket for your group. 

Here in Tignes there are various concessions to help you keep your costs down, such as:

• children under 8 use the lifts for free
• children between 8 and 18 pay a reduced ('youth') rate
• there are free passes if you only want to use the beginner lifts
• you can buy a pedestrian pass - if maybe you or your partner don’t ski, but you still want to go up and watch the kids

You can buy half day lift tickets if a full day on the mountain seems too long. It’s not a lot cheaper than an all day ticket, but it’ll save you a little bit. 

Lift passes in Tignes for families of four or more

If you're a family of four or more, you'll be able to save money on the regular ticket price by buying a 'family lift pass'. With one of these:  

• everyone pays a discounted rate as long as two are children aged 8 to 18

Please see our ski lift pass prices page for further information.

If you have designs on raising the next Shaun White or Chemmy Alcot, then getting your kids into ski school will be a priority!

The ski schools cater for young children offering: 

• full and half-day sessions
• English speaking guides
• will take your kids to a dedicated area where they can learn how to snow plough, stop, turn and glide safely

Ski schools usually take weekly bookings, so if you’re only here for a few days it’s good to check if there’s any space for your kids.

What age can kids start ski lessons

Ski schools will take kids from 3 years old. At this age, the focus is on having fun in the snow, so there are normally inflatables and games to play. 

Most beginner areas also have a ‘magic carpet’ travelator (a bit like the ones you get at airports) to get kids and beginner adults to the top of the slopes without having to contend with lifts.

Whether you’re a kid or an adult, half-day lessons are normally more than enough if you’re a novice.

What’s included in the price of a lesson

The price you pay for a ski lesson is for tuition only. Ski passes are not included.

So you’ll need to make sure they have: 

• a valid ski pass (you can get discounted passes if you're only using the nursery slopes)
• skis, helmets, goggles - you can hire these from one of the many ski hire shops in the resort
• appropriate clothing, like salopettes and a jacket, warm layers and gloves  

A ski pass isn’t necessary for kids under eight, but you'll still need to buy a hands-free card for them to use on the turnstiles. You can get one of these from any lift station, take ID to prove their age.

A decent mix of terrain should keep all the family happy.  

Val Claret and Le Lac are the main nursery ski areas for children and beginners. Here you will find several free ski lifts; it's also where most of the ski schools meet up.

Les Brévières and Tignes 1800 has a nursery area with a free lift. Further beginner areas can be found above Les Brévières. The Gliss Park is a mini playground filled with boxes, whoops and a boardercross, it's located at the bottom of the Palafour lift. 

Tignes is a year-round resort, and it’s a great place to come whether it’s winter or summer. It all depends on what you love doing.

If you’ve got children, here are a few things you might want to try.

There are several options available for childcare. 

If you're here in summer

You may find that the main sports centre of each town host a kids club during the summer holidays, with activities such as swimming, climbing, tennis, basketball, ice-skating, etc and organised hikes and picnics.