Tignes' nightlife is almost as exhausting as its mountain pursuits! With a wide range of restaurants, bars and cafés to keep you well fed and watered there is also a plentiful array of opportunties for a bit of après or late-night venues for a spot of clubbing. The countless terraces ensure that you can always find a sunny spot to relax in...
Alpine Food & Drink
Although not as renowned as the haute cuisine of Paris or the fine bistros of Lyon the Alps do have a number of tasty treats in store for those who like to sample some regional specialities. Meat and cheese feature heavily in Alpine cooking – so it’s just as well there are plenty of mountains where you can work off the extra pounds! ... see "Dining in the Alps" for more
Aprés Ski
There’s no better way to celebrate a great day on the slopes than with a few well earned après ski drinks amongst friends. Whether you prefer to soak up the last of the afternoon sun with a quiet beer or dance on the tables in your ski boots Tignes has no shortage of great spots on which to set your sights when the lifts shut for the day. Here are a few suggestions:
Crowded House, beneath the Hotel Curling in Val Claret: Fun and noisy 'Brits' bar - look out for their regular drinks promotions.
TC's Bar, Le Lavachet: Home to the legendary 'Night of 1000 Shots'. Shows all the sports on its giant screen.
Le Loop Bar, Le Lac: The sunny terrace makes this a great spot for ending the day with a cold beer or two; overlooking the Trolles black run, the off-piste Lavachet Wall and the Rosset learner slope you can kick back and watch the action from your deckchair.
Scotty's, Le Lavachet: Lively après venue with regular live music and big plasma screens.
Le Brasero, Le Lavachet: Great food, fun bar staff, live music and cheap drink deals.
To hear about all the après action as it happens check out our regular Après Ski Report!
Clubs & Bars
Besides offering world-class skiing, Tignes boasts a very healthy nightlife. In all areas of the resort of Tignes, bars are plentiful in supply. In Le Lavachet TC’s Bar is a lively place popular with English-speaking visitors alongside Scotty’s Bar (the old Harri’s Bar) which has historically been popular with British skiers. For the more discerning après-skier try Le Lavachet Lounge, a cosy little bar next to TC’s Bar that offers a slightly calmer environment to normal.
In Le Lac the Loop Bar frequently has live music and DJs but unfortunately is often very busy as a result! La Grotte du Yeti, the Dutch bar in town is a fun place with frequent wild party nights and is open until 2.00am. L’Embuscade, a well-liked French run bar, is generally packed with locals and is worth a visit. Other bars of interest are Bagus Bar, a sophisticated, slightly up market bar and Alpaka Lodge with its excellent cocktail list.
In Val Claret by far the most exciting place is the Grizzly’s Bar. It has lots of huge light wooden beams, an open fireplace and good middle-of-the-road CD music. The Crowded House, recently renovated, is very popular with English seasonnaires and as such is often very busy. Le Caveau is a kind of bar/restaurant with live blues music every night and fantastic food. Couloir is another favourite for eating out and for some great DJ line ups.
For all the party people out there Tignes has four nightclubs, each with their own distinct look, clientele and atmosphere. The late-night dancing venues are Jacks Club for the cheesy dancing or Winter Clubb for some serious after bar action in Le Lac. As far as clubbing is concerned in Val Claret all your needs are met by Melting Pot, a popular choice for seasonnaires and guests alike or try Blue Girl, but watch out for the ‘adults’ show on Tuesdays.
For further details on what Tignes has to offer see our Bars, Cafes & Clubs listings.
Restaurants
Tignes has a host of restaurants, catering for all tastes. Although there are plenty of international and more modern menu options the Savoyard classics are still prevalent and well worth a try!
The costs of nights out in Tignes can vary depending on what you fancy doing but if you know where to go a great night doesn’t have to break the bank.
There are plenty of great restaurants in Tignes, some with fabulous reputations. Le Caveau in Val Claret and Le Clin D’oeil are two of the best and can cost anywhere from between €50 and €100 a head just for food but if you take one of the fabulous set menus the cost will be lessened to about €35 without missing out on the quality. Most of the restaurants do have set menus so its really easy to keep the costs down. As usual it is the drinks that can push anyone’s bill through the roof so its best to check out the drinks prices first. It is usually better value to drink wine.
There are plenty of other restaurants that fall into a lower budget category but still deliver a great standard. Le Bouchon in Le Lavachet for example has a 5 course meal at just €21.50 a head which is a bargain in anyone’s book and the food is fantastic.
Although French cuisine isn't reknowned for being particularly veggie-friendly there are a number of restaurants in town that serve vegetarian options; you could try the Alpaka Lodge, Daffy's Café, Hôtel le Marais, La Pignatta, Le Caveau or Le Clin d'Oeil.
The Couloir in Val Claret serves great international cuisine such as kangaroo steaks and fajitas as well as home-cooked classics such as Lancashire hot-pot and rice pudding. Before you are seated up in the mezzanine make time for a mojito in the bar downstairs - they're lovely!
One of the pleasures of coming to a ski resort is sampling the local specialities in the wonderful setting of one of the many mountain restaurants. They can vary greatly in terms of cost, quality and service; most of the ones on or near pistes are carb-loading lunch stops for hungry skiers and will be more likely to be of the self-service cafeteria style. However, they invariably have a piste-facing terrace from where you can enjoy the view and soak up a bit of sun.
Some of the livelier bar/restaurants will have live music or DJs playing towards the end of the day to get the après mood going! They generally serve similar types of food with combinations of local Savoyarde options as well as the classic pastas, burgers, pizzas and salads. Unfortunately, they tend to be expensive at about €10 for a main plate.
Popular Tignes mountain restaurants include La Tovière and downstairs in L'Alpage. Also worth a mention is the Panoramic Restaurant at the top of the Funiculaire railway - as well as doing good grilled meats it also has amazing views and a huge sun terrace. The Bar Restaurant de la Grande Motte at the foot of the funicular has good value paninis and snacks to be enjoyed on the large sunny terrace. One of the most reasonably priced is Les Marmottes found at the bottom of the Marmotte and Borsat Express chairlifts in the centre of the Espace Killy.
The Chalet du Bollin, just above Val Claret, has waiter-service and self-service sections and can be reached even by novice skiers or boarders. There are several little restaurants at Tignes Les Brevieres, of which the most popular is probably La Sachette. La Cordée at Tignes Les Boisses usually has a good ambience and decent food. A favourite with many is the Restaurant L’Arbina, just across from the Aéroski télécabine in Le Lac, which has an excellent sunny terrace. For a really great lunchtime bargain head for Tignes Cuisine next to the Rosset chairlift for €5 chicken noodles or homemade pasties that will keep you going all day!
Val d'Isère also has plenty to choose from such as Tete de Solaise in the Solaise area, Le Signal in Le Fornet and Folie Douce and La Tovière in the Bellevarde area. There is also a range of higher-end mountain restaurants, with a more sophisticated ambience and a more formal standard of service. It is usually a good idea to book ahead if you want to guarantee your table, especially during the peak seasons of Christmas, New Year and school holidays. Upstairs at L'Alpage is popular if you are in Tignes, whereas in Val d'Isère La Fruitière, and Le Triffolet in the Bellevarde area and L’Edelweiss in Le Fornet are all worth a look.
All details of mountain restaurants in Tignes and Val d'Isère can be found in our Ski & Mountain section.
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