Boondock Puffins

Can it possibly live up to the activity levels of winter?

Having endured another inter season with nothing open, it was very exciting when, starting mid-late June, shops started reopening, people started slowly repopulating the ghost town and, most importantly, a few lifts restarted up.

So, what can you do in Tignes in summer?

Obviously, one of the big things to do is hiking. Aside from the issue that you pretty much can’t do a walk on the flat, there’s some epic choices of hikes in all directions.

If you want more excitement, you could try mountain biking! As we knew that we were needing to have fully functioning limbs for our impending motorbike trip, we didn’t give this a go, but Tignes seems to be accommodating for beginner and expert mountain bikers alike.

If you’re wondering about how the hell you get to the top of the mountain to then come careering down again, the answer is found in the MyTignes Card.

This is a card that encompasses many many different activities, including mini golf, archery, lake activities like SUPs, pedalos and slides as well as access to any of the lifts that remain open over the summer (note that unlike the winter Espace Killy pass, this summer pass does not include lifts over towards Val D’Isere). You can find all the information for this on the Tignes.net website.

In comparison to the Val D’Isere pass too, Tignes’s summer pass looks all the more affordable (though pales in comparison to Courchevel who give you the summer pass for free if you already had their extortionate winter ski pass!).

If you don’t fancy going up, you can walk down to the lovely waterfall and natural pool, or go all the way down to the dam if you are feeling keen. Just don’t forget that what goes down must come back up again…!

The summer days stretch out before you, with early sunrises and late sunsets leaving you a looonggg time to fill in between (which is not a hardship). Watch out for the slightly troublesome thunder and lightning that can often grace the skies around late afternoon to early evening though. If you’re on a balcony facing the right way, these are often truly epic as you’re right up near the clouds and can have a good view into the valley between Bourg and Val D’Isere to see the storms passing through.

Food wise, you have so many options, but our personal favourites are Lo Terrachu in summer, with Sarah and Duncan who create magic with their food and the atmosphere they manage to generate in their establishments.

For a lower end of the market experience, you could frequent the delights of the pubs of the Marmot Arms and Moose.

For a truly French experience, you can head to the bakery (Boulangerie des Montagnes) or the Crêperie (Wanaka), both on the main street, or alternatively continue on to the Fromagerie (just opposite the post office).

Whatever you’re interests, so long as you enjoy life outdoors we’d say that Tignes in summer is still absolutely worth a visit!