An ascent to the top.
In the 5th century, the Burgundians from Germany invaded the Savoy. They began the evangelization of Tarentaise and Beaufortin: the chapel of Tignes (rebuilt in Tignes les Boisses) was built in 1250.
The upper hamlets of the parish are grouped under the name “Val de Tignes”, which will be called, only from 1886, Val d’Isère.
In 1889, skiing appeared in the valley. The first pair is offered to the parish priest of Val d’Isère by a soldier from Briançon. Very quickly, the inhabitants will adopt this means of travel on the snow. Skiing then became a hobby and a sport that attracted more and more winterers. In 1930, an industrialist, Jacques Mouflier encouraged the mayor to create a tourist center.
In the winter of 1931-1932, an Alsatian, Charles Diebold began teaching skiing and he founded with Emille Allais the first French ski school. A Parisian, Robert Pitte opens the same year, a sports shop.
In 1934-1935, the first “kicker” was built: the Rogonay with its 75 meters of vertical drop!
During the Second World War, the development of the ski lifts continued in slow motion and the Solaise cable car was inaugurated in 1942.
A pharaonic construction site began in 1947 and was completed in 1952: the Tignes dam was inaugurated in 1953.
Meanwhile, Henri Oreiller was crowned Olympic champion in 1948 and several families settled in Val d’Isère, including the Killy and goitschel!
The champions grow and the resort discovers a sporting soul by organizing in 1955 the criterium of the first snow which will become, from 1968 the great event of the beginning of the season for each World Cup.
That same year, Val d’Isère’s notoriety increased with the Olympic Games in Grenoble where Jean Claude Killy achieved the Grand Slam.
In the 70s and 80s, off-piste skiing with the permission of heliskiing in France gained considerable momentum; the resort is already moving towards sports-chic.
In 1979, the film “The tanned go skiing” once again reinforces the image of the resort. From the 1980s, urban planning changed and a new style of construction using stone, lauze and larch appeared.
This is the beginning of a new tourist momentum with the construction of the new Club Med and the upscaling of hotels.
In 1992, the organization of the men’s ski events for the Albertville Olympic Games take place on the mythical face of Bellevarde in Val d’Isère.
The world ski championship with a new “face-to-face” concept, men on one side of the valley and women on the other take place in 2009.
It was during the 2000s that the development of Val d’Isère was important with the creation of luxury chalets, in order to achieve the construction of new high-end hotels in recent years.
Boasting an exceptional ski area, excellent snow cover, high-quality hotel structures and ubiquitous new investors,Val d’Isère is promoted to a bright tourism future.