Le Grand-Bornand
Le Grand-Bornand is a commune in the eastern French department of Haute-Savoie. The commune is a ski resort and takes its name from the river that runs through it. The inhabitants of Le Grand-Bornand are called Bornandins.
Introduction from the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Seven criteria rated from 1 to 5 stars, in half-stars, from this page's sourced data. A rating is a rank among the 322 French resorts we cover — 5 stars means “among the best in France on this point”, not “perfect”. Nobody types these in.
- SnowCan you count on the snow?3 / 5
Top of the ski area: 2,255 m · Bottom of the pistes: 1,030 m · Days above 30 cm per winter, measured: 86 days · Days above 30 cm, December to March, model: 82%
- Ski areaIs there enough to ski all week?2.5 / 5
Km of pistes at the resort: 21 km · Km of pistes across the linked area: 69 km · Lifts: 13 · Balance between piste levels: 70%
- ValueIs the lift pass reasonable for what you get?n/a
Not rated: “adult day pass” is missing from this page.
- Families and beginnersIs it right for children and beginners?4.5 / 5
Share of green and blue pistes: 89% · Magic carpets: 3 · Sledging runs: 2 · ESF ski school · Ice rink, pool, rail sledge…: 2 · Famille Plus label
- AccessIs it easy to get to?4 / 5
Average drive time from 20 major cities: 4 hr 22 · Nearest railway station: 24 min · Station-to-resort shuttles per day: 13 · Nearest airport: 1 hr 14
- Atmosphere and après-skiIs there life in the evening and off the slopes?3 / 5
Bars and pubs: 3 · Nightclubs: 0 · Restaurants: 23 · Upcoming events: 0 · Collective tourist beds: 1,775 — index: what the map and the listings publish
- Luxury and comfortHow upmarket is the resort?2 / 5
5-star hotels: 0 · 4-star hotels: 0 · Share of hotel rooms in 4 and 5 stars: 19% · Spas and saunas: 0 · Jewellers, watchmakers, fashion boutiques: 1 — index: what the map and the listings publish
“Atmosphere” and “Luxury” are indexes: they count what OpenStreetMap and the event listings publish within 2.5 km (bars, nightclubs, rated hotels, spas, upcoming events), not what you experience there. A zero means “nothing mapped”, not “nothing there”. Sources per criterion: snow (altitudes (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata), snow depth observed at the Météo-France station, ERA5-Land model) ; ski area (OpenStreetMap pistes and lifts, linked area (Wikidata)) ; value (the resort’s official price list) ; families and beginners (OpenStreetMap pistes, price list, ESF ski school, Famille Plus label, OpenStreetMap leisure) ; access (OSRM drive times from 20 cities, SNCF stations, GTFS shuttles, airports) ; atmosphere and après-ski (bars, nightclubs and restaurants within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap), upcoming events (OpenAgenda), collective tourist beds (INSEE)) ; luxury and comfort (rated hotels within 2.5 km (OpenStreetMap) and by category across the commune (INSEE), spas and boutiques (OpenStreetMap), day pass price).
Open pistes and lifts will appear here during the season, as published by the resort. Out of season we show nothing rather than a misleading zero.
Right now at the LE GRAND-BORNAND station (1,430 m)
Avalanche danger
7-day forecast
Village 892 m · top 2,255 m
Forecast corrected for altitude; fresh snow = forecast total at the top; UV = peak of the day. Beyond 3 days, check the resort’s own report. Source:Open-Meteo.
Average snow depth by month
Good snow from January to March.
☀️ Average daily sunshine : Nov 6.1 h · Dec 5.5 h · Jan 5.7 h · Feb 7 h · Mar 8.4 h · Apr 10 h — 25 bright days in April (Open-Meteo estimate, 2015-2025).
- November8 cmInsufficient · 6%
- December42 cmVariable · 58%
- January74 cmGood skiing · 90%
- February89 cmGood skiing · 96%
- March87 cmGood skiing · 85%
- April48 cmVariable · 57%
- May7 cmInsufficient · 10%
30 cm on the ground: the benchmark for groomed-piste skiing. Bar = monthly average depth; percentage = share of time above 30 cm.
- Good skiing: 30 cm on more than 8 days in 10
- Variable: 30 cm on 5 to 8 days in 10
- Insufficient: 30 cm less than one day in two
Snow actually measured, winter by winter
34 complete winters measured, from 1992-1993 to 2025-2026 — on average 86 days a winter with at least 30 cm on the ground.
- 1-15 Dec27 cmInsufficient · 31 %
- 16-31 Dec36 cmVariable · 50 %
- 1-15 Jan48 cmVariable · 72 %
- 16-31 Jan65 cmGood skiing · 85 %
- 1-15 Feb75 cmGood skiing · 84 %
- 16-29 Feb78 cmGood skiing · 86 %
- 1-15 Mar73 cmGood skiing · 81 %
- 16-31 Mar48 cmVariable · 56 %
- 1-15 Apr24 cmInsufficient · 26 %
- Best winter of the series
- 2005-2006 — 136 days at 30 cm or more
- Worst winter of the series
- 1992-1993 — 6 days at 30 cm or more
How much snow actually falls — 472 cm a winter on average, spread over 41 days of snowfall. Measured over 34 complete winters.
- Biggest 24-hour snowfall
- 65 cm — 2014-2015
- Snowiest winter
- 1998-1999 — 867 cm
- Leanest winter
- 1996-1997 — 159 cm
The ski area
Compare with another resort →38 pistes, by level — 21 km
- Skiable vertical
- 1,225 m (1,030 m → 2,255 m)
- Lifts
- 2 gondolas, 3 chairlifts, 5 drag lifts, 3 magic carpets
- Cross-country skiing
- 10 named trails — 76 km of marked loops (35 km of distinct track: the loops overlap), 600 m from the resortOpenStreetMap, lengths measured on the geometry, surveyed on 12 September 2026. A trail with no difficulty tag is shown as "n/a" — never guessed.
See the trails(10)
Trail Level Length La Bornandine difficult 31 km Les Poches intermediate 13 km Le Bouchet easy 8 km Bellavarde difficult 6.3 km Le Collet d'en Bas red 5.1 km Les Ascets easy 4.6 km Le Lac easy 3.7 km Les F'nires very easy 2.4 km La Cluseraz intermediate 1.1 km Route des Frasses Jacquiers n/a 0.7 km - Night skiing
- 3 floodlit pistes (OSM)
- Without skis
- 1 km of snowshoe and walking trails · 2 sledging runs
- Piste aspect
- N 18% · E 0% · S 33% · W 49% (descent direction of 43 OSM pistes, terrain model)
- Mountain restaurants
- Les Gettiers (1478 m) · Roc des Arces (1443 m) · Le névé (1429 m) · Papi Jo (1344 m) · Le Chamoix (1253 m)
- Tourist office
- LE GRAND-BORNAND TOURISME · 62 place de l'église, 74450 · 0450027800 · [email protected] (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Piste map (PDF)
- plan des pistes 25-26 (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Resort app
- Android (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
- Famille Plus
- The resort’s family page (declared by the resort, ANMSM)
Resort data: declared by LE GRAND-BORNAND TOURISME and distributed by ANMSM · read on 18 September
Pistes and lifts surveyed on OpenStreetMap within 4 km of the resort — for a resort in a linked area, the figure may include neighbouring pistes.
Lift passes detail →
The price list for this resort is being collected: most resorts publish winter prices between September and November.
Official piste map
The ski area in figures
Measured on 9 September 2026Measured on OpenStreetMap (altitudes: IGN RGE ALTI), not taken from the brochure. The vertical above is that of one piste, not of the whole ski area. Population: INSEE municipal population via geo.api.gouv.fr.
Source: national register of mechanical lifts (STRMTG, CAIRN), fleet as of 1 January 2025 — lifts attributed to Le Grand-Bornand only (“GRAND BORNAND (LE)”), magic carpets included.
Staying and hiring gear in Le Grand-Bornand
We compare the partners that cover this resort. Some links earn us a commission — never at the expense of the price or of the data.
Stay & accommodation
Live webcams
All webcams (9) →Official players of the resort, live image. Checked on 18 September 2026.
Piste map
Open on OpenSnowMap ↗Pistes coloured by level, lifts as lines. The resort’s official map is the reference in season.
Base map © OpenTopoMap (CC-BY-SA) · pistes © OpenSnowMap (CC-BY-SA) · data ©OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Getting to Le Grand-Bornand
From Paris: 6 hr 16 (582 km) by road.
By road
- From Annecy: 42 min · 31 km
- From Genève: 50 min · 47 km
- From Chambéry: 1 hr 16 · 84 km
- From Grenoble: 1 hr 45 · 129 km
- From Lyon: 2 hr 15 · 172 km
From other major cities (15)
- From Saint-Étienne: 2 hr 48 · 221 km
- From Valence: 2 hr 49 · 222 km
- From Besançon: 3 hr 18 · 221 km
- From Dijon: 3 hr 25 · 303 km
- From Clermont-Ferrand: 4 hr 07 · 361 km
- From Montpellier: 4 hr 56 · 427 km
- From Marseille: 5 hr 01 · 436 km
- From Strasbourg: 5 hr 13 · 438 km
- From Nancy: 5 hr 27 · 506 km
- From Paris: 6 hr 16 · 582 km
- From Perpignan: 6 hr 17 · 574 km
- From Nice: 6 hr 22 · 514 km
- From Toulouse: 7 hr 13 · 661 km
- From Bordeaux: 8 hr 05 · 747 km
- From Pau: 9 hr 08 · 851 km
Excluding traffic and winter conditions; passes closed in winter are avoided.
By train
Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny station
regional station · then 24 min drive (19 km)
Nearest main station: Annecy, 42 min by road.
- From Annecy station (stop “Gare Routiere”): line Y62 — ANNECY → LA CLUSAZ → LE GRAND-BORNAND (REGION - cars Région Haute-Savoie), 1 hr 10 to the “Gare Routiere” stop — 12 departures a day on weekdays, 8 a day at weekends · first 07:05, last 19:25 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 15 April 2027 · official timetable ↗
- From Annecy station (stop “Gare Routiere”): line Y63 — ANNECY → DINGY-SAINT-CLAIR → THONES (REGION - cars Région Haute-Savoie), 1 hr 10 to the “Gare Routiere” stop — 1 departure a day on weekdays, 2 a day at weekends · first 07:30, last 16:55 · timetable from 15 December 2026 to 15 April 2027 · official timetable ↗
Direct journeys read from the official timetable files published on transport.data.gouv.fr — no connections.
By plane
- Genève (GVA): 1 hr 14 by road · 55 km
- Chambéry-Savoie (CMF): 1 hr 19 by road · 83 km
Take me there
These links open the app with Le Grand-Bornand as the destination. Your starting point is never sent by us — the app asks you for it, if you agree.
Charging an electric car
2 charging stations within 2 km
5 charging points · up to 60 kW
- LE GRAND BORNAND - Cimetière · EASYCHARGE · 3 points · 60 kW · 0.2 km
- LE GRAND BORNAND - Cimetiere · EASYCHARGE · 2 points · 22 kW · 0.2 km
Freely accessible charge points read from the French national EV charging database (data.gouv.fr ↗, operators’ own declarations), checked on 9 September 2026. Check availability before you leave: the database says what is installed, not what is free tonight.
Road conditions
From 1 November to 31 March, snow chains or winter tyres are compulsory in most mountain areas (French “Loi Montagne II”).
Driving times computed on the OpenStreetMap road network (OSRM), SNCF stations (open data), airports (Wikidata). Indicative, not a timetable: allow extra time in snow.
Ski touring routes described
Resorts for ski touring →12 ski touring routes documented within 10 km of Le Grand-Bornand — up to 2,300 m of climb.
| Summit and route | Ski grade | Climb | Altitude | Aspect | From resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mont Lachat (Châtillon) · Circuit des chalets | n/a · AD | 1,020 m | 1,030 → 2,050 m | S | 3.4 km |
| Mont Lachat (Châtillon) · Versant SW depuis les Granges du Bouchet | n/a · PD | 800 m | 1,250 → 2,050 m | SW | 3.4 km |
| Roc des Arces · Depuis le Bouchet | n/a · PD- | 730 m | 1,040 → 1,772 m | S | 3.4 km |
| Aiguille Verte du Chinaillon · Par le Col du Rasoir | 4.1 · E2 · D+ | 2,300 m | 890 → 2,300 m | NW | 3.9 km |
| Roc des Tours · Variante par La Gaudinière (couloir) | 2.2 · E2 · AD- | 630 m | 1,364 → 1,994 m | SE | 3.9 km |
| Roc des Tours · Depuis le Chinaillon (voie normale) | n/a · PD- | 630 m | 1,370 → 1,994 m | SE | 3.9 km |
| Mont Lachat (Châtillon) · Couloir SE et Face N | n/a · PD+ | 1,200 m | 1,250 → 2,050 m | NE | 4.1 km |
| Tête du Chenu, au départ des Plans | 1.3 · E1 · F | 800 m | 1,055 → 1,832 m | S | 4.3 km |
| Mont Lachat (Châtillon) · Alpage de la Renardière | 2.1 · E1 · PD- | 1,000 m | 1,058 → 2,050 m | S | 4.4 km |
| Aiguille Verte du Chinaillon · Arête S depuis Samance | n/a · PD- | 700 m | 1,350 → 2,045 m | E | 4.4 km |
| Aiguille Verte du Chinaillon · Face W en boucle | n/a · AD | 1,200 m | 1,350 → 2,045 m | W | 4.5 km |
| Crête du Maroli · Depuis le Chinaillon | 1.3 · E1 · PD- | 566 m | 1,280 → 1,846 m | NW | 4.6 km |
Source: Camptocamp.org topo guide (CC BY-SA), routes starting within 10 km, read on 13 September 2026. Descriptions and photos are on Camptocamp; an empty cell is a field nobody has filled in. Camptocamp ski touring routes ↗
Beyond skiing at Le Grand-Bornand
Toboggan runs
- Luge des Prés · La Clusaz · 4.3 km away
Swimming pool
- Espace Aquatique La Clusaz · La Clusaz · 3.8 km away
Paragliding
- AirLinks : école de parapente · Le Grand-Bornand · 0.8 km away
- Parapente : terrain d'atterrissage "Les Potais" · Le Grand-Bornand · 3 km away
- Parapente : décollage du Lachat · Le Grand-Bornand · 4.4 km away
- Aravis Parapente · La Clusaz · 9.5 km away
Museum
- La Maison du patrimoine · Le Grand-Bornand · 0.5 km away
- Le Hameau des Alpes · La Clusaz · 5 km away
Cinema
- Cinéma Les Rhodos · Le Grand-Bornand · 0.4 km away
Source: DATAtourisme (open data), within 10 km of the resort; places in a large town of the valley are left out. Checked on 12 September 2026. Opening times and prices are the operator’s — check before you go.
Practical information
Collective accommodation
1,775 bed spaces in tourist residences, holiday villages and hostels
- 12 hotels · 219 rooms (2 × 4★, 8 × 3★, 2 × 2★)
- 1 holiday village or family centre · 161 bed spaces
- 3 tourist residences and apartment hotels · 1,614 bed spaces
- 2 campsites · 245 pitches
Commune: Le Grand-Bornand · INSEE tourist accommodation survey, 2026, read on 12 September 2026. Collective accommodation only — privately let flats and second homes are not counted. INSEE dataset ↗
Tourist office
Maison du Tourisme du Village
Ski school
ESF Le Grand Bornand
283 instructors
🇬🇧 127 English-speaking instructors — lessons in English available
🗓️ This school sells its lessons online — book ↗
Source: esf.net
Days without skiing
- Cinema · Les Rhodos
- Ice rink · Patinoire
In case of accident
112 — the European emergency number, free of charge, triggers mountain rescue. On the pistes, the ski patrol number is printed on the piste map and at lift ticket offices. Piste rescue is charged: check your insurance or take the option sold with the lift pass.
Nearby resorts
Frequently asked questions
How high is Le Grand-Bornand?
Le Grand-Bornand sits at 892 m at village level, and its ski area rises to 2,255 m.
How many kilometres of pistes does Le Grand-Bornand have?
Le Grand-Bornand has 21 km of pistes served by 13 lifts, within the linked Aravis area (OpenStreetMap survey).
What is the longest piste in Le Grand-Bornand?
The longest piste is Les Prises: 4 km (blue run), for 395 m of vertical. Measured on the OpenStreetMap map, segments of the same name and level joined end to end, altitudes from the IGN RGE ALTI terrain model — a resort sometimes advertises a longer run by chaining several pistes.
How high do the lifts go in Le Grand-Bornand?
The highest lift, TSD du Lachat (detachable chairlift), tops out at 2,031 m. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How many lifts does Le Grand-Bornand have, and what is their capacity?
The French national register of mechanical lifts records 28 installations at Le Grand-Bornand (2 gondolas, 10 chairlifts, 11 drag lifts, 5 magic carpets), for an authorised capacity of 38,857 people per hour, of which 3,600 for TSD du Charmieux alone. The fleet spans 1962 to 2024, an average age of 29 years. This count covers the resort itself, magic carpets included, not the whole linked ski area — a resort brochure often announces a different number. Source: STRMTG, French national register of mechanical lifts (CAIRN database), file dated 1 January 2025.
How do I get to Le Grand-Bornand?
By road, Le Grand-Bornand is 42 min from Annecy (31 km), excluding traffic and winter conditions. By train, the nearest station is Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny, 24 min by road from the resort. From Annecy station, line Y62 — ANNECY → LA CLUSAZ → LE GRAND-BORNAND (REGION - cars Région Haute-Savoie) reaches the “Gare Routiere” stop in 1 hr 10, 12 departures a day on weekdays, 8 a day at weekends. The nearest airport is Genève, 1 hr 14 away.
How long is the drive from Paris to Le Grand-Bornand?
6 hr 16 for 582 km from central Paris, excluding traffic and winter conditions. Computed on the real road network (OpenStreetMap): allow more on a school-holiday Saturday.
Is the snow reliable in Le Grand-Bornand?
Yes: good snow through most of the winter according to ten winters of reanalysis (estimate); in season the daily report prevails.
Is Le Grand-Bornand good for beginners and families?
89% of the pistes are green or blue: a very accessible area. The resort holds the Famille Plus family label.
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