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.

Geography

Located on the western slope of the Aravis mountain range not far from Mont Blanc, Annecy Lake and Switzerland, Le Grand-Bornand is a summer and winter resort which developed around an old village. Le Grand-Bornand is in a wide part of the valley which has allowed it to develop – the village of Petit-Bornand, located downstream, is in a narrower part of the valley. The commune of Le Grand-Bornand is made-up of three areas: the Bouchet valley, the Chinaillon valley and the village of Le Grand-Bornand located at the junction of the two valleys. The hamlet of Chinaillon to the north east of Le Grand-Bornand is the main ski centre. The valley of Bouchet is located upstream of the village along the course of the river Borne.

Climate

Nearby

Nearby villages include Manigod, Thônes, La Clusaz, Saint-Jean-de-Sixt and the larger Chamonix and Annecy.

History

Twinning

Since 1997, Le Grand Bornand is twinned with Quiberon.

Place names

Researcher toponymist and Ph.D. graduate of the Sorbonne, Jérémie Delorme, has listed, photographed and described, about 3 000 place names in the commune. 90% come from Latin, 8% come from Gaulish, 1% from Germanic and 1% from pre-Latin languages. A third of the names refer to former occupants. Names ending in "ière" are pre 16th-century and names ending in "lhon" are pre 5th-century.

Population

Administration

Places and monuments

People

Economy

Facilities

Outdoor activities

Events

Tour de France

Le Grand-Bornand has been the start town for three stages of the Tour de France, in 1995, 1999 and 2007. It was the finish of a stage in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2013. Stage 8 of the 2021 Tour de France finished here.

Finishes

Departures