Le Grand Bornand

Ands

Has anyone any experience of holidaying in this area? We are thinking of going next summer for a family holiday.

We have done Bourg d'Oisans 4 times in the last 4 years and are looking for somewhere different but with plenty to do. Bourg d'Oisans ticks all the boxes for us as a family with young children - great cycling on the doorstep, swimming pools, parks, playgrounds, loads of activities at Alpe d'Huez & Les Deux Alpes, as well as the beautiful scenery & places to visit - but it's time for a change. Some of the Alpine resorts we have visited (e.g. Sestriere & round the Col de la Madeleine) seem to have no summer season, and this is what we want to avoid.

I am open to any other suggestions with great cycling and a summer season! Thanks

pdstsp

Lake Annecy - just down the hill from Grand Bornand - fantastic array of activities for the family and great riding for you. Not sure of Grand Bornand or La Clusaz as staying places though there's great walking etc - for me it has been stay round the lake and ride the cols around and about with the advantage of a descent to finish every ride!!

Great area with some lesser known but briliant climbs as well as the famous ones - enjoy.

risi

I stayed in Samoens this summer (north east of Le Grand Bornand).
Its not big but its very nice & a year round type of place. Great campsite (where we stayed) which was very reasonably prices & included free entry into the sports complex next door, which had 3 pools, waterslide, tennis courts etc. I think there's plenty of owner direct rent-able stuff there if you wanted to self-cater (check something like holiday-rentals.co.uk).
Not far from Les Gets/Morzine - both of these were full of downhill bikers. Morzine has a summer luge track which is a bit of a laugh.
Samoens is at the foot of the Col de Joux Plane & there are others not far away (Ramaz, Encrenaz, Avoriaz) and its not too far to drive across the Cluses valley to get to the area around Le Grand Bornand.

Ands

Thanks for the suggestions. We did Annecy last year for a week during the Tour (staying south west corner of the lake) and have talked about going back again. I found it horrendously busy - the cycle path round the lake was unusable for the children because of the volume and speed of the other cyclists and the traffic was awful everywhere else! I guess that's to be expected with the Tour in town, perhaps, and that it might actually be bearable at any other time. I really liked La Clusaz when we went there. I didn't take my bike to Annecy but Mr A did and enjoyed the local climbs.

I will check out Samoens as I have never heard of it (although I have heard about the Joux Plane). We did the summer luge this year which was brillaint fun (until Mr A had a high speed crash with the 6 year old on board - it resulted in several trips to hospital. )

greasedscotsman

Stayed in Thones for the Tour last year, it's kinda between Annecy and Le Grand Bornard and La Clusaz. Place wasn't huge, but seemed to have nice little mix of resturants in the town. Also seem to remember there being a playground opposite the hotel. There was definately a crazy golf course there!

Can't recommend the hotel enough, we had our car broken into and our bags stolen whilst the Tour was on. They were recovered a week or so later and the staff from the hotel picked them up and held onto them until we could get them sent back.

avoidingmyphd

Yes. I know the area well. There's plenty of family stuff to do on a summer holiday. The Aravis resorts (La Clusaz, Grand Bornard, St Jean de Sixt) make a real effort for family holidays in the summer season. Have a look here:
http://www.talentueux-clients.com/docum ... rs2010.pdf
(sorry it's a random pdf) for the summer activities that were available this year, as well as all the obvious mountain stuff.
How old are the kids? Grand Bornand dedicates a week each year to youngsters: http://www.aubonheurdesmomes.com/
Alternatively, if you want a cycling event, La Grand Bo sportive starts and ends in the village (col de la croix fry, col de romme, col de la colombiere, 27 June this year) and there's a mass start race up the col de la colombiere from the village each summer too (15 august this year) probably the same weekends next year.
PM me if you want more info.

Ands

greasedscotsman wrote:

we had our car broken into and our bags stolen whilst the Tour was on. They were recovered a week or so later and the staff from the hotel picked them up and held onto them until we could get them sent back.

I hope they didn't steal any of your Oakleys!

@avoidingmyphd, thanks for the links. The children will be 7 & 5 by then. They are easily pleased - picnics, swimming pools, riding their bikes and ice-cream is all they wish for, and cable cars, trampolines, and toboggans are a bonus. My eldest said she would like to go to mtb school next year. We would be going towards the end of July (another reason to avoid Bourg as I've come to the conclusion that although it's great to see the Tour, it's not so great for a whole week with young children, plus I can't bear the thought of trying to shop in Casino when it's even more busy than usual.)

In terms of riding, are there a good mix of routes from LGB? We have to ride separately and as it is a family holiday would try to keep rides under 4hrs (doesn't have to be a round trip as we could ride out somewhere and then meet up for picnic, etc.)

greasedscotsman

Ands wrote:

I hope they didn't steal any of your Oakleys!

No, fortunately they didn't take any of the 5 or so pairs (you have to travel prepared for all light conditions, right...) I had with me, they weren't in my bag so all they got was some smelly cycling kit!

Not sure about routes in the area around Le Grand Bornard, every time I've been there it's been for the Tour or the Dauphine and we concentrated on the "Tour" climbs in the area such as the Columbiere and the Avavis. The Joux Plan isn't too far away either, but not done that one!

prb007

Been to Grand-Bo for the last three easters - skiing and snowboarding - its
a fabulous place - not too busy, not too quiet, and I'm sure it'd be nice in summer too.
Stayed here.............. http://www.campinglescale.com/
it's a campsite, but has apartments and chalets too, with a lovely swimming pool for the kids.
Ideal location, right by river, park, cinema and nice woodland walks.
Enjoy.