L'Escale

33 Chemin de plein Air, Le Grand Bornand, 74450, France

View on map

Ideal for ...

  • Cycling
  • Dogs
  • Families
  • Motorhomes
  • Peaceful stays
  • Walking

Why stay here ...

This picturesque and well-presented site is set amongst the snow capped Aravis mountains and within easy reach of many of the region’s attractions. It’s a peaceful getaway in low season and caters to young families in the summer months, with facilities including indoor and outdoor pools, organised activities and a play area.

The restaurant and bar are housed in a beautiful, 200-year old building and local dishes are served in a warm, relaxed ambiance. The nearby village of Le Grand Bornand has a weekly market where provisions can be bought, and offers plenty to do in both summer and winter.

Guests at l’Escale receive discounts on guided walks and visits to Chamonix and Mont Blanc, which is just over an hour’s drive. Cable cars are easily accessible from the site, while an abundance of scenic walking and mountain biking trails can be found nearby.

Around and About

Mont Blanc,Thônes, Annecy Lake, Annecy Old Town, Château de Menthon St Bernard,  Mer de glace, Golf, Bike hire, Mountain biking, Paragliding, Rock climbing, Horse riding, Guided walks.

Things to do on site ...

  • Games room
  • Paddling pool
  • Play area
  • Tennis

Facilities on site ...

  • Bar
  • Barbecues allowed:: charcoal, gas, electric
  • Disabled facilities -: limited
  • Late arrivals area with electric hook-up
  • Late arrivals area without electric hook-up
  • Motorhome service point
  • Restaurant
  • Swimming pool
  • Takeaway
  • TV room
  • Wi-Fi availability: bar

Prices

Useful Info

Nearby

Supermarket notes:

Supermarket less than 1km away. 

Map

Directions

From Annecy take exit 17 (Annecy Nord) and follow the signs to Thones on the D916, D16 and D909 for 6.2 miles / 10km, then follow La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand signs. At St Jean-de-Sixt turn left at rndbt signed Le Grand Bornand. After 1 mile / 1.6km look for camping sign and turn right (Vallée du du Bouchet). Site is 1st exit right at roundabout at the end of the road. NB The road from Cluses to Le Grand Bornand (D4) is not recommended when towing as it is very winding and steep in places.

Sites key: Overseas Site

Postcode:
74450
Region:
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Distance to Calais: (kms)
864
GPS:
Lat 45.93972 / Lon 6.42777
Michelin map no.
328

Transport links

  • Buses go to: Annecy, La Clusaz
  • Daily public transport within 2 kms
  • Nearest port: Le Havre (777 kms)

Reviews

Rated 5 of 5

Overall rating

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

close panel

Log in to write a review

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 2 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Stunning location but for us average facilities

L'Escale
I thought it important to write a recent balanced review as they seem to be missing for a few years on the CMC site. On the positive side the location is amazing in the French Alps with east access to gondola and chair lift that in good weather gives you many walking or hiking possibilities. We also caught the local bus Y62 to Annecy a must if you have time. Local shops and bars are expensive so stock up before you arrive. The site however is probably OK for families but the facilities in our opinion were poor, hot water is intermittent, toilet paper sometimes missing and areas not always clean. Our serviced pitch was located OK but we were used to the water tap being for us, however several others would just show up and help themselves. Electrics a little suspect the first time I’ve experienced reverse polarity warning on our control panel, as junction box had no earth. To summarise fab location but consider others unless you can live with some limitations.

TOM 88

Reviewed on 30/07/2023 17:40

14 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 4 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Alpine Adventure

L'Escale
Enjoyed a 12 night stay at L'Escale with our 2 children. The site itself is situated in the heart of Le Grand Bornand which is a 5 minutes walk away. Two small supermarkets are available in the town and a few gift shops and plenty of eateries offering local fayre. If you're a fan of fancy sausages, this is the place for you. The town contains many facilities for a family including an open air lido (about £5 per person ) , petanque areas and volleyball facilities. Copious areas to walk and great for committed cyclists ( we were glad we didn't bother with the kids bikes, it was more for the lycra clad gang) , rock climbing was well signposted up into the higher reaches of the town. The cable cars in the town were quickly walkable from the site and offered a great trip in combination with the chair lifts. The views were spectacular and the paragliding amazing. I understand that this area is world renowned for the sport. The site offered reasonable facilities- a small inside /outside pool with amazing views of the mountains. It never seemed to get too busy or suffer from the hog a lounger problem. The pitch sizes were good and toilet facilities modern in blocks of mixed toilet/basin cubicles/showers. Personally I'd rather these weren't mixed because I'm not the greatest fan of cleaning my teeth in an open topped cubicle next to someone having their morning ablutions. The cubicles were unisex. The restaurant on site was not overly welcoming when we enquired about eating there or getting a takeaway so we didn't bother and walked into town. The reception said nothing about the 'free drink' advertised in the by the CC and we didnt ask. There was no real facilities on site to get a drink as such. The site gave us free bus tickets to use to various places which we took advantage of to get Le Clusaz- a nearly own with more restaurants , taboggan run, more cable cars and chair lifts, and plenty of other activities. Annecy is approx 30km away and we discovered a lovely grass 'beach ' in Veryiers de lac to go for a dip with very cheap parking 2 minutes walk away. Beautiful clean lake. Would visit again to explore more

Wag1

Motorhomer from South Glamorgan

Reviewed on 12/08/2019 16:42

3 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 2 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 4 of 5

Location

Rated 4 of 5

Good for families

Beautiful scenery but noisy and surprise festival!

L'Escale
We are just concluding 12 nights here with our two children having wanted a site with access to the mountains. We certainly weren't disappointed with the location, it's is stunning with cable cars and mountain bike trails within easy walking distance. The town itself is pretty and well serviced with two small supermarkets and numerous cheese and local produce shops. The site is fine but not the best we've stayed on. You will need hard ground pegs! Pitches are of a good size and electric and water/drainage was on hand. The pool is ok but v cold even in 30degree heat. Our stay was slightly marred by v noisy neighbors who were visiting for a week long childrens arts and drama festival that we only became aware of on arrival. The festival literally shuts the town down for a week every August meaning the site becomes packed and the town also (we needed to obtain wrist passes to get to the supermarket for bread!). Had we known about the festival we would have probably chosen to come at a different time as the character of the site definitely shifted in our second week. In summary a beautiful location and pleasant site just avoid the penultimate week of August unless you like being surrounded by school parties and large groups!

GIZMO77

Caravanner

Reviewed on 25/08/2017 16:19

1 review

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 3 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 4 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

Convenient Site in Stunning Location

L'Escale
My wife and I stayed 7 nights in July 2017. It was our second stay. We have a modern camper van and large awning. The site is a few minutes walk from the village centre. Good shops with adequate small supermarket and several restaurants. The site has its own restaurant and takeaway which we used and found good. Apart from the onsite pool there is an open air pool in the village and children's play area. The site has very compacted ground and even steel pegs struggled so take spares and a decent hammer! We booked 5 months in advance but we're given limited choice of pitch, neither of which we would have chosen but we made the best of the two offered. Other people refused the pitches first offered and we might next time. Pitches we would have preferred we're vacant all the time we stayed so not sure why the site held those back. Unfortunately the site also allocated the two adjoining pitches to a rather boisterous school camp which did affect out enjoyment and we would not have taken our pitch had we known in advance and I suspect the site did know. The facilities are relatively new and kept clean though hot water was not available a couple of times. The area is great for walking and local guide books/maps are available at the Tourist Office. There are Tour de France climbs in the area and even aged 70 I managed to cycle up Col de la Colombiere and Aravis both from the site. The site has its shortcomings but the location is superb and we will be going back.

Reviewed on 02/08/2017 17:06

1 review

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer

Rated 4 of 5

Rated 5 of 5

Peace and quiet

Rated 5 of 5

Facilities and cleanliness

Rated 5 of 5

Location

Rated 5 of 5

Good for families

First class caravan and motorhome site

L'Escale
This is our fourth stay at the site. It's our favourite site in France and we have travelled extensively with a large rig. Discovery and Buccaneer cruiser. Set next to the small and pretty town of le grand bornand it is not too large, generally quiet and a real sporting location. Cycling, walking g, running g and paragliding. Not such a great location for children we would think. Large flat pitches. We always have a special pitch. First class in every way. Our bad news this year is that are travelling couple, also CC members had their little dog attacked and killed on site. A large Bull Mastif not on a lead against site rules and French law was to blame. All is now in the hands of the gendarmarie. Very sad that the little might died last night after a large and very expensive operation to attempt to rebuild its ribs and lungs. This in no way was the fault of the site. It remains still a first class location. Be very careful with your dog's whilst travelling.

Margarita

Motorhomer from Norfolk

Reviewed on 08/07/2017 10:08

54 reviews

0 Helpful notes

Report this reviewer