The climb up La Tournette

For most visitors the heart of a Bornes trip is the ascent of La Tournette, the highest mountain around Lake Annecy. The final summit is a square rock nicknamed the Fauteuil (the Armchair), topped by a wrought-iron cross, and reaching it means using your hands — a sequence of fixed chains, steps cut into the stone and a short iron ladder that gives the last few metres a proper mountain charge. From the top the view opens 360 degrees over the inimitably blue lake below, the Bornes and Aravis ranges, the Bauges, and on clear days the Swiss Alps, the Jura and Mont-Blanc itself.↗↗

There are three well-trodden ways up, all converging on the Fauteuil. From the lake side, hikers leave the Pré Vérel car park at Les Prés Ronds, climb steeply through pastures dotted with grazing cows, sheep and — never far from the trail — ibex, pausing at the famous Chalet de l'Aulp mountain restaurant for a bite on the way back. A loop from Talloires-Montmin follows the Fétélay stream through forest before hitting open rock past the Pointe des Frêtes, while the quieter Les Clefs route rises through the scree of the north-east face, the only side that stays open to snowshoers and ski-tourers in winter, reaching the Rosairy refuge before the final push. Each climb runs to four hours or more and asks for a real base of fitness; those wary of exposure can stop below the chair and still see the lake.↗↗↗

The summit is busy enough that the range around it has become a small world in itself: La Tournette is a massif unto its own, with three refuges — the Tournette, Rosairy and Praz d'zeures huts — that let you spend two days circling or crossing it. Every late summer the Montée de la Tournette turns the climb into a communal event, splitting into a walking rando and a trail-running race that sets off from the bay of Talloires.↗

Memory and open sky: the Plateau des Glières

Away from the high crags, the Bornes reveal their gentler plateau face. The Plateau des Glières, a defining site of the French Resistance in World War II, is today a preserved natural area where history and landscape lie side by side: in summer it draws walkers and those interested in the story, while in winter it opens up as a Nordic-skiing ground under wide, snowbound skies.↗

Hiking the Grand-Bornand side

On the resort village of Le Grand-Bornand, at the eastern edge of the range, the Bornes meet the Aravis in a tangle of passes and balconies. More than 160 km of signposted trails run from lush alpine pastures to high mountain scenery, threading the Col des Annes, Mont Lachat, the Pont des Romains and the Lac de Lessy. The lake and its refuge sit on the chain of the Bargy, reached from the GRP Tournette-Aravis long-distance circuit: after leaving the lapiaz of the Pointe Percée hut, the route drops through the green Col des Annes — a favourite jump-off for the Aravis, lined with altitude restaurants serving local specialities and farm produce — past the charming station-village of Chinaillon, then along the balconies of the Aiguille Verte for a panoramic ridge walk before the long descent to the water and the hut.↗↗

This is intensely pastoral country, the heartland of farmhouse Reblochon, and the walking is full of life: chamois, ibex, marmots and the lammergeyer, Europe's largest bird of prey, all roam the high ground. Ski lifts such as the Lachat chairlift and Rosay cable car run in summer to lift walkers part-way up, and guided walks — including the day climb to La Tournette from Les Clefs — depart through July and August from the tourist office.↗↗

Under the rock: caves and gorges

The limestone that makes the Bornes so striking above ground hides another world beneath it. Nearly ninety cave entrances have been catalogued in La Tournette alone, linked by about a hundred networks; the largest explored, the Praz d'zeures system, plunges 1,148 m down over 13 km, a magnet for caving clubs since the 1960s. Above, the karst also carved the nearby Gorges du Fier, where a spectacular walk leads along suspended footbridges between towering cliffs — an easy, family-friendly counterpart to the high summits.↗↗

Planning your visit

The high trails are best walked from late spring to autumn and remain dependent on snow and weather, so check the tourist office and hut keepers for opening dates before a multi-day circuit; bivouacking is only permitted in designated spots. Reachable about 40 minutes' drive from Annecy, La Tournette is hugely popular, and summer car parks (use the lower Pré Vérel / Les Prés Ronds lot, not the restaurant-only Chalet de l'Aulp) fill early, with public buses and a summer Montmin shuttle serving the lake-side approaches.↗↗

Treat the technical sections with respect: the chains, steps and ladders near the summit and the exposed descents are where most accidents happen, so avoid the routes after rain when the limestone turns slippery, watch for rockfall stirred by ibex, and start early — end-of-day thunderstorms are common in summer. Carry notch-soled boots, plenty of water, sun protection, warm layers and a small repair kit, and choose a length that matches your fitness; shorter hikes such as the Pointe de Chombaz or a guided outing offer the views without the full commitment.↗↗↗