At Grand-Bornand, the cow is not only in the meadows. It is painted on walls, sculpted in steel, driftwood or recycled materials, installed at a bend in the road or beneath the stairs of the tourism office. The Art Vache trail brings together hundreds of works scattered throughout the village and at Chinaillon, with free access year-round. An open-air gallery without beginning or end, explored at leisure on walks.
Art Vache in Practice
- Where: at the village of Grand-Bornand and at Chinaillon, the resort situated 6km higher along the Colombière pass road.
- When: year-round, every day.
- Access: free and open.
- Trail map: available at the tourism office, place de l’Église, and downloadable from the resort website.
- With children: an Art Vache treasure hunt invites children to find the works and solve their riddles.
Born of a Round Number
The story begins in 2000. Grand-Bornand then counts 2000 inhabitants, 2000 cows and alpine pastures at nearly 2000m altitude. The municipality draws from this an exhibition with a tongue-in-cheek title, “They See Cows Everywhere“, and promptly proclaims itself the capital of Art Vache. Some of the works created for the occasion have remained in place.
The trail has never stopped growing since. Its works, paintings and sculptures, are maintained and regularly renewed by professional and amateur artists from France and abroad. Some are permanent, others ephemeral. In 2022, a new edition, “They See Cows Everywhere, the Return”, added its share to the herd.
Some Works to Spot
The tourism office map lists many. A few give a good sense of the trail’s tone, between playful and genuine artistic endeavour:
- The Comic-Strip Cow: a mural painted in 2000 by Hervé Rey, route du Borne, in the stairs beneath the tourism office. Two herds descend clumsily through a comic-strip panel, shod with crampons to tackle the steps.
- Prairie Cow and Flower Cow: two sculptures in steel and recycled materials by Guili-Guili, at La Source, chemin des Dodes. The first dates from the 2000 exhibition, the second from the 2022 one: twenty-two years separate them.
- Divache: a driftwood sculpture 3m high, route des Pochons, created by Tiene Vanly and the Théâtre de la Toupine for the 30th anniversary of the Au Bonheur des Mômes festival. The wood was shaped by the Borne, the torrent that runs through the village.
- The Tour de France Cow: a metal sculpture by the Théâtre de la Toupine, route de la Painoire, created for the 100th edition of the race, which welcomed the riders at the stage finish at Grand-Bornand on 19 July 2013.
Other titles invite you to look up as you walk: the “Square Root” mural, the “Alpine Pasture Cow”, the “Cinephile Cow” or the “Cowhide” patchwork.
Why the Cow, and Why Here
The choice is far from a gimmick. Grand-Bornand is the leading agricultural municipality in Haute-Savoie by number of farms, with 65 active holdings, and it maintains recognised expertise in the production of reblochon fermier. Three dairy breeds shape its landscape: the Abondance, the Montbéliarde and the Tarentaise.
Art Vache plays on the contrast between a thriving agricultural identity and offbeat contemporary art, sometimes frankly amusing. It also sits within a solid cultural tradition: the live performance festival for children Au Bonheur des Mômes was born here in 1991, and the Heritage House, an authentic farmhouse furnished with period objects, can be visited by day or by torchlight in the evening.
From Village to Chinaillon
The trail naturally divides in two. In the village, works are discovered on foot, from the tourism office to route du Borne, route des Pochons or chemin des Dodes. At Chinaillon, at 1300m altitude and 6km upstream, other pieces await those heading towards the slopes or towards the Colombière pass.
Since the works are outdoors and permanently accessible, the trail is experienced differently depending on the season: beneath snow in winter, in flowering meadows in early summer, in softer autumn light.
The AEC Tip. Download the map before you leave or collect it from the tourism office upon arrival: without it, many works go unnoticed. With children, the treasure hunt turns the walk into a treasure trail. Save Chinaillon for another day, combining it with an outing towards the Colombière pass.
Where to Lay Your Head
AEC Collection selects and represents prestige chalets and apartments at Grand-Bornand, both in the village and at Chinaillon. Our agents help you find the address from which you can set out on foot, map in hand, to discover the herd.
A mural at a street corner, a sculpture beneath the trees, a real herd in the neighbouring meadow: at Grand-Bornand, each walk holds its share of surprise.
