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Organisation profile

Les Grands Espaces

  • School
  • Tandem flights
  • Dealer
  • Trip organiser

Les Grands Espaces is a paragliding school in Talloires on the eastern shore of Lake Annecy. Founded in 1985, it is one of the oldest schools in the area; since 2020 it has been run by a collective of instructors who already taught there. The school holds the EFVL label of the French federation FFVL, and its base and shop sit opposite the landing field below the Planfait and Col de la Forclaz take-offs.

Training covers the whole path of a pilot: a beginner course leading to the first high flights, a single-skin wing version of it, an autonomy course towards the FFVL Brevet Initial, thermal and first cross-country courses, week-long XC courses with the instructor flying alongside, and handling and SIV courses over the lake with a rescue boat. Twice a year the school runs multi-day hike-and-fly journeys around Annecy or in the Beaufortain, and it also travels to the Dolomites.

The school offers tandem flights all year and runs a shop for gliders, harnesses and accessories, including a test centre with equipment from several manufacturers.

Official website

Services offered

  • Beginner training
  • Progression training
  • SIV
  • XC coaching
  • Tandem flights
  • Equipment sales
  • Guided flying trips

Courses & trips from this organizer

France

Autonomy course towards the Brevet Initial (Les Grands Espaces)

Les Grands Espaces

Follow-on course at Les Grands Espaces for pilots who have completed a beginner course and want to fly safely on their own in calm conditions. Each day mixes flights or ground handling, theory lessons, technical briefings and video debriefs, with the instructors adapting the programme to each pilot. Work covers forward and reverse launches, independent landings, pitch and roll exercises, 360° turns and dynamic turns, the first steps away from radio guidance and the first lift. Flying takes place on various sites around Lake Annecy and in varied conditions. On request, pilots can obtain the FFVL Brevet Initial during the course. It is sold by the day, as a weekend, as a five-day course or as prepaid days; groups have at most seven students.

  • Beginner course

Dates from the organizer

Verified October 30, 2026
France

Beginner paragliding course at Lake Annecy (Les Grands Espaces)

Les Grands Espaces

Beginner course run by Les Grands Espaces in Talloires for complete novices. Theory and practice lead step by step to the first solo high flights over Lake Annecy. The first mornings are spent on the training slope (inflation, launch technique, first hops), the afternoons on theory, equipment and getting to know the sites. Depending on the weather, students then launch from Planfait or the Col de la Forclaz while two instructors guide every flight by radio from take-off to landing; an instructional tandem is possible if needed. Flights then alternate with theory (aerology, landing approaches) and ground handling. Groups have at most seven students for two instructors; the school lends glider, harness and helmet and drives to the take-offs. Besides the five-day weekday version, the course can be spread over three weekends.

  • Beginner course
  • Beginner

Dates from the organizer

Verified October 30, 2026
France

Cross-country course (Les Grands Espaces)

Les Grands Espaces

Five-day cross-country course at Les Grands Espaces for independent pilots with some experience. The instructor flies with the group, pilots carry GPS trackers and follow a jointly prepared flight plan along a route that returns to the starting point, while a retrieve vehicle follows. Routes are chosen by weather, ideally a different one each day, across Savoie and Haute-Savoie, for example in the Chablais, the Beaufortain or towards Isère. The course covers flight preparation from weather data, GPS and map work, track analysis, setting realistic goals, flying as a group and flying faster. The school supplies trackers to record and debrief flights; the course can also be bought as five prepaid days.

  • XC camp

Dates from the organizer

Verified October 30, 2026
France

Handling and SIV over Lake Annecy (Les Grands Espaces)

Les Grands Espaces

Two- to three-day handling and SIV course at Les Grands Espaces. Pilots launch from the Col de la Forclaz, practise manoeuvres over Lake Annecy in a secured zone with a boat and life jacket, and land at the edge of the Doussard nature reserve. Depending on each pilot's level, the programme covers pitch and roll, dynamic turns, spiral dives, frontal and asymmetric collapses including autorotation, wingovers, avoidance manoeuvres, B-stall, full stall and backward flight, spins and SAT. Each day starts with a briefing on safety and a reserve-extraction check; flights are filmed and pilots can take the videos home. The instructor may skip manoeuvres a pilot is not ready for. Pilots fly their own equipment.

  • SIV course

Dates from the organizer

Verified October 30, 2026
France

Hike-and-fly journey around Annecy (Les Grands Espaces)

Les Grands Espaces

Five-day itinerant vol-rando with Les Grands Espaces, preferably around Lake Annecy, otherwise in the Beaufortain. A small group of pilots hikes up to a bivouac, unstaffed hut or shelter, flies down from carefully chosen take-offs, and a support vehicle restocks food and clothing for the next day; the route is planned to use the vehicle as little as possible. Pilots learn to choose bivouac spots and take-off orientations from the weather and aerology, find a suitable launch, plan the flight and the emergency landings. Two non-flying companions can join and fly in tandem. It runs twice a year.

  • Guided trip

Dates from the organizer

Verified October 30, 2026
France

Single-skin wing beginner course (Les Grands Espaces)

Les Grands Espaces

A version of the Les Grands Espaces beginner course for novices who want to start on a light single-skin wing, popular for hike-and-fly. The first day, and the second if needed, is spent on the training slope learning the launch technique. The following days combine solo flights guided by the instructors by radio, ground exercises and games with the wing, and a reasonable dose of theory. The aim is to learn the equipment, the vocabulary and the basic principles of flight and to make the first solo flights. Groups have at most seven students; depending on conditions a day may include a long midday break and continue with evening flying. The course starts from the school's base in Talloires at Lake Annecy.

  • Beginner course
  • Beginner

Dates from the organizer

Verified October 30, 2026
All programs from this organizer (8)

Service areas

Places where the organisation offers its services. These are not branch addresses.

  • Annecy / Lac d'Annecy · France
  • Planfait / Talloires · France
  • Col de la Forclaz / Montmin · France

Verified October 30, 2026

Sources and verification

We check details against public sources. Profile verification is not a quality rating or a recommendation of a particular service. Confirm current availability and terms with the organisation.