First pick
Parc de l'Hôtel de Ville
Park or garden
1.3 ha0.2 km of path
0.7 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Benoît Prieur · CC01.3%of the land protected
Outdoors in Ambronay · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Ambronay is within 800 m of a park or wood
28% of Ambronay is mapped woodland. Footpaths add up to 32 km across Ambronay (1 km per km²). Ambronay has 2 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
1.3%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
28%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
32 km
1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
2.3 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
1
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc de l'Hôtel de Ville
Throughout this page, the Ain median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
Against French towns
How Ambronay compares with French towns
Each figure against the 3,798 compared French towns (communes with an overall grade): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Described, not graded.
Protected areas1.3%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
57out of 100
Woodland28%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
74out of 100
Footpaths1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
31out of 100
Hiking routes0.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
28out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Ambronay has the 21st fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,807 to 2,876 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Courchelettes (4.3 km per km²) to Listrac-Médoc (0 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Courchelettes Nord | 4.3 | 6.5% | 0% | 91 km |
| 2 | Burbure Pas-de-Calais | 3 | 3.7% | 0% | 55 km |
| 3 | L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'île Vendée | 2.3 | 7.9% | 100% | On it |
| 4 | Pérignat-lès-Sarliève Puy-de-Dôme | 2.2 | 3.7% | 4.6% | 251 km |
| 5 | Saint-Jouan-des-Guérets Ille-et-Vilaine | 2 | 5% | 85% | On it |
| 6 | Sainghin-en-Mélantois Nord | 1.8 | 6.5% | 0% | 70 km |
| 7 | Bar-sur-Seine Aube | 1.7 | 40% | 0% | 302 km |
| 8 | Arles-sur-Tech Pyrénées-Orientales | 1.7 | 72% | 6.8% | 36 km |
| 9 | Ibos Hautes-Pyrénées | 1.7 | 31% | 0% | 126 km |
| 10 | Anzin-Saint-Aubin Pas-de-Calais | 1.7 | 6.2% | 0% | 77 km |
| 11 | Saint-Jean-en-Royans Drôme | 1.7 | 60% | 100% | 177 km |
| 12 | Massieux Ain | 1.6 | 5.1% | 0% | 267 km |
| 13 | Le Faouët Morbihan | 1.4 | 21% | 7.3% | 24 km |
| 14 | Colombiers Hérault | 1.2 | 1.4% | 0% | 13 km |
| 15 | Fraize Vosges | 1.2 | 48% | 100% | 447 km |
| 16 | Saint-Jean-du-Falga Ariège | 1.2 | 3.1% | 2.2% | 117 km |
| 17 | Trélivan Côtes-d'Armor | 1.1 | 18% | 100% | 9.5 km |
| 18 | Rozay-en-Brie Seine-et-Marne | 1.1 | 1.1% | 0.3% | 191 km |
| 19 | Pont-d'Ain Ain | 1 | 22% | 18% | 291 km |
| 20 | Colombier-Saugnieu Rhône | 1 | 2.7% | 0% | 252 km |
| 21 | Ambronay Ain | 1 | 28% | 1.3% | 286 km |
| 22 | Saint-Clément Yonne | 0.8 | 1.9% | 0% | 248 km |
| 23 | Étaules Charente-Maritime | 0.7 | 9.6% | 39% | On it |
| 24 | Langogne Lozère | 0.7 | 23% | 0.1% | 131 km |
| 25 | Ayguesvives Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 8.4% | 0% | 128 km |
| 26 | Uzerche Corrèze | 0.7 | 22% | 0.9% | 176 km |
| 27 | Fère-en-Tardenois Aisne | 0.7 | 40% | 0% | 171 km |
| 28 | Seiches-sur-le-Loir Maine-et-Loire | 0.6 | 31% | 0% | 137 km |
| 29 | Longny les Villages Orne | 0.5 | 35% | 100% | 104 km |
| 30 | Saint-Loup-sur-Semouse Haute-Saône | 0.5 | 46% | 46% | 422 km |
| 31 | Margaux-Cantenac Gironde | 0.4 | 18% | 100% | On it |
| 32 | Cour-Cheverny Loir-et-Cher | 0.4 | 41% | 29% | 229 km |
| 33 | Blangy-sur-Bresle Seine-Maritime | 0.4 | 32% | 0.5% | 23 km |
| 34 | Vendays-Montalivet Gironde | 0.3 | 74% | 100% | On it |
| 35 | Rosières-aux-Salines Meurthe-et-Moselle | 0.3 | 24% | 0% | 381 km |
| 36 | Buchy Seine-Maritime | 0.3 | 4.8% | 0% | 42 km |
| 37 | Lafrançaise Tarn-et-Garonne | 0.3 | 19% | 0.8% | 175 km |
| 38 | Miremont Haute-Garonne | 0.2 | 7.8% | 0.2% | 139 km |
| 39 | Thiviers Dordogne | 0.2 | 27% | 0.1% | 127 km |
| 40 | La Boixe Charente | 0.1 | 10% | 23% | 78 km |
| 41 | Listrac-Médoc Gironde | 0 | 72% | 100% | 8.3 km |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park or wood. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is the commune’s boundary.
Green: parks, gardens and woods mapped on OpenStreetMap, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · INPN / PatriNat · IGN
Places to walk
Parks and woods to walk in, in and around Ambronay
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de l'Hôtel de Ville leads, at 1.3 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
1.3% of Ambronay lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Basse vallée de l’Ain, confluence Ain-Rhône
1.3% of the commune3.3 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area1.3%
Natura 2000 site1.3%
Designations overlap (a regional park can hold a Natura 2000 site), so the rows don’t add up; the first counts each piece of land once.
1.3% of Ambronay’s land is protected, more than in 57% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Ain has 1.2%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
32 km of footpaths cross Ambronay
Paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and waymarked hiking routes, mapped on OpenStreetMap inside the commune; woods are mapped forest and woodland, private woods included.
Footpaths
32 km
1 km per km²
Hiking routes
2.3 km
waymarked: 0.1 km per km²
Woodland
28%
about 9.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
AmbronayAin medianFrance median
Footpaths1
Hiking routes0.1
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
AmbronayAin medianFrance median
Woodland28%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 69% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 74% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. Every home in Ambronay is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
3 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 5910 km
Via Lugdunum, Geneva to Lyon10 km
Accès Tour du Revermont1.3 km
GR 59 passes within 2 km of Ambronay.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Ambronay: April and June to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Amberieu, 3.8 km away, and the daylight at the town’s latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 85 | 70 | 75 | 87 | 106 | 89 | 86 | 83 | 106 | 118 | 118 | 95 |
February is the driest month (70 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 118 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 65 nights a year. The climate in Ambronay →
Neighbors
Next to Ambronay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Pont-d'AinAmbérieu-en-BugeyLagnieuVillieu-Loyes-MollonChalamontMeximieuxAmbronay
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambronay | 1.3% | 28% | 1 |
| Pont-d'Ain 2,843 · 5.2 km | 18% | 22% | 1 |
| Ambérieu-en-Bugey 15,934 · 5.2 km | 0% | 49% | 3.3 |
| Lagnieu 7,411 · 12 km | 0% | 35% | 1.1 |
| Villieu-Loyes-Mollon 3,849 · 13 km | 17% | 24% | 0.4 |
| Chalamont 2,533 · 14 km | 69% | 20% | 0.1 |
| Meximieux 8,247 · 16 km | 2.7% | 12% | 1 |
Pont-d'Ain, Villieu-Loyes-Mollon and Chalamont have at least twice as much protected land. Ambérieu-en-Bugey is more wooded.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Protected areas. National-park cores, national parks’ outer areas, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites, from INPN. A national park’s core is strictly protected; its outer area and a regional park are charters between communes, not bans. Designations overlap, so the total counts each piece of land once.
- Woodland. Forest and woods as OpenStreetMap maps them, private woods included: woods nobody has mapped are missing, and a mapped wood isn’t necessarily open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footpaths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, then waymarked hiking routes (GR and others) measured apart. A route often follows a path or lane already counted: the two overlap. Paths nobody has mapped are missing.
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (INSEE’s 200 m grid) within 800 m, as the crow flies, of a mapped park, garden or wood edge. It measures nearness, not a way in. Guadeloupe and French Guiana have no grid: their pages say whether the town center is within 800 m.
- The coast. The straight-line distance from the town center to OpenStreetMap’s coastline, which follows the tide line into estuaries. A commune is on the coast when the coastline crosses its boundary.
- No grade yet. U.S. and UK towns have an Outdoors Grade; French towns don’t yet. Each figure is set beside the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade) in the département and in France, each figure its own median.
Questions about the outdoors in Ambronay
Is Ambronay in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 1.3% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Ambronay?
OpenStreetMap maps 32 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 2 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Ambronay is woodland?
28% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Ambronay near the sea?
No: the coast is 286 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Ambronay?
April and June to August: long days, mild highs and little rain, from Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at the nearest suitable station.
Why is there no Outdoors Grade for French towns?
TownRatings grades the outdoors in the U.S. and the UK; the French figures are new and not graded yet. This page sets each one beside the median compared French town instead.
Sources: INPN / PatriNat (protected areas 2026, Natura 2000 2024) · © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL (paths, hiking routes, woods, coast, gardens) · INSEE, Filosofi 2021 200 m grid (residents) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Météo-France normals 1991–2020 · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 4, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.