Photo: This picture belongs to Xavier Caré . · CC BY-SA 3.0Almost every home in Balan is within 800 m of a park or wood
Protected areas cover 24% of Balan’s land. Mapped woodland covers 4.9% of Balan. 15 km of footpaths cross Balan (0.8 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
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.
How Balan 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.
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Balan has the 21st fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,050 to 3,104 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Albigny-sur-Saône (4.8 km per km²) to Bérat (0 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albigny-sur-Saône Rhône | 4.8 | 25% | 0% | 263 km |
| 2 | Coupvray Seine-et-Marne | 4.3 | 19% | 0% | 164 km |
| 3 | Buhl Haut-Rhin | 3.7 | 74% | 100% | 461 km |
| 4 | Villers-Bocage Calvados | 3.1 | 7.7% | 0% | 29 km |
| 5 | Tarascon-sur-Ariège Ariège | 3 | 48% | 1.5% | 118 km |
| 6 | La Chapelle-en-Serval Oise | 2.9 | 45% | 100% | 132 km |
| 7 | Pont-à-Vendin Pas-de-Calais | 2.9 | 13% | 0% | 72 km |
| 8 | Chéreng Nord | 2.5 | 11% | 0% | 69 km |
| 9 | Beaumont Haute-Savoie | 2.2 | 40% | 48% | 280 km |
| 10 | Chapareillan Isère | 2.2 | 57% | 98% | 221 km |
| 11 | Custines Meurthe-et-Moselle | 2 | 38% | 0% | 355 km |
| 12 | Fumay Ardennes | 2 | 92% | 100% | 185 km |
| 13 | Chens-sur-Léman Haute-Savoie | 1.9 | 41% | 5% | 299 km |
| 14 | La Sentinelle Nord | 1.9 | 3.3% | 0.5% | 104 km |
| 15 | Damelevières Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1.6 | 46% | 0% | 386 km |
| 16 | Plancoët Côtes-d'Armor | 1.4 | 13% | 100% | 3.9 km |
| 17 | La Motte Var | 1.3 | 34% | 25% | 18 km |
| 18 | Gréoux-les-Bains Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 1.2 | 62% | 20% | 63 km |
| 19 | Saint-Genix-les-Villages Savoie | 1.2 | 33% | 4.4% | 247 km |
| 20 | Guichainville Eure | 1.1 | 15% | 0% | 78 km |
| 21 | Balan Ain | 0.8 | 4.9% | 24% | 265 km |
| 22 | Gasny Eure | 0.8 | 35% | 9.7% | 98 km |
| 23 | Anor Nord | 0.8 | 37% | 100% | 162 km |
| 24 | Commelle-Vernay Loire | 0.7 | 6.3% | 34% | 271 km |
| 25 | Nontron Dordogne | 0.7 | 37% | 100% | 110 km |
| 26 | Colayrac-Saint-Cirq Lot-et-Garonne | 0.7 | 14% | 3.8% | 126 km |
| 27 | Port-Saint-Père Loire-Atlantique | 0.7 | 9.5% | 16% | 20 km |
| 28 | Soulac-sur-Mer Gironde | 0.7 | 23% | 100% | On it |
| 29 | Breuillet Charente-Maritime | 0.7 | 20% | 13% | On it |
| 30 | Noé Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 7.6% | 5.6% | 150 km |
| 31 | Saint-Denis-de-l'Hôtel Loiret | 0.4 | 38% | 4% | 217 km |
| 32 | Le Grand-Lemps Isère | 0.4 | 24% | 10% | 220 km |
| 33 | Châtillon-sur-Loire Loiret | 0.4 | 15% | 9.3% | 271 km |
| 34 | Blancs-Coteaux Marne | 0.2 | 35% | 2.1% | 220 km |
| 35 | Dissay Vienne | 0.2 | 34% | 24% | 127 km |
| 36 | Miramont-de-Guyenne Lot-et-Garonne | 0.2 | 11% | 0% | 88 km |
| 37 | Lailly-en-Val Loiret | 0.1 | 52% | 60% | 210 km |
| 38 | Gémozac Charente-Maritime | 0.1 | 8.4% | 0% | 13 km |
| 39 | Montesquieu-Volvestre Haute-Garonne | 0.1 | 22% | 0% | 151 km |
| 40 | La Roche-Chalais Dordogne | 0.1 | 56% | 6.7% | 50 km |
| 41 | Bérat Haute-Garonne | 0 | 11% | 0% | 159 km |
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is the commune’s boundary.
24% of Balan lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Milieux alluviaux et aquatiques du fleuve Rhône, de Jons à Anthon
Steppes de la Valbonne
Steppes de la Valbonne
Basse vallée de l’Ain, confluence Ain-Rhône
Share of the commune’s land
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.
24% of Balan’s land is protected, more than in 80% 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.
15 km of footpaths cross Balan
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.
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
That is less than in 74% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 77% 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 Balan is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR 422 passes within 2 km of Balan.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
The best walking months in Balan: April and June to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Lyon-St Exupery, 13 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 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 47 | 54 | 72 | 83 | 71 | 67 | 71 | 87 | 101 | 92 | 63 |
February is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 101 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 43 nights a year. The climate in Balan →
Next to Balan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Montluel is more wooded.
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 Balan
Is Balan in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 24% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Balan?
OpenStreetMap maps 15 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Balan is woodland?
4.9% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Balan near the sea?
No: the coast is 265 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Balan?
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.