First pick
Bois des Gouttes
Wood or forest
151 ha
3.3 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Michiel1972 · CC BY-SA 4.046%of the land protected
Outdoors in Dompierre-sur-Besbre · protected areas, woods and footpaths
46% of Dompierre-sur-Besbre’s land is protected for nature
14 km of footpaths cross Dompierre-sur-Besbre (0.3 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 13% of Dompierre-sur-Besbre. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
46%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
13%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
14 km
0.3 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
6
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois des Gouttes
Throughout this page, the Allier median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
What kind of place
What kind of outdoors place is Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected countryside46% of the land lies in protected areas.Few mapped footpaths0.3 km per km², against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.
What sets Dompierre-sur-Besbre apart: its protected countryside. It is shorter on footpaths.
Against French towns
How Dompierre-sur-Besbre 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 areas46%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
86out of 100
Woodland13%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
49out of 100
Footpaths0.3 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
6out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
12out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Dompierre-sur-Besbre has the 8th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,923 to 2,989 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Lezennes (8.6 km per km²) to Sancoins (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lezennes Nord | 8.6 | 3.6% | 0% | 66 km |
| 2 | Gorcy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 3.6 | 37% | 0% | 269 km |
| 3 | Soues Hautes-Pyrénées | 2.4 | 7.2% | 5.9% | 134 km |
| 4 | Smarves Vienne | 2.3 | 37% | 0% | 116 km |
| 5 | Aniane Hérault | 1.7 | 43% | 14% | 31 km |
| 6 | Tourrettes Var | 1.5 | 64% | 1.8% | 21 km |
| 7 | Montblanc Hérault | 1.5 | 18% | 0.1% | 12 km |
| 8 | Bruyères Vosges | 1.4 | 70% | 2.4% | 428 km |
| 9 | Quillan Aude | 1.4 | 49% | 100% | 70 km |
| 10 | Drocourt Pas-de-Calais | 1.3 | 2.3% | 0% | 82 km |
| 11 | Willems Nord | 1.3 | 7.6% | 0% | 69 km |
| 12 | Hésingue Haut-Rhin | 1.2 | 17% | 0% | 421 km |
| 13 | Sérignan-du-Comtat Vaucluse | 1.2 | 28% | 1.7% | 82 km |
| 14 | Mauléon-Licharre Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 1.1 | 35% | 2.8% | 62 km |
| 15 | Ottange Moselle | 1 | 53% | 0% | 294 km |
| 16 | Zonza Corse-du-Sud | 1 | 40% | 75% | On it |
| 17 | Bertrange Moselle | 0.9 | 21% | 0% | 313 km |
| 18 | Vimoutiers Orne | 0.9 | 2.2% | 0% | 46 km |
| 19 | Bias Lot-et-Garonne | 0.9 | 2.5% | 0% | 121 km |
| 20 | Tourouvre au Perche Orne | 0.8 | 43% | 98% | 93 km |
| 21 | Grandvillars Territoire de Belfort | 0.8 | 45% | 11% | 419 km |
| 22 | Port-sur-Saône Haute-Saône | 0.7 | 52% | 13% | 423 km |
| 23 | Venerque Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 13% | 1.4% | 139 km |
| 24 | Montmeyran Drôme | 0.7 | 5.3% | 0% | 154 km |
| 25 | Iteuil Vienne | 0.5 | 23% | 0% | 112 km |
| 26 | Diémoz Isère | 0.5 | 9.8% | 0% | 238 km |
| 27 | Mortain-Bocage Manche | 0.5 | 15% | 54% | 31 km |
| 28 | Saint-Didier-sur-Chalaronne Ain | 0.4 | 7.4% | 4% | 297 km |
| 29 | Saint-Calais Sarthe | 0.4 | 2.9% | 0% | 165 km |
| 30 | La Ferté-en-Ouche Orne | 0.4 | 13% | 1.4% | 65 km |
| 31 | Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon Deux-Sèvres | 0.4 | 10% | 100% | 35 km |
| 32 | Lalinde Dordogne | 0.4 | 44% | 2.8% | 106 km |
| 33 | Saint-Lyé Aube | 0.3 | 13% | 0% | 264 km |
| 34 | Dompierre-sur-Besbre Allier | 0.3 | 13% | 46% | 330 km |
| 35 | Barjols Var | 0.2 | 69% | 18% | 49 km |
| 36 | Broons Côtes-d'Armor | 0.2 | 9.2% | 0% | 26 km |
| 37 | Frontenay-Rohan-Rohan Deux-Sèvres | 0.2 | 2.1% | 100% | 45 km |
| 38 | Fresnay-sur-Sarthe Sarthe | 0.2 | 6.9% | 0% | 112 km |
| 39 | Rue Somme | 0.2 | 7.7% | 100% | 5.7 km |
| 40 | Dangé-Saint-Romain Vienne | 0.1 | 20% | 0% | 150 km |
| 41 | Sancoins Cher | 0.1 | 11% | 0% | 315 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 Dompierre-sur-Besbre
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois des Gouttes leads, at 151 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Les Percières
Park or garden
10 ha1.9 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path
1 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
La Roseraie
Park or garden
2.4 ha0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Dompierre-sur-Besbre
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin Inondable
Park or garden
1.4 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Dompierre-sur-Besbre
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Protected land in and around Dompierre-sur-Besbre
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Sologne bourbonnaise
43% of the commune0 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Val de Loire bocager
2.6% of the commune3.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Étangs de Sologne bourbonnaise
1.9% of the commune0.7 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Val de Loire bocager
1.8% of the commune3.3 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area46%
Natura 2000 site46%
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.
46% of Dompierre-sur-Besbre’s land is protected, more than in 86% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Allier has 3%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
14 km of footpaths cross Dompierre-sur-Besbre
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
14 km
0.3 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
13%
about 6 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Dompierre-sur-BesbreAllier medianFrance median
Footpaths0.3
Hiking routes0
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Dompierre-sur-BesbreAllier medianFrance median
Woodland13%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 94% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 51% 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 Dompierre-sur-Besbre is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Dompierre-sur-Besbre: April and June to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Diou, 3 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 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 53 | 52 | 68 | 84 | 69 | 65 | 68 | 66 | 78 | 84 | 69 |
March is the driest month (52 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 84 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 54 nights a year. The climate in Dompierre-sur-Besbre →
Neighbors
Next to Dompierre-sur-Besbre
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Bourbon-LancyDigoinYzeureMoulinsDompierre-sur-Besbre
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre | 46% | 13% | 0.3 |
| Bourbon-Lancy 4,674 · 13 km | 13% | 21% | 0.7 |
| Digoin 7,353 · 25 km | 6.1% | 12% | 0.8 |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 25 km | 0% | 25% | 1.3 |
| Moulins 19,206 · 27 km | 11% | 3.3% | 6.1 |
Bourbon-Lancy and Yzeure are 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 Dompierre-sur-Besbre
Is Dompierre-sur-Besbre in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 46% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
OpenStreetMap maps 14 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.3 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Dompierre-sur-Besbre is woodland?
13% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Dompierre-sur-Besbre near the sea?
No: the coast is 330 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Dompierre-sur-Besbre?
April and June to September: 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 9, 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.