First pick
Parc Saint-Jean
Park or garden
3.2 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
1.9 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Sviraman · CC BY-SA 4.02.3%of the land protected
Outdoors in Montluçon · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Montluçon is within 800 m of a park or wood
Montluçon has 13 km of waymarked hiking routes. Footpaths add up to 50 km across Montluçon (2.4 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 7.5% of Montluçon. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
2.3%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
7.5%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
50 km
2.4 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
13 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
9
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc Saint-Jean
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.
Against French towns
How Montluçon 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 areas2.3%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
60out of 100
Woodland7.5%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
32out of 100
Footpaths2.4 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
65out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
68out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Montluçon has the 9th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (31,134 to 35,317 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Montigny-le-Bretonneux (10 km per km²) to Carpentras (1.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montigny-le-Bretonneux Yvelines | 10 | 18% | 4.9% | 143 km |
| 2 | Schiltigheim Bas-Rhin | 9 | 7.7% | 0.2% | 449 km |
| 3 | Lyon 4e Rhône | 7.8 | 6.8% | 0% | 253 km |
| 4 | L'Haÿ-les-Roses Val-de-Marne | 7.5 | 4% | 0% | 156 km |
| 5 | Thiais Val-de-Marne | 7.3 | 5.4% | 0% | 160 km |
| 6 | Paris 8e Paris | 6.9 | 0% | 0% | 146 km |
| 7 | Savigny-le-Temple Seine-et-Marne | 6.5 | 15% | 0% | 183 km |
| 8 | Paris 3e Paris | 6.4 | 0.1% | 0% | 149 km |
| 9 | Pontoise Val-d'Oise | 6.2 | 11% | 0.5% | 121 km |
| 10 | Plaisir Yvelines | 5.5 | 26% | 0% | 135 km |
| 11 | Marseille 7e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5.4 | 0.7% | 33% | On it |
| 12 | Bègles Gironde | 5.3 | 5.5% | 8.9% | 23 km |
| 13 | Agen Lot-et-Garonne | 5 | 4.9% | 3.6% | 132 km |
| 14 | Trappes Yvelines | 4.8 | 20% | 22% | 140 km |
| 15 | Les Mureaux Yvelines | 4.7 | 16% | 0% | 120 km |
| 16 | Ris-Orangis Essonne | 4.6 | 7.7% | 0% | 171 km |
| 17 | Lens Pas-de-Calais | 4.6 | 6.4% | 0% | 74 km |
| 18 | Nogent-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 4.4 | 2.8% | 0% | 157 km |
| 19 | Vigneux-sur-Seine Essonne | 4.3 | 21% | 0% | 167 km |
| 20 | Mâcon Saône-et-Loire | 4.2 | 17% | 0% | 311 km |
| 21 | Aix-les-Bains Savoie | 3.9 | 14% | 20% | 246 km |
| 22 | Le Port Réunion | 3.7 | 0.5% | 5.6% | On it |
| 23 | Épinal Vosges | 3.7 | 67% | 0% | 413 km |
| 24 | Rillieux-la-Pape Rhône | 3.5 | 16% | 6.1% | 259 km |
| 25 | Le Perreux-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 3.4 | 1.2% | 0% | 157 km |
| 26 | Nevers Nièvre | 3.3 | 1.2% | 11% | 336 km |
| 27 | Villiers-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 3 | 2% | 0% | 160 km |
| 28 | Marignane Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.9 | 3.4% | 16% | 8.5 km |
| 29 | Cambrai Nord | 2.8 | 4.5% | 0% | 111 km |
| 30 | Herblay-sur-Seine Val-d'Oise | 2.7 | 10% | 0% | 128 km |
| 31 | Dreux Eure-et-Loir | 2.7 | 24% | 2.4% | 107 km |
| 32 | Vienne Isère | 2.6 | 30% | 0.1% | 227 km |
| 33 | Montluçon Allier | 2.4 | 7.5% | 2.3% | 279 km |
| 34 | Saint-Laurent-du-Var Alpes-Maritimes | 2.2 | 6.3% | 8.8% | On it |
| 35 | Mont-de-Marsan Landes | 2.1 | 33% | 4.9% | 70 km |
| 36 | Auxerre Yonne | 1.8 | 15% | 0% | 298 km |
| 37 | Houilles Yvelines | 1.7 | 0% | 0% | 136 km |
| 38 | Goussainville Val-d'Oise | 1.7 | 2.8% | 0% | 139 km |
| 39 | Romans-sur-Isère Drôme | 1.7 | 11% | 12% | 178 km |
| 40 | Saint-Médard-en-Jalles Gironde | 1.7 | 46% | 4.4% | 17 km |
| 41 | Carpentras Vaucluse | 1.1 | 6% | 64% | 69 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 Montluçon
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc Saint-Jean leads, at 3.2 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc des Ilets
Park or garden
3.4 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
1.3 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Wilson
Park or garden
1.1 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
0.7 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin des Marais
Park or garden
1 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
1.9 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Square Berthie Albrecht
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.1 km of path
1.8 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Belvédère du Plan Incliné
Park or garden
0.4 ha0.1 km of path
1.2 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 9 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc Saint-JeanPark or garden · 3.2 ha · 1 km of path
DirectionsParc des IletsPark or garden · 3.4 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsParc WilsonPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsJardin des MaraisPark or garden · 1 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc de la LouvièrePark or garden · 1.4 ha
DirectionsSquare Berthie AlbrechtPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsBelvédère du Plan InclinéPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsParc des GuinebertsPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsJardin Pierre MiquelPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
2.3% of Montluçon 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
Gorges du Haut-Cher
2.3% of the commune2.6 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area2.3%
Natura 2000 site2.3%
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.
2.3% of Montluçon’s land is protected, more than in 60% 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
50 km of footpaths and 13 km of hiking routes cross Montluçon
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
50 km
2.4 km per km²
Hiking routes
13 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
7.5%
about 1.5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
MontluçonAllier medianFrance median
Footpaths2.4
Hiking routes0.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
MontluçonAllier medianFrance median
Woodland7.5%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 65% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 68% 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 Montluçon is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
4 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Le Cher, de Montluçon à La Celle12 km
Chemin de Szombathely, Montluçon - Tournon-Saint-Martin7.1 km
Le Cher, Vallon-en-Sully - Montluçon5.3 km
Chemin de Szombathely, Charroux - Montluçon4.5 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Montluçon: April and June to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Tortezais_Sapc, 23 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 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 18 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 44 | 50 | 67 | 78 | 66 | 63 | 66 | 69 | 67 | 73 | 58 |
February is the driest month (44 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 78 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 67 nights a year. The climate in Montluçon →
Gardens
A garden to visit in Montluçon
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardins WilsonIn Montluçon
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Montluçon
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
DésertinesPrémilhatDomératHurielCommentrySaint-Éloy-les-MinesMontluçon
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montluçon | 2.3% | 7.5% | 2.4 |
| Désertines 4,259 · 2.6 km | 0% | 20% | 1.5 |
| Prémilhat 2,540 · 3.8 km | 0% | 7.3% | 0.3 |
| Domérat 8,622 · 4.6 km | 0% | 8.5% | 0.5 |
| Huriel 2,536 · 9.1 km | 0% | 7.2% | 0.2 |
| Commentry 6,017 · 13 km | 0% | 13% | 0.5 |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 3,480 · 27 km | 0% | 23% | 0.5 |
Saint-Éloy-les-Mines 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 Montluçon
Is Montluçon in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 2.3% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Montluçon?
OpenStreetMap maps 50 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.4 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 13 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Montluçon is woodland?
7.5% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Montluçon near the sea?
No: the coast is 279 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Montluçon?
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 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.