First pick
Parc de la Rigolée
Park or garden · 110 m outside the commune
17 ha3 km of path
40 minto walk all 3 km of path
2.7 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Anonymous Unknown author · CC BY-SA 4.011%of the land protected
Outdoors in Moulins · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Moulins has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
Footpaths add up to 54 km across Moulins (6.1 km per km²). 3.3% of Moulins is mapped woodland. 11% of Moulins’ land lies in protected areas. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
11%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
3.3%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
54 km
6.1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
3.2 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: Parc de la Rigolée
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 Moulins?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths6.1 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Little mapped woodland3.3% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Moulins apart: its footpaths. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Moulins 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 areas11%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
73out of 100
Woodland3.3%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
16out of 100
Footpaths6.1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
94out of 100
Hiking routes0.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
51out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Moulins has the 6th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (18,503 to 19,978 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Meylan (9.2 km per km²) to Mauges-sur-Loire (0.5 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meylan Isère | 9.2 | 18% | 12% | 205 km |
| 2 | Villefontaine Isère | 9.1 | 21% | 1.7% | 241 km |
| 3 | Gentilly Val-de-Marne | 8 | 1.8% | 0% | 153 km |
| 4 | Le Mée-sur-Seine Seine-et-Marne | 7.9 | 34% | 0% | 190 km |
| 5 | Juvisy-sur-Orge Essonne | 6.4 | 1.3% | 0% | 166 km |
| 6 | Moulins Allier | 6.1 | 3.3% | 11% | 338 km |
| 7 | Chevilly-Larue Val-de-Marne | 5.8 | 3.8% | 0% | 158 km |
| 8 | Chennevières-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 5.4 | 6.2% | 0% | 163 km |
| 9 | Bischheim Bas-Rhin | 5.1 | 3.6% | 0.6% | 449 km |
| 10 | Paris 2e Paris | 4.6 | 0% | 0% | 148 km |
| 11 | Faches-Thumesnil Nord | 4.4 | 0.2% | 0% | 66 km |
| 12 | Albertville Savoie | 4.1 | 47% | 0% | 228 km |
| 13 | Mougins Alpes-Maritimes | 4 | 28% | 0% | 5.1 km |
| 14 | Cesson-Sévigné Ille-et-Vilaine | 3.9 | 5.2% | 0% | 50 km |
| 15 | Moissy-Cramayel Seine-et-Marne | 3.9 | 4.7% | 0% | 180 km |
| 16 | Bruz Ille-et-Vilaine | 3.8 | 14% | 0% | 55 km |
| 17 | Ronchin Nord | 3.7 | 1.8% | 0% | 66 km |
| 18 | Bry-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 3.6 | 7% | 0% | 158 km |
| 19 | Cognac Charente | 3.5 | 13% | 17% | 43 km |
| 20 | Cournon-d'Auvergne Puy-de-Dôme | 3.3 | 6.6% | 6.3% | 251 km |
| 21 | Ploemeur Morbihan | 3.3 | 15% | 4.9% | On it |
| 22 | Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Vosges | 3.2 | 58% | 1.9% | 436 km |
| 23 | Hem Nord | 3 | 5.1% | 0% | 64 km |
| 24 | Le Puy-en-Velay Haute-Loire | 2.9 | 12% | 0% | 165 km |
| 25 | Saint-Lô Manche | 2.9 | 5% | 0% | 26 km |
| 26 | Royan Charente-Maritime | 2.8 | 8.7% | 12% | On it |
| 27 | Louviers Eure | 2.8 | 55% | 0.1% | 64 km |
| 28 | Lisieux Calvados | 2.4 | 1.9% | 0% | 26 km |
| 29 | La Crau Var | 2.3 | 23% | 1.8% | 6.1 km |
| 30 | Saint-Fons Rhône | 2.3 | 4.1% | 0% | 246 km |
| 31 | Sanary-sur-Mer Var | 2.2 | 16% | 0% | On it |
| 32 | Vence Alpes-Maritimes | 2.2 | 28% | 64% | 8.3 km |
| 33 | Vitré Ille-et-Vilaine | 2.2 | 4.2% | 0% | 58 km |
| 34 | Sorgues Vaucluse | 1.7 | 9.7% | 22% | 62 km |
| 35 | Pertuis Vaucluse | 1.5 | 18% | 100% | 40 km |
| 36 | Brie-Comte-Robert Seine-et-Marne | 1.3 | 4.7% | 0% | 176 km |
| 37 | Riom Puy-de-Dôme | 1.1 | 2.4% | 1.3% | 269 km |
| 38 | Sélestat Bas-Rhin | 1 | 40% | 56% | 462 km |
| 39 | Pornic Loire-Atlantique | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | On it |
| 40 | Bressuire Deux-Sèvres | 0.6 | 2.4% | 0% | 77 km |
| 41 | Mauges-sur-Loire Maine-et-Loire | 0.5 | 4.7% | 11% | 88 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 Moulins
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de la Rigolée leads, at 17 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc du Château de Bellevue
Park or garden · 120 m outside the commune
7.9 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
1.1 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Square Général Leclerc
Park or garden
1.6 ha1.3 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Moulins
Esplanade de la Légion d'Honneur
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Bellecroix
Park or garden · 0 m outside the commune
1.6 ha0.6 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
1.2 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Laussedat
Park or garden · 130 m outside the commune
1.9 ha0.4 km of path
1.5 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Simone Veil
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.3 km of path
0.7 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
11% of Moulins 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
Vallée de l’Allier nord
11% of the commune0.4 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Val d’Allier Bourbonnais
2.7 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area11%
Natura 2000 site11%
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.
11% of Moulins’ land is protected, more than in 73% 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
Footpaths and woods in Moulins
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
54 km
6.1 km per km²
Hiking routes
3.2 km
waymarked: 0.4 km per km²
Woodland
3.3%
about 0.3 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
MoulinsAllier medianFrance median
Footpaths6.1
Hiking routes0.4
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
MoulinsAllier medianFrance median
Woodland3.3%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 94% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 84% 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 Moulins is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
3 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Le Bourbonnais, de Couzon à Moulins5.2 km
Le Bourbonnais, de Moulins à Montcombroux-les-Mines4.1 km
Sentier Yzeure 20001.7 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Moulins: April and June to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Yzeure, 2.6 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 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 60 | 50 | 52 | 65 | 81 | 71 | 68 | 64 | 68 | 71 | 83 | 65 |
February is the driest month (50 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 83 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 60 nights a year. The climate in Moulins →
Neighbors
Next to Moulins
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
YzeureAvermesDompierre-sur-BesbreVarennes-sur-AllierSaint-Pourçain-sur-SiouleMoulins
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moulins | 11% | 3.3% | 6.1 |
| Yzeure 12,897 · 1.8 km | 0% | 25% | 1.3 |
| Avermes 4,074 · 3.3 km | 13% | 4.2% | 1.2 |
| Dompierre-sur-Besbre 2,959 · 27 km | 46% | 13% | 0.3 |
| Varennes-sur-Allier 3,549 · 28 km | 39% | 6.2% | 0.3 |
| Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule 4,884 · 29 km | 9.3% | 6.2% | 0.4 |
Dompierre-sur-Besbre and Varennes-sur-Allier have at least twice as much protected land. Yzeure 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 Moulins
Is Moulins in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 11% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Moulins?
OpenStreetMap maps 54 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 6.1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 3 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Moulins is woodland?
3.3% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Moulins near the sea?
No: the coast is 338 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Moulins?
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.