First pick
Massif de la Cavayère
Wood or forest
374 ha7.9 km of path
1 h 45 minto walk all 7.9 km of path
8 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.08.4%woodland
Outdoors in Carcassonne · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Carcassonne is within 800 m of a park or wood
No protected area reaches Carcassonne; the nearest, Corbières occidentales (Natura 2000), is 6.3 km from the town center. 8.4% of Carcassonne is mapped woodland. Footpaths add up to 94 km across Carcassonne (1.4 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Corbières occidentales, 6.3 km
Woodland
8.4%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
94 km
1.4 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
24 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
7
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Massif de la Cavayère
Throughout this page, the Aude 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 Carcassonne 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 areas0%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
22out of 100
Woodland8.4%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
35out of 100
Footpaths1.4 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
45out of 100
Hiking routes0.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
52out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Carcassonne has the 4th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (43,086 to 49,229 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Puteaux (18.9 km per km²) to Istres (1.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puteaux Hauts-de-Seine | 18.9 | 1.5% | 0% | 142 km |
| 2 | Bagneux Hauts-de-Seine | 9.6 | 1.1% | 0% | 154 km |
| 3 | Meudon Hauts-de-Seine | 9.3 | 44% | 0% | 150 km |
| 4 | Suresnes Hauts-de-Seine | 9.2 | 5.9% | 0% | 143 km |
| 5 | Marseille 5e Bouches-du-Rhône | 8.9 | 0% | 0% | 1.9 km |
| 6 | Talence Gironde | 7.8 | 5.2% | 0% | 22 km |
| 7 | Belfort Territoire de Belfort | 7.5 | 34% | 0.4% | 431 km |
| 8 | Paris 7e Paris | 6.9 | 0.4% | 0% | 148 km |
| 9 | Saint-Germain-en-Laye Yvelines | 6.8 | 68% | 0% | 135 km |
| 10 | Chalon-sur-Saône Saône-et-Loire | 6.7 | 4.2% | 0% | 364 km |
| 11 | Rezé Loire-Atlantique | 6.6 | 7% | 3.6% | 37 km |
| 12 | Choisy-le-Roi Val-de-Marne | 6.4 | 2.7% | 0% | 161 km |
| 13 | Lyon 5e Rhône | 5.9 | 8.8% | 0% | 251 km |
| 14 | La Courneuve Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.8 | 15% | 23% | 145 km |
| 15 | Alfortville Val-de-Marne | 5.7 | 0.1% | 0% | 157 km |
| 16 | Montrouge Hauts-de-Seine | 5.5 | 0.1% | 0% | 152 km |
| 17 | Bagnolet Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.5 | 1.4% | 3.6% | 151 km |
| 18 | Vincennes Val-de-Marne | 5.5 | 0.1% | 0% | 154 km |
| 19 | Saint-Brieuc Côtes-d'Armor | 5.3 | 14% | 2.1% | On it |
| 20 | Valenciennes Nord | 5.2 | 6.6% | 0.2% | 105 km |
| 21 | Rosny-sous-Bois Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.1 | 3.2% | 2.7% | 154 km |
| 22 | Caluire-et-Cuire Rhône | 5.1 | 9.1% | 0.1% | 255 km |
| 23 | Charleville-Mézières Ardennes | 5 | 32% | 0.5% | 207 km |
| 24 | Melun Seine-et-Marne | 4.6 | 6.4% | 0% | 191 km |
| 25 | Noisy-le-Sec Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.6 | 2.7% | 0% | 151 km |
| 26 | Saint-Priest Rhône | 4.4 | 4.1% | 0% | 247 km |
| 27 | Blois Loir-et-Cher | 4.3 | 30% | 5.8% | 216 km |
| 28 | Anglet Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 4 | 18% | 4.5% | On it |
| 29 | Mantes-la-Jolie Yvelines | 3.7 | 12% | 7.1% | 109 km |
| 30 | Saint-Malo Ille-et-Vilaine | 3.5 | 3.8% | 33% | On it |
| 31 | Tarbes Hautes-Pyrénées | 3.4 | 2.8% | 0.8% | 131 km |
| 32 | Livry-Gargan Seine-Saint-Denis | 3.1 | 10% | 0.7% | 152 km |
| 33 | Martigues Bouches-du-Rhône | 3 | 13% | 0.2% | On it |
| 34 | Bastia Haute-Corse | 2.8 | 0.3% | 0% | On it |
| 35 | Alès Gard | 2.2 | 8% | 0% | 63 km |
| 36 | Sète Hérault | 2 | 0.6% | 67% | On it |
| 37 | Aubagne Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.8 | 30% | 13% | 8.9 km |
| 38 | Carcassonne Aude | 1.4 | 8.4% | 0% | 62 km |
| 39 | Salon-de-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.4 | 4.8% | 59% | 26 km |
| 40 | Brive-la-Gaillarde Corrèze | 1.2 | 27% | 0% | 167 km |
| 41 | Istres Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.1 | 3.3% | 49% | 9.7 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 Carcassonne
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Massif de la Cavayère leads, at 374 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Square André Chénier
Park or garden
1.3 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Carcassonne
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin du Marquis de Gonet
Park or garden
1.5 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
2.1 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Bellevue
Park or garden
1 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
0.6 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
La Petite Conte
Park or garden
0.4 ha0.3 km of path
2.5 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin Pierre et Maria Sire
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.3 km of path
0.8 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Le Jardin du Calvaire
Park or garden
0.3 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Carcassonne
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Corbières occidentales is the nearest protected area, 6.3 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Corbières occidentales
6.3 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0%
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.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
94 km of footpaths and 24 km of hiking routes cross Carcassonne
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
94 km
1.4 km per km²
Hiking routes
24 km
waymarked: 0.4 km per km²
Woodland
8.4%
about 5.5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CarcassonneAude medianFrance median
Footpaths1.4
Hiking routes0.4
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CarcassonneAude medianFrance median
Woodland8.4%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 55% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 65% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 99% of Carcassonne’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
De la Manche aux Pyrénées 22, Portail de Nore - Carcassonne12 km
De la Manche aux Pyrénées 23, Carcassonne - Sournia12 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Carcassonne: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Carcassonne, 4.7 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) | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 25 | 20 | 14 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 66 | 47 | 58 | 71 | 63 | 47 | 30 | 40 | 48 | 63 | 70 | 61 |
July is the driest month (30 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 29 °C). 71 mm of rain falls in April, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 21 nights a year. The climate in Carcassonne →
Gardens
A garden to visit in Carcassonne
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardin du CalvaireIn Carcassonne
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Carcassonne
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
PennautierVillemoustaussouPalajaConques-sur-OrbielTrèbesBramCarcassonne
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carcassonne | 0% | 8.4% | 1.4 |
| Pennautier 2,895 · 4.4 km | 0% | 7.6% | 0.3 |
| Villemoustaussou 4,401 · 4.4 km | 0% | 4.8% | 0.8 |
| Palaja 2,722 · 5.4 km | 0% | 34% | 2.2 |
| Conques-sur-Orbiel 2,523 · 7.3 km | 0% | 8.1% | 1.3 |
| Trèbes 5,361 · 7.7 km | 0% | 9.6% | 1 |
| Bram 3,233 · 20 km | 0% | 3.5% | 0.6 |
Palaja 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 Carcassonne
Is Carcassonne in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Corbières occidentales, 6.3 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Carcassonne?
OpenStreetMap maps 94 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.4 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 24 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Carcassonne is woodland?
8.4% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Carcassonne near the sea?
No: the coast is 62 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Carcassonne?
May 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.