First pick
Ancien Haras national de Rodez
Park or garden
6.5 ha0.1 km of path
0.9 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.05.5%woodland
Outdoors in Rodez · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Rodez has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
Footpaths add up to 67 km across Rodez (5.9 km per km²). Waymarked hiking routes add up to 13 km in Rodez. No protected area reaches Rodez; the nearest, Causse Comtal (Natura 2000), is 3.9 km from the town center. 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: Causse Comtal, 3.9 km
Woodland
5.5%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
67 km
5.9 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
8
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Ancien Haras national de Rodez
Throughout this page, the Aveyron 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 Rodez?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths5.9 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.On waymarked routes13 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected land nearbyCausse Comtal (Natura 2000) is 3.9 km from the town center.
What sets Rodez apart: its footpaths, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Rodez 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
Woodland5.5%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
25out of 100
Footpaths5.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
94out of 100
Hiking routes1.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
87out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Rodez has the 7th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (22,567 to 25,490 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Torcy (11 km per km²) to Beaupréau-en-Mauges (0.4 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torcy Seine-et-Marne | 11 | 17% | 0% | 163 km |
| 2 | Vichy Allier | 8.8 | 1.3% | 12% | 290 km |
| 3 | Vélizy-Villacoublay Yvelines | 7.6 | 33% | 0% | 150 km |
| 4 | Hérouville-Saint-Clair Calvados | 7 | 4.9% | 0% | 11 km |
| 5 | Les Lilas Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.6 | 4.4% | 0% | 150 km |
| 6 | Fontenay-aux-Roses Hauts-de-Seine | 6.1 | 1.8% | 0% | 153 km |
| 7 | Rodez Aveyron | 5.9 | 5.5% | 0% | 136 km |
| 8 | Roissy-en-Brie Seine-et-Marne | 5.9 | 46% | 0% | 168 km |
| 9 | Le Kremlin-Bicêtre Val-de-Marne | 5.8 | 1.8% | 0% | 154 km |
| 10 | Lanester Morbihan | 5.2 | 13% | 0.1% | On it |
| 11 | Loos Nord | 5 | 4.6% | 0% | 63 km |
| 12 | Saint-Jean-de-Braye Loiret | 5 | 16% | 4.3% | 207 km |
| 13 | Montbéliard Doubs | 4.9 | 22% | 0% | 418 km |
| 14 | Alençon Orne | 4.8 | 2.3% | 5.5% | 97 km |
| 15 | Marseille 2e Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.8 | 0% | 0% | On it |
| 16 | Deuil-la-Barre Val-d'Oise | 4.6 | 6.1% | 0% | 138 km |
| 17 | Montgeron Essonne | 4.6 | 46% | 0% | 168 km |
| 18 | Combs-la-Ville Seine-et-Marne | 4.4 | 14% | 0% | 176 km |
| 19 | Béthune Pas-de-Calais | 4 | 4% | 0% | 60 km |
| 20 | Orly Val-de-Marne | 3.9 | 5% | 0% | 162 km |
| 21 | Eysines Gironde | 3.9 | 7.6% | 3.1% | 15 km |
| 22 | Rochefort Charente-Maritime | 3.5 | 1.4% | 38% | On it |
| 23 | La Valette-du-Var Var | 3.4 | 23% | 32% | 3.7 km |
| 24 | Tassin-la-Demi-Lune Rhône | 3.2 | 18% | 0% | 250 km |
| 25 | Le Bouscat Gironde | 3 | 1.4% | 0% | 16 km |
| 26 | Saint-Louis Haut-Rhin | 2.9 | 8.5% | 18% | 423 km |
| 27 | Dammarie-les-Lys Seine-et-Marne | 2.7 | 35% | 26% | 192 km |
| 28 | Maisons-Laffitte Yvelines | 2.6 | 6.5% | 0% | 133 km |
| 29 | Olivet Loiret | 2.5 | 23% | 0% | 208 km |
| 30 | Vernon Eure | 2.5 | 56% | 3.5% | 90 km |
| 31 | Dole Jura | 2.5 | 36% | 37% | 400 km |
| 32 | Manosque Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 2.2 | 26% | 100% | 64 km |
| 33 | Saint-Dizier Haute-Marne | 2.1 | 47% | 0% | 293 km |
| 34 | Libourne Gironde | 2 | 2.5% | 14% | 30 km |
| 35 | Saintes Charente-Maritime | 1.9 | 12% | 9.3% | 26 km |
| 36 | Frontignan Hérault | 1.8 | 0.9% | 29% | On it |
| 37 | Couëron Loire-Atlantique | 1.3 | 6.6% | 33% | 28 km |
| 38 | Laon Aisne | 1.1 | 16% | 0% | 156 km |
| 39 | Challans Vendée | 0.9 | 10% | 0.9% | 15 km |
| 40 | Vierzon Cher | 0.8 | 44% | 0% | 265 km |
| 41 | Beaupréau-en-Mauges Maine-et-Loire | 0.4 | 5.1% | 0% | 78 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 Rodez
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Ancien Haras national de Rodez leads, at 6.5 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Jardin Samuel Paty
Park or garden
4.1 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
1.4 km eastfrom the center
Chemin de Layoule
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin du Foirail
Park or garden
2 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Rodez
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Georges-Vignes
Park or garden · 320 m outside the commune
1.3 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
2.3 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Île de Layoule
Park or garden
0.7 ha0.4 km of path
0.9 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Briane
Park or garden · 170 m outside the commune
0.7 ha0.3 km of path
1.4 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Square Jeanne Munguía Agar
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.2 km of path
1.5 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin Gerboin
Park or garden · 10 m outside the commune
0.5 ha0.1 km of path
1.4 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Causse Comtal is the nearest protected area, 3.9 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
Causse Comtal
3.9 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
Footpaths and woods in Rodez
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
67 km
5.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
13 km
waymarked: 1.1 km per km²
Woodland
5.5%
about 0.6 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
RodezAveyron medianFrance median
Footpaths5.9
Hiking routes1.1
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
RodezAveyron medianFrance median
Woodland5.5%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 94% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 75% 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 Rodez 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
Rodez - Salles-la-Source9.7 km
Circuit 12 : Combelles9 km
Inières - Rodez6 km
Rodez - Villefranche-de-Rouergue2.3 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Rodez: June to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Rodez-Aveyron, 9.5 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) | 9.2 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.5 | 15.2 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 17 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 75 | 54 | 63 | 84 | 97 | 64 | 56 | 60 | 78 | 76 | 85 | 78 |
February is the driest month (54 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 97 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 66 nights a year. The climate in Rodez →
Neighbors
Next to Rodez
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Onet-le-ChâteauOlempsSébazac-ConcourèsLuc-la-PrimaubeDruelle BalsacBaraquevilleRodez
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodez | 0% | 5.5% | 5.9 |
| Onet-le-Château 12,080 · 2 km | 1.4% | 2.3% | 1.7 |
| Olemps 3,559 · 2.4 km | 0% | 17% | 1.8 |
| Sébazac-Concourès 3,234 · 6.3 km | 16% | 11% | 0.9 |
| Luc-la-Primaube 6,046 · 6.5 km | 0% | 7.6% | 0.8 |
| Druelle Balsac 3,187 · 6.6 km | 0% | 22% | 1.1 |
| Baraqueville 3,173 · 14 km | 0% | 13% | 0.8 |
Sébazac-Concourès has at least twice as much protected land. Druelle Balsac 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 Rodez
Is Rodez in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Causse Comtal, 3.9 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Rodez?
OpenStreetMap maps 67 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 5.9 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 13 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Rodez is woodland?
5.5% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Rodez near the sea?
No: the coast is 136 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Rodez?
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.