First pick
Parc de l'Orangerie
Park or garden
24 ha10.9 km of path
2 h 25 minto walk all 10.9 km of path
2.6 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: User:RauschenbachJM · CC BY 3.022%of the land protected
Outdoors in Strasbourg · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Strasbourg has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
501 km of footpaths cross Strasbourg (6.4 km per km²). Protected areas cover 22% of Strasbourg’s land. Waymarked hiking routes add up to 47 km in Strasbourg. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
22%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
17%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
501 km
6.4 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
47 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
30
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc de l'Orangerie
Throughout this page, the Bas-Rhin 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 Strasbourg?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths6.4 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.A nature reserveMassif forestier de la Robertsau et de la Wantzenau nature reserve covers 8.1% of the commune.
What sets Strasbourg apart: its footpaths, then its nature reserve.
Against French towns
How Strasbourg 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 areas22%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
79out of 100
Woodland17%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
58out of 100
Footpaths6.4 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
95out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
67out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Strasbourg has the 16th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (118,489 to 514,819 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Paris 12e (16.7 km per km²) to Nîmes (1.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris 12e Paris | 16.7 | 30% | 0% | 153 km |
| 2 | Paris 16e Paris | 11.9 | 25% | 0% | 147 km |
| 3 | Grenoble Isère | 11.6 | 4.6% | 0% | 204 km |
| 4 | Paris 19e Paris | 11.1 | 2.1% | 0% | 148 km |
| 5 | Paris 20e Paris | 10.9 | 0.1% | 0% | 151 km |
| 6 | Rennes Ille-et-Vilaine | 10.8 | 6.4% | 0% | 49 km |
| 7 | Paris 14e Paris | 10.6 | 0.4% | 0% | 151 km |
| 8 | Paris 15e Paris | 9.6 | 0% | 0% | 149 km |
| 9 | Paris 13e Paris | 9.2 | 0.4% | 0% | 152 km |
| 10 | Tours Indre-et-Loire | 7.8 | 6.3% | 4.7% | 184 km |
| 11 | Lille Nord | 7.7 | 2.3% | 0% | 62 km |
| 12 | Villeurbanne Rhône | 7.4 | 2.8% | 0.3% | 253 km |
| 13 | Nantes Loire-Atlantique | 7.3 | 7.3% | 6.3% | 39 km |
| 14 | Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis | 7 | 2.4% | 1.8% | 142 km |
| 15 | Metz Moselle | 6.8 | 8% | 0% | 329 km |
| 16 | Strasbourg Bas-Rhin | 6.4 | 17% | 22% | 451 km |
| 17 | Montpellier Hérault | 6.3 | 5.5% | 0.6% | 11 km |
| 18 | Angers Maine-et-Loire | 6.3 | 5.6% | 17% | 118 km |
| 19 | Boulogne-Billancourt Hauts-de-Seine | 6 | 2% | 0% | 147 km |
| 20 | Dijon Côte-d'Or | 6 | 6.5% | 0% | 402 km |
| 21 | Brest Finistère | 5.9 | 6.7% | 0% | On it |
| 22 | Toulouse Haute-Garonne | 5.9 | 3.7% | 3.3% | 147 km |
| 23 | Le Mans Sarthe | 5.5 | 6.6% | 0% | 135 km |
| 24 | Paris 11e Paris | 5.4 | 0% | 0% | 150 km |
| 25 | Besançon Doubs | 5.3 | 37% | 0.6% | 402 km |
| 26 | Paris 17e Paris | 5.1 | 0.2% | 0% | 145 km |
| 27 | Bordeaux Gironde | 4.9 | 1.2% | 10% | 18 km |
| 28 | Reims Marne | 4.8 | 2.1% | 1.1% | 199 km |
| 29 | Annecy Haute-Savoie | 4.6 | 29% | 0.2% | 260 km |
| 30 | Paris 18e Paris | 4.4 | 0.5% | 0% | 146 km |
| 31 | Amiens Somme | 3.8 | 3% | 0.7% | 55 km |
| 32 | Clermont-Ferrand Puy-de-Dôme | 3.7 | 4.6% | 0.7% | 258 km |
| 33 | Le Havre Seine-Maritime | 3.6 | 5.8% | 3.3% | On it |
| 34 | Toulon Var | 3.6 | 23% | 26% | On it |
| 35 | Saint-Étienne Loire | 3.5 | 31% | 33% | 210 km |
| 36 | Limoges Haute-Vienne | 3.3 | 15% | 0% | 163 km |
| 37 | Nice Alpes-Maritimes | 2.5 | 20% | 6.2% | On it |
| 38 | Perpignan Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.2 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 12 km |
| 39 | Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.1 | 18% | 9.1% | 21 km |
| 40 | Saint-Denis Réunion | 1.6 | 62% | 73% | On it |
| 41 | Nîmes Gard | 1.3 | 29% | 4.6% | 37 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 Strasbourg
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de l'Orangerie leads, at 24 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc des sports
Park or garden
36 ha4.4 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.4 km of path
4.6 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Pourtalès
Park or garden
30 ha4.2 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.2 km of path
5.3 km north-eastfrom the center
Chemin Rural
Directionsto a point inside
Rheinwald
Wood or forest · 200 m outside the commune
117 ha0.3 km of path
9.8 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin des Deux Rives
Park or garden
17 ha7.6 km of path
1 h 40 minto walk all 7.6 km of path
4.1 km eastfrom the center
Promenade des PenséesCours du SoleilAllée des Marelles+3 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Citadelle
Park or garden
12 ha6.6 km of path
1 h 30 minto walk all 6.6 km of path
2.1 km eastfrom the center
Allée de la MémoireAllée des Diables Bleus
Directionsto a point inside
Garten der zwei Ufer
Park or garden · 120 m outside the commune
13 ha5.1 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.1 km of path
4.5 km eastfrom the center
Rheindamm
Directionsto a point inside
Niederwald
Wood or forest · 40 m outside the commune
28 ha2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
3.1 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 30 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc de l'OrangeriePark or garden · 24 ha · 10.9 km of path
DirectionsParc des sportsPark or garden · 36 ha · 4.4 km of path
DirectionsParc de PourtalèsPark or garden · 30 ha · 4.2 km of path
DirectionsRheinwaldWood or forest · 117 ha · 0.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsJardin des Deux RivesPark or garden · 17 ha · 7.6 km of path
DirectionsParc de la CitadellePark or garden · 12 ha · 6.6 km of path
DirectionsGarten der zwei UferPark or garden · 13 ha · 5.1 km of path · just outside
DirectionsNiederwaldWood or forest · 28 ha · 2.9 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc de la BergeriePark or garden · 7 ha · 2.9 km of path
DirectionsParc SchulmeisterPark or garden · 7.5 ha · 1.5 km of path
DirectionsParc des RomainsPark or garden · 5.2 ha · 2.6 km of path
DirectionsKurgartenPark or garden · 4.8 ha · 2.6 km of path
DirectionsParc du HeyritzPark or garden · 5 ha · 2.5 km of path
DirectionsParc de HautepierrePark or garden · 8.8 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsParc ContadesPark or garden · 4.8 ha · 2 km of path
DirectionsJardin BotaniquePark or garden · 2.8 ha · 1.8 km of path
DirectionsParc du Petit RhinPark or garden · 4 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsParc Eugène ImbsPark or garden · 3.3 ha · 1.3 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'ÉtoilePark or garden · 2.7 ha · 1.3 km of path
DirectionsParc Henri WillPark or garden · 1.8 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsJardin de la Place de la RepubliquePark or garden · 1.5 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsParc de la RoseraiePark or garden · 1.1 ha · 1.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc des PoteriesPark or garden · 3.1 ha
DirectionsSquare du Tivoli - Tomi UngererPark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsParc de L'AarPark or garden · 1.7 ha · 0.7 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc de l'ExtenwoerthfeldPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsJardin des Senteurs et du ToucherPark or garden · 1.3 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsParc de loisirs du MaraisPark or garden · 1.6 ha · 0.6 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSquare de la PeupleraiePark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsParc du ChâteauPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.8 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
22% of Strasbourg lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Nature reserve
Massif forestier de la Robertsau et de la Wantzenau nature reserve
8.1% of the commune4.3 km from the center
Nature reserve
Massif Forestier de Strasbourg-Neuhof/Illkirch-Graffenstaden nature reserve
5.2% of the commune3.7 km from the center
Nature reserve
Ile du Rohrschollen nature reserve
3.8% of the commune5.5 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Secteur Alluvial Rhin-Ried-Bruch, Bas-Rhin
17% of the commune3.7 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Vallée du Rhin de Lauterbourg à Strasbourg
9.5% of the commune4.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Vallée du Rhin de Strasbourg à Marckolsheim
6% of the commune4.4 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area22%
Nature reserve17%
Natura 2000 site21%
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.
22% of Strasbourg’s land is protected, more than in 79% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Bas-Rhin has 0.1%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
Footpaths and woods in Strasbourg
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
501 km
6.4 km per km²
Hiking routes
47 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
17%
about 13.7 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
StrasbourgBas-Rhin medianFrance median
Footpaths6.4
Hiking routes0.6
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
StrasbourgBas-Rhin medianFrance median
Woodland17%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 95% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 58% 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 Strasbourg is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
15 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 53418 km
Sentier de l'Ill25 km
La ceinture verte autour de Strasbourg17 km
Rad- und Wanderweg Kehl-Freistett6.2 km
Sentier Botanique et de Découverte de la Nature3.7 km
Parcours Sportif du Neuhof3.1 km
Chemin Kunesand3 km
Parcours Sportif d’Illkirch2.3 km
Sentier des Dames1.9 km
Innerer Rundweg1.5 km
Der Blaue Weg1.2 km
Passerelle des Deux Rives - Kehl Bahnhof1 km
+3 more
GR 534 passes within 2 km of Strasbourg.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Strasbourg: April, August and September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Strasbourg-Entzheim, 8.4 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°C) | 5 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 6 |
| Rain (mm) | 35 | 34 | 39 | 42 | 77 | 69 | 72 | 61 | 55 | 60 | 48 | 45 |
February is the driest month (34 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 77 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 60 nights a year. The climate in Strasbourg →
Gardens
8 gardens to visit in Strasbourg
Named gardens in the commune.
Faubourg-jardin du StockfeldIn Strasbourg
DirectionsJardin botanique de l'université de StrasbourgIn Strasbourg
DirectionsKaysersguetIn Strasbourg
DirectionsL'arrosoirIn Strasbourg
DirectionsLands’herb Jardin PartagéIn Strasbourg
DirectionsSquare Louise-WeissIn Strasbourg
DirectionsSquare Président-AllendeIn Strasbourg
DirectionsSquare Suzanne-LacoreIn Strasbourg
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Strasbourg
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SchiltigheimBischheimOstwaldEckbolsheimLingolsheimHœnheimStrasbourg
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strasbourg | 22% | 17% | 6.4 |
| Schiltigheim 34,708 · 3.2 km | 0.2% | 7.7% | 9 |
| Bischheim 18,558 · 4 km | 0.6% | 3.6% | 5.1 |
| Ostwald 13,946 · 4.2 km | 0% | 10% | 4 |
| Eckbolsheim 7,157 · 4.4 km | 0% | 7.3% | 3.1 |
| Lingolsheim 20,826 · 4.8 km | 0% | 4.5% | 3.7 |
| Hœnheim 11,742 · 5.1 km | 0% | 0.5% | 3.7 |
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 Strasbourg
Is Strasbourg in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 22% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Strasbourg?
OpenStreetMap maps 501 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 6.4 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 47 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Strasbourg is woodland?
17% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Strasbourg near the sea?
No: the coast is 451 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Strasbourg?
April, August and 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.