First pick
Parc du Griffon
Park or garden
19 ha5.3 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.3 km of path
2.2 km south-eastfrom the center
Allée du Château de MontvallonPassage Aimé Constant
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Myst · CC BY-SA 3.033%of the land protected
Outdoors in Vitrolles · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Vitrolles has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
Footpaths add up to 182 km across Vitrolles (4.9 km per km²). Protected areas cover 33% of Vitrolles’ land. 8.9% of Vitrolles is mapped woodland. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
33%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
8.9%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
182 km
4.9 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
18
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc du Griffon
The sea
9.7 km
from the town center to the coast
Throughout this page, the Bouches-du-Rhône 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 Vitrolles?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths4.9 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Protected countryside33% of the land lies in protected areas.Near the seaThe coast is 9.7 km from the town center.
What sets Vitrolles apart: its footpaths, then its protected countryside.
Against French towns
How Vitrolles 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 areas33%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
83out of 100
Woodland8.9%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
37out of 100
Footpaths4.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
90out of 100
Hiking routes0.5 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
58out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Vitrolles has the 17th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (34,752 to 38,604 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Saint-Martin-d'Hères (10.1 km per km²) to Saint-Benoît (0.4 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Martin-d'Hères Isère | 10.1 | 14% | 0% | 203 km |
| 2 | Échirolles Isère | 9.9 | 11% | 0% | 200 km |
| 3 | Annemasse Haute-Savoie | 8.3 | 2.4% | 0% | 286 km |
| 4 | Châtenay-Malabry Hauts-de-Seine | 8.2 | 30% | 0% | 155 km |
| 5 | Franconville Val-d'Oise | 8.2 | 27% | 0% | 132 km |
| 6 | Lyon 4e Rhône | 7.8 | 6.8% | 0% | 253 km |
| 7 | Marseille 1er Bouches-du-Rhône | 7.5 | 0.1% | 0% | On it |
| 8 | Paris 8e Paris | 6.9 | 0% | 0% | 146 km |
| 9 | Marseille 6e Bouches-du-Rhône | 6.8 | 1.2% | 0% | 1 km |
| 10 | Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Val-de-Marne | 6.6 | 4.3% | 0% | 164 km |
| 11 | Romainville Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 | 11% | 0% | 151 km |
| 12 | Palaiseau Essonne | 5.9 | 18% | 0% | 158 km |
| 13 | Creil Oise | 5.8 | 25% | 41% | 117 km |
| 14 | Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Essonne | 5.6 | 9.5% | 0% | 169 km |
| 15 | Chartres Eure-et-Loir | 5.5 | 2.4% | 0% | 138 km |
| 16 | Marseille 7e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5.4 | 0.7% | 33% | On it |
| 17 | Vitrolles Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.9 | 8.9% | 33% | 9.7 km |
| 18 | Athis-Mons Essonne | 4.6 | 4% | 0% | 165 km |
| 19 | Meyzieu Rhône | 4.2 | 13% | 26% | 256 km |
| 20 | Oullins-Pierre-Bénite Rhône | 4.2 | 2.3% | 0% | 246 km |
| 21 | Mâcon Saône-et-Loire | 4.2 | 17% | 0% | 311 km |
| 22 | Châtillon Hauts-de-Seine | 4.2 | 0.2% | 0% | 152 km |
| 23 | Six-Fours-les-Plages Var | 3.9 | 34% | 21% | On it |
| 24 | Saint-Raphaël Var | 3.8 | 60% | 61% | On it |
| 25 | Thonon-les-Bains Haute-Savoie | 3.8 | 17% | 8.5% | 299 km |
| 26 | Roanne Loire | 3.7 | 2.7% | 15% | 275 km |
| 27 | Le Perreux-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 3.4 | 1.2% | 0% | 157 km |
| 28 | Savigny-sur-Orge Essonne | 3.4 | 2.2% | 0% | 166 km |
| 29 | La Ciotat Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.4 | 20% | 27% | On it |
| 30 | Conflans-Sainte-Honorine Yvelines | 3.2 | 3.8% | 0% | 126 km |
| 31 | Tremblay-en-France Seine-Saint-Denis | 3 | 3.9% | 0% | 151 km |
| 32 | Joué-lès-Tours Indre-et-Loire | 2.5 | 15% | 0% | 179 km |
| 33 | Bezons Val-d'Oise | 2.4 | 1.9% | 0% | 137 km |
| 34 | Saint-Chamond Loire | 2.1 | 26% | 33% | 215 km |
| 35 | Villefranche-sur-Saône Rhône | 1.9 | 0.7% | 0% | 274 km |
| 36 | Auxerre Yonne | 1.8 | 15% | 0% | 298 km |
| 37 | La Possession Réunion | 1.6 | 67% | 88% | On it |
| 38 | Haguenau Bas-Rhin | 1 | 81% | 76% | 436 km |
| 39 | Saint-Leu Réunion | 0.9 | 23% | 17% | On it |
| 40 | Sainte-Marie Réunion | 0.7 | 50% | 60% | On it |
| 41 | Saint-Benoît Réunion | 0.4 | 59% | 78% | On it |
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 Vitrolles
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc du Griffon leads, at 19 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Kirnéa
Park or garden
3.7 ha2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
1.9 km north-westfrom the center
Promenade de Koro
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Cigalière
Park or garden
3.5 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
2.3 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Fernandel
Park or garden
2.7 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
3.1 km south-eastfrom the center
Rampe de Baumugne
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Font Blanche
Park or garden
2.9 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
3 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc des Amandiers
Park or garden
2.3 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
2 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc des Trois Mares
Park or garden
1.8 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
0.8 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 18 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc du GriffonPark or garden · 19 ha · 5.3 km of path
DirectionsParc Public de MagentaPark or garden · 10 ha
DirectionsParc KirnéaPark or garden · 3.7 ha · 2.7 km of path
DirectionsParc de la CigalièrePark or garden · 3.5 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsParc FernandelPark or garden · 2.7 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsParc de Font BlanchePark or garden · 2.9 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsParc des AmandiersPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 1 km of path
DirectionsParc des Trois MaresPark or garden · 1.8 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsParc Charles de GaullePark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsParc Saint-ExupéryPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc d'AventurePark or garden · 1 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsParc de la GlacièrePark or garden · 1.3 ha · 0.2 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSquare Michel ColucciPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsSquare Marguerite de ProvencePark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsParc Christine GounellePark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsParc Lou SouleïaPark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsJardins des PommiersPark or garden · 0.2 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsJardin des OrmeauxPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
33% of Vitrolles 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
Plateau de l’Arbois
33% of the commune0.3 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area33%
Natura 2000 site33%
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.
33% of Vitrolles’ land is protected, more than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Bouches-du-Rhône has 27%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
Footpaths and woods in Vitrolles
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
182 km
4.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked: 0.5 km per km²
Woodland
8.9%
about 3.3 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
VitrollesBouches-du-Rhône medianFrance median
Footpaths4.9
Hiking routes0.5
036 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
VitrollesBouches-du-Rhône medianFrance median
Woodland8.9%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 90% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 63% 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 Vitrolles is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
A named hiking route within 2 km
Other named walk
GR Pays 201335 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Vitrolles: April to June
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Marignane, 3.7 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 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°C) | 12 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 28 | 31 | 31 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 47 | 30 | 30 | 52 | 38 | 28 | 11 | 26 | 82 | 73 | 76 | 41 |
July is the driest month (11 mm) and the warmest (highs of 31 °C). 82 mm of rain falls in September, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 20 nights a year. Summer highs reach 31 °C, too hot for the outline. The climate in Vitrolles →
Neighbors
Next to Vitrolles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Saint-VictoretMarignaneGignac-la-NertheRognacLes Pennes-MirabeauLe RoveVitrolles
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitrolles | 33% | 8.9% | 4.9 | 9.7 km |
| Saint-Victoret 6,730 · 3.1 km | 0% | 10% | 2.6 | 7.1 km |
| Marignane 33,692 · 4.5 km | 16% | 3.4% | 2.9 | 8.5 km |
| Gignac-la-Nerthe 10,343 · 6.1 km | 0.7% | 2.5% | 1.9 | 5.8 km |
| Rognac 12,576 · 6.1 km | 10% | 22% | 0.7 | 16 km |
| Les Pennes-Mirabeau 22,537 · 7.3 km | 0% | 11% | 2.4 | 4.3 km |
| Le Rove 5,246 · 8.2 km | 86% | 0% | 4.3 | On it |
Le Rove has at least twice as much protected land. Rognac 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 Vitrolles
Is Vitrolles in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 33% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Vitrolles?
OpenStreetMap maps 182 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 4.9 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 17 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Vitrolles is woodland?
8.9% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Vitrolles near the sea?
No: the coast is 9.7 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Vitrolles?
April to June: 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.