First pick
Bois de la Lande
Wood or forest
2.6 ha
0.9 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Jacques DASSIÉ · CC BY-SA 4.046%of the land protected
Outdoors in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Bourcefranc-le-Chapus is on the coast
Protected areas cover 46% of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus’ land. 11 km of footpaths cross Bourcefranc-le-Chapus (0.9 km per km²). 7.9% of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus is mapped woodland. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
46%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
7.9%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
11 km
0.9 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
3.7 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
2
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois de la Lande
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 0.8 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Charente-Maritime 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 Bourcefranc-le-Chapus?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 0.8 km from its center.Protected countryside46% of the land lies in protected areas.
What sets Bourcefranc-le-Chapus apart: the sea, then its protected countryside.
Against French towns
How Bourcefranc-le-Chapus 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 areas46%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
86out of 100
Woodland7.9%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
34out of 100
Footpaths0.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
27out of 100
Hiking routes0.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
45out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Bourcefranc-le-Chapus has the 20th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,455 to 3,518 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Sainte-Catherine (3.3 km per km²) to Crèvecœur-le-Grand (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sainte-Catherine Pas-de-Calais | 3.3 | 6.1% | 0% | 78 km |
| 2 | Moûtiers Savoie | 3.1 | 52% | 0% | 204 km |
| 3 | Lapugnoy Pas-de-Calais | 3 | 42% | 0% | 60 km |
| 4 | Barbazan-Debat Hautes-Pyrénées | 2.6 | 47% | 0% | 136 km |
| 5 | Hérimoncourt Doubs | 2.5 | 57% | 0% | 409 km |
| 6 | La Buisse Isère | 2.4 | 35% | 61% | 218 km |
| 7 | La Forêt-Fouesnant Finistère | 2.3 | 7.6% | 0% | On it |
| 8 | Haucourt-Moulaine Meurthe-et-Moselle | 2 | 34% | 0% | 278 km |
| 9 | Vals-les-Bains Ardèche | 2 | 73% | 100% | 125 km |
| 10 | Montalieu-Vercieu Isère | 1.9 | 25% | 4.2% | 266 km |
| 11 | Taninges Haute-Savoie | 1.8 | 57% | 28% | 268 km |
| 12 | Sorède Pyrénées-Orientales | 1.6 | 68% | 43% | 7.9 km |
| 13 | La Chapelle-Heulin Loire-Atlantique | 1.6 | 15% | 17% | 51 km |
| 14 | Lampertheim Bas-Rhin | 1.6 | 1.2% | 0% | 443 km |
| 15 | Les Belleville Savoie | 1.4 | 15% | 71% | 194 km |
| 16 | Saint-Jeoire Haute-Savoie | 1.3 | 64% | 0% | 275 km |
| 17 | Langeac Haute-Loire | 1.1 | 48% | 100% | 176 km |
| 18 | Issenheim Haut-Rhin | 1 | 14% | 0.2% | 458 km |
| 19 | Artix Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 0.9 | 15% | 38% | 76 km |
| 20 | Bourcefranc-le-Chapus Charente-Maritime | 0.9 | 7.9% | 46% | On it |
| 21 | Ruaudin Sarthe | 0.9 | 34% | 0% | 142 km |
| 22 | Bréhal Manche | 0.8 | 3.9% | 1.8% | 2.8 km |
| 23 | Mirande Gers | 0.8 | 20% | 0% | 150 km |
| 24 | Saint-Cyr-en-Val Loiret | 0.7 | 33% | 36% | 214 km |
| 25 | Rieumes Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 22% | 0% | 164 km |
| 26 | Val-de-Cognac Charente | 0.7 | 23% | 8.1% | 45 km |
| 27 | Vrigne aux Bois Ardennes | 0.7 | 60% | 46% | 215 km |
| 28 | Savigneux Loire | 0.6 | 3% | 66% | 228 km |
| 29 | Chaumes-en-Brie Seine-et-Marne | 0.6 | 29% | 0.1% | 188 km |
| 30 | Chanceaux-sur-Choisille Indre-et-Loire | 0.6 | 17% | 0% | 190 km |
| 31 | Varilhes Ariège | 0.6 | 17% | 2.6% | 116 km |
| 32 | Capestang Hérault | 0.5 | 0.9% | 18% | 20 km |
| 33 | Saint-Éloy-les-Mines Puy-de-Dôme | 0.5 | 23% | 0% | 290 km |
| 34 | Gramat Lot | 0.4 | 39% | 100% | 185 km |
| 35 | Le Porge Gironde | 0.3 | 89% | 100% | On it |
| 36 | Le Mérévillois Essonne | 0.3 | 8.2% | 0% | 178 km |
| 37 | Sainte-Geneviève Oise | 0.3 | 17% | 0% | 104 km |
| 38 | Hornaing Nord | 0.3 | 8.8% | 99% | 98 km |
| 39 | Villeneuve-la-Guyard Yonne | 0.2 | 18% | 0.2% | 227 km |
| 40 | Weyersheim Bas-Rhin | 0.2 | 14% | 0% | 444 km |
| 41 | Crèvecœur-le-Grand Oise | 0.1 | 4.3% | 0% | 70 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 Bourcefranc-le-Chapus
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de la Lande leads, at 2.6 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Jean Ranson
Park or garden
0.3 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
46% of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus 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
Marais de Brouage-Oléron
41% of the commune0.5 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais de Brouage (et marais nord d’Oléron)
41% of the commune0.5 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais de la Seudre
4.3% of the commune1 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais et estuaire de la Seudre, île d’Oléron
4.3% of the commune1 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area46%
Natura 2000 site46%
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.
46% of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus’ land is protected, more than in 86% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Charente-Maritime has 12%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
11 km of footpaths cross Bourcefranc-le-Chapus
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
11 km
0.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
3.7 km
waymarked: 0.3 km per km²
Woodland
7.9%
about 1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Bourcefranc-le-ChapusCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Footpaths0.9
Hiking routes0.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Bourcefranc-le-ChapusCharente-Maritime medianFrance median
Woodland7.9%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 73% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 66% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 99% of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus’ residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chateau d’oleron, 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 81 | 58 | 57 | 61 | 51 | 43 | 39 | 44 | 67 | 87 | 103 | 93 |
July is the driest month (39 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 103 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 12 nights a year. The climate in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus →
Neighbors
Next to Bourcefranc-le-Chapus
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Marennes-Hiers-BrouageLe Château-d'OléronLa TrembladeArvertDolus-d'OléronSoubiseBourcefranc-le-Chapus
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourcefranc-le-Chapus | 46% | 7.9% | 0.9 | On it |
| Marennes-Hiers-Brouage 6,163 · 3.7 km | 75% | 3.2% | 0.6 | On it |
| Le Château-d'Oléron 4,366 · 6.8 km | 50% | 7.5% | 1.5 | On it |
| La Tremblade 4,650 · 8 km | 89% | 72% | 4.3 | On it |
| Arvert 3,917 · 11 km | 31% | 5.8% | 0.2 | On it |
| Dolus-d'Oléron 3,199 · 12 km | 40% | 31% | 1.9 | On it |
| Soubise 3,316 · 13 km | 14% | 8.5% | 1.8 | On it |
La Tremblade and Dolus-d'Oléron are 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 Bourcefranc-le-Chapus
Is Bourcefranc-le-Chapus in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 46% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus?
OpenStreetMap maps 11 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.9 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 4 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Bourcefranc-le-Chapus is woodland?
7.9% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Bourcefranc-le-Chapus near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 0.8 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Bourcefranc-le-Chapus?
April 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.