First pick
Parc Jean Perdrix
Park or garden
20 ha4.1 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.1 km of path
1.7 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Jacques FORÊT : Sequajectrof · CC BY-SA 2.53.3%woodland
Outdoors in Valence · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Valence is within 800 m of a park or wood
3.3% of Valence is mapped woodland. No protected area reaches Valence; the nearest, Massifs de Crussol, Soyons, Cornas-Chateaubourg (Natura 2000), is 3.8 km from the town center. Footpaths add up to 77 km across Valence (2.1 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: Massifs de Crussol, Soyons, Cornas-Chateaubourg, 3.8 km
Woodland
3.3%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
77 km
2.1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.9 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
22
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc Jean Perdrix
Throughout this page, the Drôme 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 Valence?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected land nearbyMassifs de Crussol, Soyons, Cornas-Chateaubourg (Natura 2000) is 3.8 km from the town center.Little mapped woodland3.3% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Valence apart: protected land close by. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Valence 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
Woodland3.3%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
16out of 100
Footpaths2.1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
59out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
26out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Valence has the 6th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (56,799 to 72,978 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Cergy (11.2 km per km²) to Saint-André (0.6 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cergy Val-d'Oise | 11.2 | 13% | 0% | 120 km |
| 2 | Issy-les-Moulineaux Hauts-de-Seine | 10.9 | 2.2% | 0% | 149 km |
| 3 | Marseille 10e Bouches-du-Rhône | 10.6 | 23% | 37% | 4 km |
| 4 | Maisons-Alfort Val-de-Marne | 10.3 | 2.1% | 0% | 158 km |
| 5 | Ivry-sur-Seine Val-de-Marne | 8.5 | 0.6% | 0% | 155 km |
| 6 | Évry-Courcouronnes Essonne | 8.4 | 9.5% | 0% | 174 km |
| 7 | Clamart Hauts-de-Seine | 8.4 | 26% | 0% | 151 km |
| 8 | Pantin Seine-Saint-Denis | 8.3 | 1.9% | 0% | 148 km |
| 9 | Levallois-Perret Hauts-de-Seine | 7.7 | 0% | 0% | 143 km |
| 10 | Villeneuve-d'Ascq Nord | 7.6 | 8% | 2.3% | 65 km |
| 11 | Villejuif Val-de-Marne | 7.4 | 1% | 0% | 156 km |
| 12 | Bobigny Seine-Saint-Denis | 7.3 | 0.3% | 0% | 149 km |
| 13 | Noisy-le-Grand Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.6 | 25% | 0% | 160 km |
| 14 | Antony Hauts-de-Seine | 6.2 | 4.8% | 0.6% | 157 km |
| 15 | Chambéry Savoie | 6 | 15% | 1.5% | 235 km |
| 16 | Paris 9e Paris | 5.1 | 0% | 0% | 147 km |
| 17 | Meaux Seine-et-Marne | 5.1 | 7.8% | 5.5% | 162 km |
| 18 | Marseille 3e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5.1 | 0% | 0% | 1.1 km |
| 19 | Vénissieux Rhône | 5 | 3.8% | 0% | 247 km |
| 20 | Sarcelles Val-d'Oise | 4.9 | 6.9% | 0% | 139 km |
| 21 | Pessac Gironde | 4.8 | 22% | 0% | 24 km |
| 22 | Clichy Hauts-de-Seine | 4.6 | 0.6% | 0% | 143 km |
| 23 | Lorient Morbihan | 4.6 | 1.8% | 0.6% | On it |
| 24 | Le Blanc-Mesnil Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.6 | 2.1% | 0% | 147 km |
| 25 | Neuilly-sur-Seine Hauts-de-Seine | 4.4 | 0.1% | 0% | 143 km |
| 26 | Marseille 14e Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.9 | 1.4% | 23% | 2.7 km |
| 27 | Troyes Aube | 3.7 | 1.2% | 0% | 272 km |
| 28 | Marseille 11e Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.3 | 43% | 42% | 7.5 km |
| 29 | Calais Pas-de-Calais | 3.3 | 2.1% | 0% | On it |
| 30 | Fréjus Var | 3.1 | 48% | 33% | On it |
| 31 | La Seyne-sur-Mer Var | 2.9 | 21% | 15% | On it |
| 32 | Quimper Finistère | 2.9 | 25% | 0% | On it |
| 33 | Marseille 12e Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.7 | 6.8% | 0% | 5.2 km |
| 34 | Drancy Seine-Saint-Denis | 2.3 | 0% | 0% | 147 km |
| 35 | Bourges Cher | 2.3 | 4.9% | 0.4% | 283 km |
| 36 | Valence Drôme | 2.1 | 3.3% | 0% | 164 km |
| 37 | Niort Deux-Sèvres | 2 | 6.2% | 100% | 51 km |
| 38 | Narbonne Aude | 1.2 | 11% | 63% | On it |
| 39 | Colmar Haut-Rhin | 1.2 | 19% | 29% | 473 km |
| 40 | Montauban Tarn-et-Garonne | 0.8 | 5.4% | 1.3% | 175 km |
| 41 | Saint-André Réunion | 0.6 | 16% | 31% | 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 Valence
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc Jean Perdrix leads, at 20 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc de l'île Girodet
Park or garden
15 ha4 km of path
55 minto walk all 4 km of path
1.9 km north-westfrom the center
Allée André Revol
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Jouvet
Park or garden
8.7 ha4.3 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.3 km of path
1.4 km westfrom the center
Via Rhôna
Directionsto a point inside
Parc des Trinitaires
Park or garden
7.7 ha2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
1.6 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de l'Épervière
Park or garden
6.5 ha1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
2.4 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du Polygone
Park or garden
5.1 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
1.2 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Marcel Paul
Park or garden
2.9 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
2.3 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Delessert
Park or garden
2.3 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
0.8 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 22 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc Jean PerdrixPark or garden · 20 ha · 4.1 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'île GirodetPark or garden · 15 ha · 4 km of path
DirectionsParc JouvetPark or garden · 8.7 ha · 4.3 km of path
DirectionsParc des TrinitairesPark or garden · 7.7 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'ÉpervièrePark or garden · 6.5 ha · 1.6 km of path
DirectionsParc du PolygonePark or garden · 5.1 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsParc Marcel PaulPark or garden · 2.9 ha · 1 km of path
DirectionsParc DelessertPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc de la MarquisePark or garden · 2.5 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc du Clos Saint-VictorPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc de la Cartoucherie Bernard PirasPark or garden · 1.9 ha · 0.6 km of path · just outside
DirectionsBois de ThodureWood or forest · 3 ha · 0.8 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc ItchevanPark or garden · 1.8 ha
DirectionsDomaine de Murat-FontlozierPark or garden · 1.5 ha
DirectionsParc de Loisirs de l'ÉpervièrePark or garden · 1.2 ha
DirectionsZone humide de ChâteauvertPark or garden · 0.7 ha
DirectionsSquare du 24 Avril 1915Park or garden · 0.2 ha · 0.1 km of path · just outside
DirectionsClos SylvestrePark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsPlace des AravisPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsPlace LambertinPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsSquare Odile VersoisPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsSquare Jean-Pierre FlorianPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Massifs de Crussol, Soyons, Cornas-Chateaubourg is the nearest protected area, 3.8 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
Massifs de Crussol, Soyons, Cornas-Chateaubourg
3.8 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
77 km of footpaths cross Valence
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
77 km
2.1 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.9 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
3.3%
about 1.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ValenceDrôme medianFrance median
Footpaths2.1
Hiking routes0
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ValenceDrôme medianFrance median
Woodland3.3%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 59% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 84% 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 Valence is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)
GR 4226.7 km
GR 426.1 km
2 GR routes pass within 2 km of Valence: GR 422 and GR 42.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Valence: June to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Valence-Chabeui, 5.5 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 57 | 47 | 54 | 74 | 89 | 57 | 55 | 68 | 83 | 124 | 109 | 58 |
February is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 29 °C). 124 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Valence →
Neighbors
Next to Valence
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Guilherand-GrangesBourg-lès-ValenceMalissardSaint-PéraySaint-Marcel-lès-ValencePortes-lès-ValenceValence
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valence | 0% | 3.3% | 2.1 |
| Guilherand-Granges 11,235 · 2.5 km | 17% | 1.9% | 5 |
| Bourg-lès-Valence 19,992 · 2.8 km | 0% | 1.8% | 1.8 |
| Malissard 3,294 · 4.9 km | 0% | 0.3% | 0.3 |
| Saint-Péray 7,580 · 5.3 km | 11% | 27% | 3 |
| Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence 6,176 · 6.2 km | 0% | 3.2% | 0.7 |
| Portes-lès-Valence 10,477 · 6.5 km | 0% | 5.9% | 2.7 |
Guilherand-Granges and Saint-Péray have at least twice as much protected land. Saint-Péray 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 Valence
Is Valence in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Massifs de Crussol, Soyons, Cornas-Chateaubourg, 3.8 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Valence?
OpenStreetMap maps 77 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Valence is woodland?
3.3% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Valence near the sea?
No: the coast is 164 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Valence?
June to August: 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.