First pick
Parc des Petits-Clos
Park or garden
5.2 ha2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
1.6 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Touam (Hervé Agnoux) · CC BY-SA 4.02.4%woodland
Outdoors in Chartres · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Chartres has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
Footpaths add up to 94 km across Chartres (5.5 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 2.4% of Chartres. No protected area reaches Chartres; the nearest, Vallée de l’Eure de Maintenon à Anet et vallons affluents (Natura 2000), is 1.7 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: Vallée de l’Eure de Maintenon à Anet et vallons affluents, 1.7 km
Woodland
2.4%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
94 km
5.5 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
9.9 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 des Petits-Clos
Throughout this page, the Eure-et-Loir 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 Chartres?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths5.5 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyVallée de l’Eure de Maintenon à Anet et vallons affluents (Natura 2000) is 1.7 km from the town center.Little mapped woodland2.4% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Chartres apart: its footpaths, then protected land close by. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Chartres 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
Woodland2.4%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
12out of 100
Footpaths5.5 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
93out 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
Chartres has the 14th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (36,163 to 40,826 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 | Paris 6e Paris | 8.4 | 1.7% | 0% | 149 km |
| 4 | Annemasse Haute-Savoie | 8.3 | 2.4% | 0% | 286 km |
| 5 | Franconville Val-d'Oise | 8.2 | 27% | 0% | 132 km |
| 6 | Marseille 1er Bouches-du-Rhône | 7.5 | 0.1% | 0% | On it |
| 7 | Marseille 6e Bouches-du-Rhône | 6.8 | 1.2% | 0% | 1 km |
| 8 | Villeneuve-Saint-Georges Val-de-Marne | 6.6 | 4.3% | 0% | 164 km |
| 9 | Neuilly-sur-Marne Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.6 | 9.5% | 11% | 157 km |
| 10 | Romainville Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 | 11% | 0% | 151 km |
| 11 | Palaiseau Essonne | 5.9 | 18% | 0% | 158 km |
| 12 | Boulogne-sur-Mer Pas-de-Calais | 5.8 | 1.3% | 0% | On it |
| 13 | Creil Oise | 5.8 | 25% | 41% | 117 km |
| 14 | Chartres Eure-et-Loir | 5.5 | 2.4% | 0% | 138 km |
| 15 | Vitrolles Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.9 | 8.9% | 33% | 9.7 km |
| 16 | Athis-Mons Essonne | 4.6 | 4% | 0% | 165 km |
| 17 | Meyzieu Rhône | 4.2 | 13% | 26% | 256 km |
| 18 | Oullins-Pierre-Bénite Rhône | 4.2 | 2.3% | 0% | 246 km |
| 19 | Châtillon Hauts-de-Seine | 4.2 | 0.2% | 0% | 152 km |
| 20 | Pontault-Combault Seine-et-Marne | 4.1 | 27% | 0% | 166 km |
| 21 | Six-Fours-les-Plages Var | 3.9 | 34% | 21% | On it |
| 22 | Saint-Raphaël Var | 3.8 | 60% | 61% | On it |
| 23 | Thonon-les-Bains Haute-Savoie | 3.8 | 17% | 8.5% | 299 km |
| 24 | Douai Nord | 3.5 | 5.3% | 1.1% | 88 km |
| 25 | Marcq-en-Barœul Nord | 3.4 | 3.7% | 0% | 60 km |
| 26 | Compiègne Oise | 3.4 | 74% | 76% | 119 km |
| 27 | Savigny-sur-Orge Essonne | 3.4 | 2.2% | 0% | 166 km |
| 28 | La Ciotat Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.4 | 20% | 27% | On it |
| 29 | Conflans-Sainte-Honorine Yvelines | 3.2 | 3.8% | 0% | 126 km |
| 30 | Tremblay-en-France Seine-Saint-Denis | 3 | 3.9% | 0% | 151 km |
| 31 | Joué-lès-Tours Indre-et-Loire | 2.5 | 15% | 0% | 179 km |
| 32 | Bezons Val-d'Oise | 2.4 | 1.9% | 0% | 137 km |
| 33 | Villefranche-sur-Saône Rhône | 1.9 | 0.7% | 0% | 274 km |
| 34 | Montélimar Drôme | 1.8 | 8% | 0.9% | 123 km |
| 35 | La Possession Réunion | 1.6 | 67% | 88% | On it |
| 36 | Draguignan Var | 1.5 | 29% | 0% | 26 km |
| 37 | Haguenau Bas-Rhin | 1 | 81% | 76% | 436 km |
| 38 | Saint-Leu Réunion | 0.9 | 23% | 17% | On it |
| 39 | Sainte-Marie Réunion | 0.7 | 50% | 60% | On it |
| 40 | Saint-Joseph Réunion | 0.6 | 50% | 85% | 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 Chartres
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc des Petits-Clos leads, at 5.2 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc André Gagnon
Park or garden
2.9 ha1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
1 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de l'ancienne abbaye de Josaphat
Park or garden · 370 m outside the commune
4.4 ha0.5 km of path
2.8 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Butte des Charbonniers
Park or garden
2.3 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
0.9 km north-westfrom the center
Butte des Charbonniers
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du Gord
Park or garden
3 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
1.7 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardins de l'Évéché
Park or garden
1.6 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Chartres
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Roseraie
Park or garden
2 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
2.2 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin d'Horticulture Eugène-Hurtault
Park or garden
2 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
1.5 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 18 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc des Petits-ClosPark or garden · 5.2 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsParc André GagnonPark or garden · 2.9 ha · 1.3 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'ancienne abbaye de JosaphatPark or garden · 4.4 ha · 0.5 km of path · just outside
DirectionsButte des CharbonniersPark or garden · 2.3 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsParc du GordPark or garden · 3 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsJardins de l'ÉvéchéPark or garden · 1.6 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsParc de la RoseraiePark or garden · 2 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsJardin d'Horticulture Eugène-HurtaultPark or garden · 2 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsParc des Bords de l'EurePark or garden · 1.3 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsParc Léon BlumPark or garden · 1.8 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsParc de SakuraïPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.4 km of path
Directionssquare Noêl-GallayPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsBois du lycée FulbertWood or forest · 3 ha
DirectionsSquare Anne-FranckPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsParc des PastièresPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSquare Jean FegereuxPark or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsSquare Michèle TibaultPark or garden · 0.2 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsEsplanade Martial TaugourdeauPark or garden · 0.3 ha · just outside
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Vallée de l’Eure de Maintenon à Anet et vallons affluents is the nearest protected area, 1.7 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
Vallée de l’Eure de Maintenon à Anet et vallons affluents
1.7 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 Chartres
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
94 km
5.5 km per km²
Hiking routes
9.9 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
2.4%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ChartresEure-et-Loir medianFrance median
Footpaths5.5
Hiking routes0.6
03.57 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ChartresEure-et-Loir medianFrance median
Woodland2.4%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 93% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 88% 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 Chartres 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
De Maintenon à Fontenay11 km
Chemin de Trèves, Rambouillet - Chartres7 km
Via Turonensis, Rambouillet - Chartres6 km
Chemin de Trèves, Chartres - Châteaudun1.7 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Chartres: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chartres, 1.7 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) | 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) | 7 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 50 | 42 | 44 | 45 | 55 | 52 | 51 | 48 | 46 | 58 | 56 | 61 |
February is the driest month (42 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 61 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Chartres →
Gardens
A garden to visit in Chartres
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardin d'horticulture de ChartresIn Chartres
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Chartres
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Le CoudrayMainvilliersChampholLuisantLucéLèvesChartres
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chartres | 0% | 2.4% | 5.5 |
| Le Coudray 4,038 · 2.2 km | 0% | 2.6% | 3 |
| Mainvilliers 10,629 · 2.4 km | 0% | 9.3% | 1.4 |
| Champhol 3,643 · 2.4 km | 0% | 9.3% | 3.7 |
| Luisant 6,945 · 2.8 km | 6.4% | 11% | 3.4 |
| Lucé 15,921 · 2.9 km | 0% | 2.6% | 3 |
| Lèves 5,685 · 3.4 km | 0% | 24% | 2.7 |
Lèves 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 Chartres
Is Chartres in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Vallée de l’Eure de Maintenon à Anet et vallons affluents, 1.7 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Chartres?
OpenStreetMap maps 94 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 5.5 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 10 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Chartres is woodland?
2.4% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Chartres near the sea?
No: the coast is 138 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Chartres?
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.