First pick
Bois du Névet
Wood or forest · 240 m outside the commune
394 ha40.2 km of path
8 h 55 minto walk all 40.2 km of path
6.4 km eastfrom the center
Bois du Vieux-Châtel
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: LPLT · CC BY-SA 3.03.8%of the land protected
Outdoors in Douarnenez · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Douarnenez is on the coast
Footpaths add up to 84 km across Douarnenez (3.3 km per km²). Waymarked hiking routes add up to 22 km in Douarnenez. Mapped woodland covers 16% of Douarnenez. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
3.8%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
16%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
84 km
3.3 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
22 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
8
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois du Névet
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 0.6 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Finistère 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 Douarnenez?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 0.6 km from its center.A place of footpaths3.3 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.On waymarked routes22 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.
What sets Douarnenez apart: the sea, then its footpaths.
Against French towns
How Douarnenez 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 areas3.8%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
63out of 100
Woodland16%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
56out of 100
Footpaths3.3 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
77out of 100
Hiking routes0.9 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
80out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Douarnenez has the 16th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (13,721 to 14,464 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Lieusaint (8.8 km per km²) to Castelsarrasin (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieusaint Seine-et-Marne | 8.8 | 6.3% | 0% | 178 km |
| 2 | Valenton Val-de-Marne | 8.7 | 6.6% | 0% | 164 km |
| 3 | Vaires-sur-Marne Seine-et-Marne | 7.7 | 21% | 11% | 161 km |
| 4 | Billère Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 6.7 | 4.2% | 9.2% | 93 km |
| 5 | Chenôve Côte-d'Or | 6.5 | 10% | 17% | 403 km |
| 6 | Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande Ille-et-Vilaine | 5.9 | 8.1% | 0% | 50 km |
| 7 | Audincourt Doubs | 5.3 | 36% | 0% | 414 km |
| 8 | Auray Morbihan | 5 | 8.3% | 100% | On it |
| 9 | Saint-Genis-Pouilly Ain | 4.5 | 17% | 0.3% | 298 km |
| 10 | Fleury-Mérogis Essonne | 4.2 | 35% | 0% | 170 km |
| 11 | Lys-lez-Lannoy Nord | 4.2 | 3.9% | 0% | 64 km |
| 12 | Juvignac Hérault | 4.2 | 4.2% | 0% | 14 km |
| 13 | Ostwald Bas-Rhin | 4 | 10% | 0% | 452 km |
| 14 | Andrésy Yvelines | 3.8 | 23% | 0% | 126 km |
| 15 | Canteleu Seine-Maritime | 3.7 | 64% | 100% | 49 km |
| 16 | Douarnenez Finistère | 3.3 | 16% | 3.8% | On it |
| 17 | Montataire Oise | 2.9 | 11% | 0.1% | 116 km |
| 18 | Plérin Côtes-d'Armor | 2.9 | 14% | 1.8% | On it |
| 19 | Rixheim Haut-Rhin | 2.8 | 41% | 23% | 441 km |
| 20 | Caudry Nord | 2.8 | 1.8% | 0% | 123 km |
| 21 | L'Étang-Salé Réunion | 2.6 | 52% | 39% | On it |
| 22 | Persan Val-d'Oise | 2.5 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 120 km |
| 23 | Carros Alpes-Maritimes | 2.3 | 25% | 64% | 11 km |
| 24 | Roncq Nord | 2.3 | 2.5% | 0% | 53 km |
| 25 | Bollène Vaucluse | 2.2 | 28% | 9.5% | 93 km |
| 26 | Sainte-Maxime Var | 2.1 | 65% | 19% | On it |
| 27 | Morangis Essonne | 2.1 | 0.8% | 0% | 163 km |
| 28 | Crépy-en-Valois Oise | 2 | 16% | 0% | 137 km |
| 29 | Pont-à-Mousson Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1.8 | 31% | 0.4% | 341 km |
| 30 | Flers Orne | 1.6 | 2.5% | 0% | 59 km |
| 31 | Hautmont Nord | 1.6 | 11% | 0% | 130 km |
| 32 | Saint-Omer Pas-de-Calais | 1.6 | 2.8% | 100% | 28 km |
| 33 | Mions Rhône | 1.5 | 1.3% | 0% | 244 km |
| 34 | Berre-l'Étang Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.3 | 1.1% | 15% | 16 km |
| 35 | Belleville-en-Beaujolais Rhône | 1.1 | 5.4% | 7.1% | 288 km |
| 36 | Fontenay-le-Comte Vendée | 1.1 | 2% | 100% | 31 km |
| 37 | Méru Oise | 0.8 | 16% | 0% | 106 km |
| 38 | Pierrelatte Drôme | 0.7 | 2.8% | 4.4% | 103 km |
| 39 | Saint-Martin-de-Crau Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.4 | 3.6% | 91% | 21 km |
| 40 | Thouars Deux-Sèvres | 0.3 | 12% | 0.4% | 102 km |
| 41 | Castelsarrasin Tarn-et-Garonne | 0.3 | 5.6% | 6.8% | 173 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 Douarnenez
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois du Névet leads, at 394 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Les Plomarc'h
Park or garden
23 ha2.6 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.6 km of path
0.9 km eastfrom the center
Sentier des Plomarc'hPoull Lapic
Directionsto a point inside
Le Bois d'Isis
Wood or forest
30 ha2.1 km of path
25 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
2.8 km north-westfrom the center
Sentier Côtier
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de Coataner
Wood or forest
4 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
1.4 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Square Yves Caroff
Park or garden
1.3 ha0.5 km of path
1 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin collectif de Kermarron
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.1 km of path
1 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin Guillmaume Marec
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.2 km of path
1.3 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Henri Cheffer
Park or garden
0.5 ha
1.5 km north-westfrom the center
Rue Saint-Jean
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
3.8% of Douarnenez 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
Cap Sizun
3.8% of the commune2.6 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area3.8%
Natura 2000 site3.8%
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.
3.8% of Douarnenez’s land is protected, more than in 63% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Finistère has 0.5%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
84 km of footpaths and 22 km of hiking routes cross Douarnenez
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
84 km
3.3 km per km²
Hiking routes
22 km
waymarked: 0.9 km per km²
Woodland
16%
about 4.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
DouarnenezFinistère medianFrance median
Footpaths3.3
Hiking routes0.9
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
DouarnenezFinistère medianFrance median
Woodland16%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 77% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 56% 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 Douarnenez is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
5 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 3810 km
Chemin des Douaniers, Pentrez - Pointe du Raz15 km
Tour du Cap Sizun8.3 km
PR035 La Vallée de Kerlaz7.3 km
Le chemin de la sardine4 km
GR 38 passes within 2 km of Douarnenez.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Douarnenez: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Plomelin-Inrae, 22 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) | 8.8 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.0 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 140 | 109 | 78 | 81 | 74 | 60 | 63 | 69 | 74 | 113 | 144 | 146 |
June is the driest month (60 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 22 °C). 146 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 23 nights a year. The climate in Douarnenez →
Neighbors
Next to Douarnenez
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
PlogonnecPlozévetPlouhinecPluguffanAudierneQuimperDouarnenez
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
Audierne has at least twice as much protected land. Quimper 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 Douarnenez
Is Douarnenez in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 3.8% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Douarnenez?
OpenStreetMap maps 84 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 3.3 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 22 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Douarnenez is woodland?
16% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Douarnenez near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 0.6 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Douarnenez?
May 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.