First pick
Bois de Kerveatous
Wood or forest
70 ha
5.3 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Louis-Julien de la Bouëre · CC BY-SA 3.02.4%of the land protected
Outdoors in Plouarzel · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Plouarzel is on the coast
Mapped woodland covers 4.8% of Plouarzel. Footpaths add up to 37 km across Plouarzel (0.9 km per km²). Plouarzel has 13 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
2.4%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
4.8%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
37 km
0.9 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
13 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
60%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 2.7 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 Plouarzel?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 2.7 km from its center.Green space can be a walk away40% of residents live more than 800 m from a mapped park or wood.
What sets Plouarzel apart: the sea. It is shorter on green space near some homes.
Against French towns
How Plouarzel 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 areas2.4%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
60out of 100
Woodland4.8%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
22out of 100
Footpaths0.9 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
28out of 100
Hiking routes0.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
47out of 100
Green space nearby60%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
1out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Plouarzel has the 19th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (4,006 to 4,055 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Vaux-sur-Mer (5.3 km per km²) to Bâgé-Dommartin (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaux-sur-Mer Charente-Maritime | 5.3 | 10% | 0.2% | On it |
| 2 | Montsoult Val-d'Oise | 4.5 | 42% | 0.9% | 129 km |
| 3 | Montmélian Savoie | 4.3 | 47% | 100% | 222 km |
| 4 | Saint-Vallier Drôme | 3.8 | 32% | 0% | 189 km |
| 5 | La Châtre Indre | 3.7 | 6.5% | 0% | 239 km |
| 6 | Port-Vendres Pyrénées-Orientales | 3.2 | 0.8% | 18% | On it |
| 7 | Presles Val-d'Oise | 3.1 | 47% | 100% | 124 km |
| 8 | Neuville-Saint-Rémy Nord | 3 | 4% | 0% | 109 km |
| 9 | Le Coudray Eure-et-Loir | 3 | 2.6% | 0% | 140 km |
| 10 | Limonest Rhône | 3 | 30% | 0% | 258 km |
| 11 | Offemont Territoire de Belfort | 2.9 | 39% | 0% | 433 km |
| 12 | Vaulnaveys-le-Haut Isère | 2.2 | 67% | 0% | 195 km |
| 13 | Erdeven Morbihan | 2.1 | 14% | 22% | On it |
| 14 | La Rochefoucauld-en-Angoumois Charente | 1.6 | 39% | 16% | 95 km |
| 15 | Pont-Scorff Morbihan | 1.5 | 23% | 3.8% | On it |
| 16 | Avesnes-sur-Helpe Nord | 1.4 | 1.7% | 100% | 142 km |
| 17 | Le Plessis-Belleville Oise | 1.4 | 1.5% | 0.1% | 143 km |
| 18 | Cinq-Mars-la-Pile Indre-et-Loire | 1.2 | 28% | 14% | 167 km |
| 19 | Le Cellier Loire-Atlantique | 1.2 | 29% | 12% | 57 km |
| 20 | Salernes Var | 1.2 | 68% | 26% | 42 km |
| 21 | Nogent-le-Roi Eure-et-Loir | 1.1 | 10% | 0.1% | 123 km |
| 22 | Cordemais Loire-Atlantique | 1 | 7.6% | 24% | 24 km |
| 23 | Plouarzel Finistère | 0.9 | 4.8% | 2.4% | On it |
| 24 | Bresles Oise | 0.8 | 19% | 0% | 95 km |
| 25 | Générac Gard | 0.8 | 4.5% | 19% | 27 km |
| 26 | Bourg-Achard Eure | 0.7 | 5.5% | 0% | 34 km |
| 27 | Savigné-l'Évêque Sarthe | 0.7 | 10% | 0% | 137 km |
| 28 | Gravigny Eure | 0.7 | 47% | 0% | 73 km |
| 29 | La Haye Manche | 0.7 | 3.6% | 51% | On it |
| 30 | Hochfelden Bas-Rhin | 0.7 | 6.8% | 0% | 428 km |
| 31 | Fay-de-Bretagne Loire-Atlantique | 0.7 | 9.9% | 0% | 31 km |
| 32 | La Chapelle-de-Guinchay Saône-et-Loire | 0.5 | 5.5% | 5.6% | 300 km |
| 33 | Paulhan Hérault | 0.5 | 1% | 0% | 23 km |
| 34 | Les Villages Vovéens Eure-et-Loir | 0.4 | 7.4% | 5% | 159 km |
| 35 | Trouy Cher | 0.4 | 2.7% | 0.1% | 280 km |
| 36 | Bressols Tarn-et-Garonne | 0.4 | 3% | 0.6% | 173 km |
| 37 | Layrac Lot-et-Garonne | 0.3 | 21% | 0.9% | 139 km |
| 38 | Beauvoir-sur-Mer Vendée | 0.3 | 0.3% | 83% | On it |
| 39 | Hourtin Gironde | 0.3 | 66% | 100% | On it |
| 40 | Sévérac d'Aveyron Aveyron | 0.2 | 24% | 100% | 114 km |
| 41 | Bâgé-Dommartin Ain | 0.1 | 13% | 0% | 315 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 Plouarzel
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de Kerveatous leads, at 70 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bois de Ty Devet
Wood or forest
35 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
6.2 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
6 in 10 residents of Plouarzel live within 800 m of a park or wood
Each square is 1 resident in 100: in green, those within 800 m, as the crow flies, of a mapped park, garden or woodland edge (INSEE’s 200 m population grid against OpenStreetMap).
60% within 800 m40% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
PlouarzelFinistère medianFrance median
Within 800 m60%
0%50%100%
About 1,600 residents live further away. The distance is a straight line to the edge of a mapped park or wood, not a walk to a gate, and a wood can be private.
Protected areas
2.4% of Plouarzel 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
Pointe de Corsen, le Conquet
2.4% of the commune2.7 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Ouessant-Molène
2.6 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Ouessant-Molène
2.6 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area2.4%
Natura 2000 site2.4%
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.
2.4% of Plouarzel’s land is protected, more than in 60% 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
37 km of footpaths and 13 km of hiking routes cross Plouarzel
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
37 km
0.9 km per km²
Hiking routes
13 km
waymarked: 0.3 km per km²
Woodland
4.8%
about 2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
PlouarzelFinistère medianFrance median
Footpaths0.9
Hiking routes0.3
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
PlouarzelFinistère medianFrance median
Woodland4.8%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 72% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 78% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
A named hiking route within 2 km
Other named walk
Chemin des Douaniers, Portsall - Brest28 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Plouarzel: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Ouessant-Stiff, 24 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) | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 93 | 75 | 56 | 58 | 50 | 49 | 47 | 61 | 52 | 81 | 95 | 96 |
July is the driest month (47 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 20 °C). 96 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Plouarzel →
Neighbors
Next to Plouarzel
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Saint-RenanLe ConquetLocmaria-PlouzanéPlougonvelinPlouzanéMilizac-GuipronvelPlouarzel
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plouarzel | 2.4% | 4.8% | 0.9 | On it |
| Saint-Renan 8,577 · 8.7 km | 0% | 5% | 2.9 | 8 km |
| Le Conquet 2,835 · 9.1 km | 38% | 3.5% | 4.1 | On it |
| Locmaria-Plouzané 5,130 · 10 km | 0% | 5.5% | 1.3 | On it |
| Plougonvelin 4,521 · 10 km | 0.9% | 4.3% | 1.4 | On it |
| Plouzané 13,567 · 13 km | 0% | 8% | 2.2 | On it |
| Milizac-Guipronvel 4,816 · 13 km | 0% | 6.1% | 0.9 | 9.1 km |
Le Conquet has at least twice as much protected land.
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 Plouarzel
Is Plouarzel in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 2.4% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Plouarzel?
OpenStreetMap maps 37 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); 13 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Plouarzel is woodland?
4.8% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Plouarzel near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 2.7 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Plouarzel?
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.