First pick
Terres de Rouvière
Wood or forest
107 ha4.5 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.5 km of path
3.7 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Ravenclaw · CC BY-SA 3.04.6%of the land protected
Outdoors in Nîmes · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Nîmes is within 800 m of a park or wood
29% of Nîmes is mapped woodland. 203 km of footpaths cross Nîmes (1.3 km per km²). Nîmes has 46 km of waymarked hiking routes. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
4.6%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
29%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
203 km
1.3 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
46 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
24
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Terres de Rouvière
The sea
37 km
from the town center to the coast
Throughout this page, the Gard median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
Against French towns
How Nîmes 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 areas4.6%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
64out of 100
Woodland29%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
75out of 100
Footpaths1.3 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
40out 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
Nîmes has the fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (100,679 to 185,140 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Paris 12e (16.7 km per km²) to Nîmes (1.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris 12e Paris | 16.7 | 30% | 0% | 153 km |
| 2 | Paris 16e Paris | 11.9 | 25% | 0% | 147 km |
| 3 | Grenoble Isère | 11.6 | 4.6% | 0% | 204 km |
| 4 | Paris 19e Paris | 11.1 | 2.1% | 0% | 148 km |
| 5 | Paris 20e Paris | 10.9 | 0.1% | 0% | 151 km |
| 6 | Paris 14e Paris | 10.6 | 0.4% | 0% | 151 km |
| 7 | Paris 13e Paris | 9.2 | 0.4% | 0% | 152 km |
| 8 | Caen Calvados | 8.1 | 2.4% | 0% | 14 km |
| 9 | Tours Indre-et-Loire | 7.8 | 6.3% | 4.7% | 184 km |
| 10 | Villeurbanne Rhône | 7.4 | 2.8% | 0.3% | 253 km |
| 11 | Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis | 7 | 2.4% | 1.8% | 142 km |
| 12 | Nancy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 6.9 | 2.7% | 0% | 366 km |
| 13 | Metz Moselle | 6.8 | 8% | 0% | 329 km |
| 14 | Angers Maine-et-Loire | 6.3 | 5.6% | 17% | 118 km |
| 15 | Orléans Loiret | 6.3 | 5.4% | 4.3% | 206 km |
| 16 | Boulogne-Billancourt Hauts-de-Seine | 6 | 2% | 0% | 147 km |
| 17 | Dijon Côte-d'Or | 6 | 6.5% | 0% | 402 km |
| 18 | Brest Finistère | 5.9 | 6.7% | 0% | On it |
| 19 | Lyon 3e Rhône | 5.9 | 0.5% | 0% | 251 km |
| 20 | Mulhouse Haut-Rhin | 5.7 | 4.3% | 0% | 441 km |
| 21 | Le Mans Sarthe | 5.5 | 6.6% | 0% | 135 km |
| 22 | Paris 11e Paris | 5.4 | 0% | 0% | 150 km |
| 23 | Besançon Doubs | 5.3 | 37% | 0.6% | 402 km |
| 24 | Montreuil Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.2 | 1.8% | 4.7% | 153 km |
| 25 | Rouen Seine-Maritime | 5.1 | 6.2% | 0% | 53 km |
| 26 | Paris 17e Paris | 5.1 | 0.2% | 0% | 145 km |
| 27 | Reims Marne | 4.8 | 2.1% | 1.1% | 199 km |
| 28 | Annecy Haute-Savoie | 4.6 | 29% | 0.2% | 260 km |
| 29 | Paris 18e Paris | 4.4 | 0.5% | 0% | 146 km |
| 30 | Amiens Somme | 3.8 | 3% | 0.7% | 55 km |
| 31 | Clermont-Ferrand Puy-de-Dôme | 3.7 | 4.6% | 0.7% | 258 km |
| 32 | Le Havre Seine-Maritime | 3.6 | 5.8% | 3.3% | On it |
| 33 | Toulon Var | 3.6 | 23% | 26% | On it |
| 34 | Saint-Étienne Loire | 3.5 | 31% | 33% | 210 km |
| 35 | Limoges Haute-Vienne | 3.3 | 15% | 0% | 163 km |
| 36 | Argenteuil Val-d'Oise | 3.2 | 5.5% | 0% | 136 km |
| 37 | Perpignan Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.2 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 12 km |
| 38 | Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.1 | 18% | 9.1% | 21 km |
| 39 | Saint-Denis Réunion | 1.6 | 62% | 73% | On it |
| 40 | Saint-Paul Réunion | 1.4 | 20% | 64% | On it |
| 41 | Nîmes Gard | 1.3 | 29% | 4.6% | 37 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 Nîmes
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Terres de Rouvière leads, at 107 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bois des Espeisses
Wood or forest
74 ha5.3 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.3 km of path
3 km north-westfrom the center
Le DevoisChemin du Bois des Espeisses
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de Mittau
Wood or forest
107 ha0.3 km of path
3.8 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Domaine de Praden
Park or garden · 30 m outside the commune
18 ha1.3 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
6.2 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Les Jardins de la Fontaine
Park or garden
9.5 ha5.1 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.1 km of path
0.9 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de Signan
Wood or forest · 30 m outside the commune
51 ha1.7 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
6.4 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Domaine de la Bastide
Park or garden
11 ha2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
5.8 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Le Bois des Noyers
Park or garden
11 ha1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
2.2 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 24 named parks, gardens and woods
Terres de RouvièreWood or forest · 107 ha · 4.5 km of path
DirectionsBois des EspeissesWood or forest · 74 ha · 5.3 km of path
DirectionsBois de MittauWood or forest · 107 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsDomaine de PradenPark or garden · 18 ha · 1.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsLes Jardins de la FontainePark or garden · 9.5 ha · 5.1 km of path
DirectionsBois de SignanWood or forest · 51 ha · 1.7 km of path · just outside
DirectionsDomaine de la BastidePark or garden · 11 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsLe Bois des NoyersPark or garden · 11 ha · 1.6 km of path
DirectionsBois de BarnierWood or forest · 23 ha
DirectionsPinèdePark or garden · 4.9 ha · 0.7 km of path · just outside
DirectionsMont DuplanPark or garden · 4.5 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsPlace GaliléePark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsSquare José CastelloPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsMas de PossacPark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsJardin du Musée de la RomanitéPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsParc Meynier de SalinellesPark or garden · 0.8 ha
DirectionsBassin de l'OliveraiePark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsJardin des JonquillesPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsDocteur André GaujouxPark or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsSquare Paul TondutPark or garden · 0.5 ha
DirectionsSquare du Mont MargarotPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsPlace de VilleviellePark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsJardin Pierre GamelPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsJardin de la CamarguePark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
4.6% of Nîmes 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
Costières nîmoises
4.1% of the commune5.1 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Camp des Garrigues
6.9 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area4.6%
Natura 2000 site4.6%
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.
4.6% of Nîmes’ land is protected, more than in 64% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Gard has 13%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
203 km of footpaths and 46 km of hiking routes cross Nîmes
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
203 km
1.3 km per km²
Hiking routes
46 km
waymarked: 0.3 km per km²
Woodland
29%
about 47.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
NîmesGard medianFrance median
Footpaths1.3
Hiking routes0.3
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
NîmesGard medianFrance median
Woodland29%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 60% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 75% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 98% of Nîmes’ residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
14 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)PR (local walk)Other named walk
GR 637.9 km
PR 436.5 km
PR 370.5 km
Carto-guides Espaces Naturels Gardois29 km
De Garrigues en Costières22 km
Chemin de Régordane, La Calmette - Nîmes16 km
Chemin de Régordane, Nîmes - Saint--Gilles13 km
Sentier vert5.1 km
La Font des Chiens5 km
Le Belvédère3.3 km
Sentier rouge2.9 km
La colline de Saint-Roch1.4 km
+2 more
GR 63 passes within 2 km of Nîmes.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Nîmes: May and June
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Nimes-Courbessac, 4.4 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) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 14.0 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 8.9 |
| High (°C) | 11 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 40 | 45 | 67 | 55 | 43 | 30 | 44 | 100 | 95 | 97 | 53 |
July is the driest month (30 mm) and the warmest (highs of 32 °C). 100 mm of rain falls in September, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 20 nights a year. Summer highs reach 32 °C, too hot for the outline. The climate in Nîmes →
Gardens
2 gardens to visit in Nîmes
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardin du Musée de la RomanitéIn Nîmes
DirectionsJardins de la FontaineIn Nîmes
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Nîmes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
CaissarguesRodilhanMilhaudBouillarguesCaveiracMarguerittesNîmes
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nîmes | 4.6% | 29% | 1.3 | 37 km |
| Caissargues 4,079 · 5.3 km | 1.7% | 10% | 0.9 | 34 km |
| Rodilhan 2,799 · 6.1 km | 24% | 0% | 0.2 | 40 km |
| Milhaud 6,297 · 6.4 km | 8% | 30% | 1.4 | 31 km |
| Bouillargues 6,070 · 7.1 km | 29% | 0.8% | 0.5 | 37 km |
| Caveirac 4,408 · 7.4 km | 0% | 49% | 3.1 | 33 km |
| Marguerittes 8,346 · 7.7 km | 33% | 11% | 0.7 | 44 km |
Rodilhan, Bouillargues and Marguerittes have at least twice as much protected land. Caveirac 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 Nîmes
Is Nîmes in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 4.6% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Nîmes?
OpenStreetMap maps 203 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.3 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 46 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Nîmes is woodland?
29% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Nîmes near the sea?
No: the coast is 37 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Nîmes?
May and June: 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.