First pick
Bois de Saint-Antoine
Wood or forest
31 ha3.8 km of path
50 minto walk all 3.8 km of path
2.3 km southfrom the center
Parcours Sportif de Lou Bosc de Saint-AntoineParcours de Santé du Bois de Saint-Antoine
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Archives départementales de l'Hérault (France) DAASI · CC BY-SA 4.09.3%woodland
Outdoors in Castries · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Castries has more footpaths per km² than 8 in 10 French towns
Footpaths add up to 86 km across Castries (3.6 km per km²). Castries has 17 km of waymarked hiking routes. No protected area reaches Castries; the nearest, Hautes Garrigues du Montpelliérais (Natura 2000), is 4.1 km from the town center. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0.1%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Hautes Garrigues du Montpelliérais, 4.1 km
Woodland
9.3%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
86 km
3.6 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
7
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois de Saint-Antoine
The sea
14 km
from the town center to the coast
Throughout this page, the Hérault 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 Castries?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths3.6 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyHautes Garrigues du Montpelliérais (Natura 2000) is 4.1 km from the town center.
What sets Castries apart: its footpaths, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Castries 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 areas0.1%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
50out of 100
Woodland9.3%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
38out of 100
Footpaths3.6 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
81out of 100
Hiking routes0.7 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
71out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Castries has the 8th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (6,810 to 6,957 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Jacou (10.3 km per km²) to Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacou Hérault | 10.3 | 16% | 0% | 13 km |
| 2 | Noyelles-sous-Lens Pas-de-Calais | 5 | 10% | 0% | 77 km |
| 3 | Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes Seine-et-Marne | 4.3 | 11% | 0% | 164 km |
| 4 | Lésigny Seine-et-Marne | 4.2 | 42% | 0% | 171 km |
| 5 | Domène Isère | 3.8 | 24% | 0% | 202 km |
| 6 | Lutterbach Haut-Rhin | 3.7 | 43% | 12% | 442 km |
| 7 | Cognin Savoie | 3.6 | 16% | 44% | 234 km |
| 8 | Castries Hérault | 3.6 | 9.3% | 0.1% | 14 km |
| 9 | Luisant Eure-et-Loir | 3.4 | 11% | 6.4% | 139 km |
| 10 | Carnoux-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.4 | 31% | 0% | 5 km |
| 11 | Fontaines-sur-Saône Rhône | 3 | 14% | 0% | 259 km |
| 12 | Montfort-sur-Meu Ille-et-Vilaine | 2.5 | 30% | 0% | 40 km |
| 13 | Nyons Drôme | 2.5 | 44% | 100% | 103 km |
| 14 | Escalquens Haute-Garonne | 2.5 | 1.9% | 0% | 134 km |
| 15 | Les Essarts-le-Roi Yvelines | 1.8 | 34% | 100% | 137 km |
| 16 | Houdain Pas-de-Calais | 1.7 | 7% | 0% | 60 km |
| 17 | Auvers-sur-Oise Val-d'Oise | 1.7 | 19% | 100% | 122 km |
| 18 | Changé Sarthe | 1.5 | 33% | 0% | 142 km |
| 19 | Acigné Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.4 | 11% | 0% | 52 km |
| 20 | Le Coteau Loire | 1.4 | 0% | 0% | 274 km |
| 21 | Bourbourg Nord | 1.4 | 0.3% | 0% | 6.1 km |
| 22 | Laudun-l'Ardoise Gard | 1.3 | 19% | 2.1% | 73 km |
| 23 | Saint-Pol-de-Léon Finistère | 1.2 | 2% | 4% | On it |
| 24 | Saint-Maurice-l'Exil Isère | 1.2 | 11% | 5.4% | 211 km |
| 25 | Morteau Doubs | 1.2 | 28% | 100% | 371 km |
| 26 | Trans-en-Provence Var | 1.1 | 26% | 0% | 23 km |
| 27 | Plédran Côtes-d'Armor | 1.1 | 8.8% | 0% | 6.7 km |
| 28 | Surgères Charente-Maritime | 0.9 | 5% | 0% | 24 km |
| 29 | Veigné Indre-et-Loire | 0.7 | 35% | 0% | 179 km |
| 30 | Les Abrets en Dauphiné Isère | 0.7 | 17% | 0% | 238 km |
| 31 | Sénas Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.6 | 2.8% | 100% | 36 km |
| 32 | Montluel Ain | 0.5 | 27% | 35% | 267 km |
| 33 | La Plaine-des-Palmistes Réunion | 0.5 | 64% | 100% | 14 km |
| 34 | Lucciana Haute-Corse | 0.4 | 4.8% | 3% | On it |
| 35 | Chabeuil Drôme | 0.4 | 5.6% | 0% | 162 km |
| 36 | Loudun Vienne | 0.3 | 6.4% | 0% | 122 km |
| 37 | Essarts-en-Bocage Vendée | 0.3 | 4.1% | 0% | 46 km |
| 38 | Beaufort-en-Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.3 | 12% | 100% | 141 km |
| 39 | Cadaujac Gironde | 0.2 | 14% | 45% | 29 km |
| 40 | Le Controis-en-Sologne Loir-et-Cher | 0.2 | 24% | 6.7% | 229 km |
| 41 | Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche Haute-Vienne | 0.1 | 24% | 0% | 151 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 Castries
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de Saint-Antoine leads, at 31 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc du Château
Park or garden
13 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Castries
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Communal de la Calade
Park or garden
2.2 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Castries
Directionsto a point inside
Square des Garennes
Park or garden · 230 m outside the commune
1.4 ha0.3 km of path
3.5 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Guesse
Park or garden
1.2 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Castries
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du Moulin à Vent
Park or garden
0.3 ha0.2 km of path
0.6 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Hautes Garrigues du Montpelliérais is the nearest protected area, 4.1 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
Hautes Garrigues du Montpelliérais
4.1 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0.1%
Natura 2000 site0.1%
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 Castries
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
86 km
3.6 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked: 0.7 km per km²
Woodland
9.3%
about 2.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CastriesHérault medianFrance median
Footpaths3.6
Hiking routes0.7
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CastriesHérault medianFrance median
Woodland9.3%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 81% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 62% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 99% of Castries’ residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
A named hiking route within 2 km
Other named walk
Sentier Botanique de la Fontanaride1.3 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Castries: May and June
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Verargues, 10 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) | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 32 | 31 | 27 | 21 | 16 | 13 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 40 | 47 | 71 | 53 | 34 | 20 | 44 | 109 | 102 | 101 | 65 |
July is the driest month (20 mm) and the warmest (highs of 32 °C). 109 mm of rain falls in September, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. Summer highs reach 32 °C, too hot for the outline. The climate in Castries →
Neighbors
Next to Castries
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
VendarguesBaillarguesSaint-BrèsSussarguesSaint-AunèsLe CrèsCastries
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castries | 0.1% | 9.3% | 3.6 | 14 km |
| Vendargues 7,262 · 2.3 km | 0% | 11% | 3.3 | 12 km |
| Baillargues 7,829 · 3.1 km | 0% | 1.7% | 2.3 | 12 km |
| Saint-Brès 3,623 · 4 km | 0% | 0.7% | 1.8 | 12 km |
| Sussargues 2,840 · 4 km | 0% | 8.6% | 2.3 | 17 km |
| Saint-Aunès 4,530 · 4.5 km | 0% | 4.7% | 1 | 10 km |
| Le Crès 9,226 · 4.7 km | 0% | 9.9% | 5.2 | 12 km |
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 Castries
Is Castries in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Hautes Garrigues du Montpelliérais, 4.1 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Castries?
OpenStreetMap maps 86 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 3.6 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 17 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Castries is woodland?
9.3% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Castries near the sea?
No: the coast is 14 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Castries?
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.