First pick
Parc du Boudas
Park or garden
4.4 ha1.5 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.5 km of path
1.4 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: The original uploader was ByB at French Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 2.552%of the land protected
Outdoors in Marseillan · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Marseillan is on the coast
Protected areas cover 52% of Marseillan’s land. 0.9% of Marseillan is mapped woodland. 34 km of footpaths cross Marseillan (0.7 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
52%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
0.9%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
34 km
0.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.1 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
3
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc du Boudas
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 3.7 km from its center
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 Marseillan?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 3.7 km from its center.Protected countryside52% of the land lies in protected areas.Little mapped woodland0.9% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Marseillan apart: the sea, then its protected countryside. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Marseillan 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 areas52%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
87out of 100
Woodland0.9%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
6out of 100
Footpaths0.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
20out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
24out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Marseillan has the 6th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (8,289 to 8,538 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From La Grande-Motte (6 km per km²) to Gennes-Val-de-Loire (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Grande-Motte Hérault | 6 | 4% | 53% | On it |
| 2 | Le Plessis-Bouchard Val-d'Oise | 5.8 | 1.2% | 0% | 132 km |
| 3 | Bihorel Seine-Maritime | 5.5 | 4.8% | 0% | 51 km |
| 4 | Larmor-Plage Morbihan | 5.3 | 17% | 0% | On it |
| 5 | Groslay Val-d'Oise | 4.3 | 15% | 0% | 138 km |
| 6 | Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie Vendée | 4.3 | 3.1% | 5.4% | On it |
| 7 | La Salvetat-Saint-Gilles Haute-Garonne | 4.3 | 12% | 0% | 158 km |
| 8 | Bouaye Loire-Atlantique | 3.4 | 20% | 9% | 26 km |
| 9 | Pignan Hérault | 3.2 | 1.7% | 34% | 13 km |
| 10 | Venelles Bouches-du-Rhône | 3 | 41% | 10% | 29 km |
| 11 | Vendin-le-Vieil Pas-de-Calais | 2.7 | 11% | 0% | 72 km |
| 12 | Pérenchies Nord | 2.5 | 0.9% | 0% | 56 km |
| 13 | Carbon-Blanc Gironde | 2.5 | 0.5% | 0% | 14 km |
| 14 | Trégueux Côtes-d'Armor | 2.4 | 5.5% | 0% | 4.1 km |
| 15 | Coutances Manche | 2.4 | 5.6% | 0% | 5.7 km |
| 16 | Ballan-Miré Indre-et-Loire | 2.2 | 30% | 0% | 176 km |
| 17 | Privas Ardèche | 2.1 | 32% | 1.6% | 136 km |
| 18 | Orchies Nord | 1.9 | 1.7% | 0.7% | 84 km |
| 19 | Bassens Gironde | 1.9 | 0.3% | 10% | 13 km |
| 20 | Pont-l'Abbé Finistère | 1.9 | 13% | 2% | On it |
| 21 | Vif Isère | 1.8 | 48% | 7% | 189 km |
| 22 | Noyal-Châtillon-sur-Seiche Ille-et-Vilaine | 1.8 | 4.5% | 0% | 56 km |
| 23 | Hirson Aisne | 1.8 | 66% | 66% | 167 km |
| 24 | Saint-Claude Jura | 1.7 | 78% | 100% | 318 km |
| 25 | Uzès Gard | 1.6 | 6.9% | 0% | 57 km |
| 26 | Saint-Pierre-lès-Elbeuf Seine-Maritime | 1.5 | 5.4% | 1.3% | 53 km |
| 27 | Trignac Loire-Atlantique | 1.5 | 0.1% | 65% | 1.7 km |
| 28 | Unieux Loire | 1.5 | 23% | 16% | 205 km |
| 29 | Saint-Aubin-lès-Elbeuf Seine-Maritime | 1.4 | 4.8% | 0.5% | 50 km |
| 30 | Peymeinade Alpes-Maritimes | 1.4 | 31% | 20% | 13 km |
| 31 | Reignier-Ésery Haute-Savoie | 1.1 | 26% | 3.1% | 279 km |
| 32 | Éguilles Bouches-du-Rhône | 1 | 12% | 54% | 23 km |
| 33 | Theix-Noyalo Morbihan | 0.9 | 11% | 98% | On it |
| 34 | Feurs Loire | 0.8 | 6.8% | 37% | 243 km |
| 35 | Marguerittes Gard | 0.7 | 11% | 33% | 44 km |
| 36 | Marseillan Hérault | 0.7 | 0.9% | 52% | On it |
| 37 | Talmont-Saint-Hilaire Vendée | 0.6 | 6.9% | 8.5% | On it |
| 38 | Tonnay-Charente Charente-Maritime | 0.6 | 3.3% | 17% | 6.9 km |
| 39 | Saint-Vallier Saône-et-Loire | 0.6 | 19% | 0% | 344 km |
| 40 | Onnaing Nord | 0.5 | 16% | 1.1% | 105 km |
| 41 | Gennes-Val-de-Loire Maine-et-Loire | 0.3 | 29% | 100% | 134 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 Marseillan
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc du Boudas leads, at 4.4 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Allées Général Roques
Park or garden
1 ha0.2 km of path
1.2 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
52% of Marseillan lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Nature reserve
Bagnas nature reserve
1.7 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Étang de Thau et lido de Sète à Agde
51% of the commune0.2 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Herbiers de l’étang de Thau
51% of the commune0.2 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Étang du Bagnas
0.8% of the commune1.7 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Étang du Bagnas
0.8% of the commune1.7 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Côte languedocienne
3.7 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area52%
Nature reserve0.3%
Natura 2000 site52%
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.
52% of Marseillan’s land is protected, more than in 87% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Hérault has 12%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
34 km of footpaths cross Marseillan
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
34 km
0.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.1 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
0.9%
about 0.5 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Footpaths0.7
Hiking routes0
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
MarseillanHérault medianFrance median
Woodland0.9%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 80% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 94% 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 Marseillan is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
A named hiking route within 2 km
Other named walk
Domaine de Maraval4 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Marseillan: April to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Marseillan-Inrae, 3.5 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 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°C) | 12 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 13 |
| Rain (mm) | 49 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 37 | 24 | 11 | 22 | 69 | 79 | 59 | 40 |
July is the driest month (11 mm) and the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 79 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 15 nights a year. The climate in Marseillan →
Neighbors
Next to Marseillan
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
AgdeFlorensacBessanViasMèzeSaint-ThibéryMarseillan
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
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 Marseillan
Is Marseillan in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 52% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Marseillan?
OpenStreetMap maps 34 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Marseillan is woodland?
0.9% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Marseillan near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 3.7 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Marseillan?
April to August: 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 8, 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.