First pick
Parc du Levant Albert Édouard
Park or garden
4.7 ha2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Palavas-les-Flots
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Fagairolles 34 · CC BY-SA 4.072%of the land protected
Outdoors in Palavas-les-Flots · protected areas, woods and footpaths
72% of Palavas-les-Flots’ land is protected for nature
Footpaths add up to 33 km across Palavas-les-Flots (3.6 km per km²). Palavas-les-Flots has almost no mapped woodland. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
72%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
0%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
33 km
3.6 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.3 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
91%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 0.2 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 Palavas-les-Flots?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected countryside72% of the land lies in protected areas.On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 0.2 km from its center.A place of footpaths3.6 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Little mapped woodland0% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Palavas-les-Flots apart: its protected countryside, then the sea. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Palavas-les-Flots 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 areas72%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
89out of 100
Woodland0%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
1out 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 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
26out of 100
Green space nearby91%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
9out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Palavas-les-Flots has the 12th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (6,078 to 6,189 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux (5.7 km per km²) to Mesnils-sur-Iton (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux Isère | 5.7 | 52% | 71% | 207 km |
| 2 | Menucourt Val-d'Oise | 5.4 | 40% | 0.3% | 119 km |
| 3 | Fouquières-lès-Lens Pas-de-Calais | 4.7 | 22% | 0% | 78 km |
| 4 | Le Barcarès Pyrénées-Orientales | 4.4 | 3.4% | 35% | On it |
| 5 | Quint-Fonsegrives Haute-Garonne | 4.4 | 9.5% | 0% | 139 km |
| 6 | Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts Bouches-du-Rhône | 4.2 | 25% | 30% | 5.2 km |
| 7 | Pecquencourt Nord | 4 | 24% | 9.5% | 93 km |
| 8 | Prades-le-Lez Hérault | 4 | 37% | 7.8% | 18 km |
| 9 | Dourges Pas-de-Calais | 3.9 | 11% | 0% | 79 km |
| 10 | Blainville-sur-Orne Calvados | 3.9 | 7.2% | 0% | 7 km |
| 11 | Jonage Rhône | 3.6 | 16% | 33% | 260 km |
| 12 | Palavas-les-Flots Hérault | 3.6 | 0% | 72% | On it |
| 13 | Mutzig Bas-Rhin | 3.4 | 44% | 0% | 439 km |
| 14 | Petite-Rosselle Moselle | 3.3 | 33% | 0% | 356 km |
| 15 | Ostricourt Nord | 3.2 | 34% | 0% | 78 km |
| 16 | Prades Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.7 | 33% | 0.3% | 50 km |
| 17 | Saint-Quentin-Fallavier Isère | 2.5 | 13% | 0% | 243 km |
| 18 | Behren-lès-Forbach Moselle | 2.4 | 14% | 0% | 363 km |
| 19 | Aurec-sur-Loire Haute-Loire | 2.3 | 55% | 47% | 201 km |
| 20 | Saint-Genest-Lerpt Loire | 2 | 20% | 0% | 211 km |
| 21 | Franqueville-Saint-Pierre Seine-Maritime | 2 | 5.6% | 0.9% | 58 km |
| 22 | Haute-Goulaine Loire-Atlantique | 1.6 | 12% | 31% | 46 km |
| 23 | Hersin-Coupigny Pas-de-Calais | 1.6 | 15% | 0% | 68 km |
| 24 | Feytiat Haute-Vienne | 1.6 | 27% | 0% | 167 km |
| 25 | Pierrefeu-du-Var Var | 1.6 | 24% | 28% | 13 km |
| 26 | Oraison Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 1.4 | 45% | 29% | 78 km |
| 27 | Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon Rhône | 1.3 | 7.2% | 0% | 239 km |
| 28 | Sainte-Sigolène Haute-Loire | 1.3 | 40% | 1.3% | 188 km |
| 29 | Vendenheim Bas-Rhin | 1.3 | 21% | 0% | 443 km |
| 30 | Saint-Denis-lès-Bourg Ain | 0.9 | 5.5% | 0% | 306 km |
| 31 | Saint-Cannat Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.8 | 21% | 34% | 29 km |
| 32 | Maule Yvelines | 0.7 | 15% | 0% | 124 km |
| 33 | Mallemort Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.7 | 4.4% | 20% | 38 km |
| 34 | Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence Drôme | 0.7 | 3.2% | 0% | 169 km |
| 35 | Octeville-sur-Mer Seine-Maritime | 0.6 | 0.3% | 5.1% | On it |
| 36 | Marennes-Hiers-Brouage Charente-Maritime | 0.6 | 3.2% | 75% | On it |
| 37 | Thue et Mue Calvados | 0.6 | 1.2% | 0% | 15 km |
| 38 | Fayence Var | 0.6 | 46% | 9.6% | 22 km |
| 39 | Le Blanc Indre | 0.5 | 11% | 100% | 173 km |
| 40 | Noves Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.5 | 5.9% | 7% | 46 km |
| 41 | Mesnils-sur-Iton Eure | 0.2 | 13% | 0% | 82 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 Palavas-les-Flots
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc du Levant Albert Édouard leads, at 4.7 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Jardin du Bosquet
Park or garden · 210 m outside the commune
0.8 ha0.2 km of path
3.4 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Saint-Pierre
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Palavas-les-Flots
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
9 in 10 residents of Palavas-les-Flots 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).
91% within 800 m8.7% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
Palavas-les-FlotsHérault medianFrance median
Within 800 m91%
0%50%100%
About 500 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
Protected land in and around Palavas-les-Flots
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Étangs palavasiens et étang de l’Estagnol
72% of the commune0.6 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Étangs palavasiens
72% of the commune0.6 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Posidonies de la côte palavasienne
0.5% of the commune0.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Côte languedocienne
0.2 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area72%
Natura 2000 site72%
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.
72% of Palavas-les-Flots’ land is protected, more than in 89% 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
33 km of footpaths cross Palavas-les-Flots
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
33 km
3.6 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.3 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
0%
about 0 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Palavas-les-FlotsHérault medianFrance median
Footpaths3.6
Hiking routes0
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Palavas-les-FlotsHérault medianFrance median
Woodland0%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 81% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 99% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
3 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Sentier des tamaris3.1 km
Grains de Méjean1.9 km
Sentier des Frênes1.1 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Palavas-les-Flots: April to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Montpellier-Aeroport, 5.6 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 | 9.0 |
| High (°C) | 12 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 13 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 39 | 42 | 56 | 44 | 33 | 17 | 36 | 87 | 95 | 78 | 57 |
July is the driest month (17 mm) and the warmest (highs of 30 °C). 95 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 21 nights a year. The climate in Palavas-les-Flots →
Neighbors
Next to Palavas-les-Flots
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
PérolsLattesVilleneuve-lès-MagueloneMauguioSaint-Jean-de-VédasMontpellierPalavas-les-Flots
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palavas-les-Flots | 72% | 0% | 3.6 | On it |
| Pérols 9,615 · 3.8 km | 37% | 0.6% | 1.9 | 2.2 km |
| Lattes 17,351 · 5.3 km | 22% | 0.8% | 2.2 | 5.5 km |
| Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone 10,872 · 6.2 km | 52% | 0.7% | 1.2 | On it |
| Mauguio 16,522 · 9.4 km | 49% | 1.4% | 0.8 | On it |
| Saint-Jean-de-Védas 13,328 · 10 km | 0% | 4.5% | 3.7 | 9 km |
| Montpellier 310,240 · 11 km | 0.6% | 5.5% | 6.3 | 11 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 Palavas-les-Flots
Is Palavas-les-Flots in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 72% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Palavas-les-Flots?
OpenStreetMap maps 33 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).
How much of Palavas-les-Flots is woodland?
0% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Palavas-les-Flots near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 0.2 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Palavas-les-Flots?
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 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.