First pick
Les Pierres Blanches
Park or garden
25 ha2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
1.2 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: wanderley santos vie… · CC BY-SA 3.067%of the land protected
Outdoors in Sète · protected areas, woods and footpaths
67% of Sète’s land is protected for nature
0.6% of Sète is mapped woodland. 81 km of footpaths cross Sète (2 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
67%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
0.6%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
81 km
2 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
4
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Les Pierres Blanches
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 1.1 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 Sète?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected countryside67% of the land lies in protected areas.On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 1.1 km from its center.Little mapped woodland0.6% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Sète apart: its protected countryside, then the sea. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Sète 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 areas67%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
89out of 100
Woodland0.6%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
5out of 100
Footpaths2 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
57out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
12out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Sète has the 6th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (42,875 to 48,015 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Puteaux (18.9 km per km²) to Istres (1.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puteaux Hauts-de-Seine | 18.9 | 1.5% | 0% | 142 km |
| 2 | Bagneux Hauts-de-Seine | 9.6 | 1.1% | 0% | 154 km |
| 3 | Meudon Hauts-de-Seine | 9.3 | 44% | 0% | 150 km |
| 4 | Marseille 5e Bouches-du-Rhône | 8.9 | 0% | 0% | 1.9 km |
| 5 | Talence Gironde | 7.8 | 5.2% | 0% | 22 km |
| 6 | Belfort Territoire de Belfort | 7.5 | 34% | 0.4% | 431 km |
| 7 | Bron Rhône | 7.1 | 6.1% | 0% | 251 km |
| 8 | Paris 7e Paris | 6.9 | 0.4% | 0% | 148 km |
| 9 | Saint-Germain-en-Laye Yvelines | 6.8 | 68% | 0% | 135 km |
| 10 | Chalon-sur-Saône Saône-et-Loire | 6.7 | 4.2% | 0% | 364 km |
| 11 | Rezé Loire-Atlantique | 6.6 | 7% | 3.6% | 37 km |
| 12 | Arras Pas-de-Calais | 6.5 | 3.4% | 0% | 78 km |
| 13 | Choisy-le-Roi Val-de-Marne | 6.4 | 2.7% | 0% | 161 km |
| 14 | Lyon 5e Rhône | 5.9 | 8.8% | 0% | 251 km |
| 15 | La Courneuve Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.8 | 15% | 23% | 145 km |
| 16 | Alfortville Val-de-Marne | 5.7 | 0.1% | 0% | 157 km |
| 17 | Montrouge Hauts-de-Seine | 5.5 | 0.1% | 0% | 152 km |
| 18 | Bagnolet Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.5 | 1.4% | 3.6% | 151 km |
| 19 | Saint-Brieuc Côtes-d'Armor | 5.3 | 14% | 2.1% | On it |
| 20 | Valenciennes Nord | 5.2 | 6.6% | 0.2% | 105 km |
| 21 | Rosny-sous-Bois Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.1 | 3.2% | 2.7% | 154 km |
| 22 | Caluire-et-Cuire Rhône | 5.1 | 9.1% | 0.1% | 255 km |
| 23 | Charleville-Mézières Ardennes | 5 | 32% | 0.5% | 207 km |
| 24 | Melun Seine-et-Marne | 4.6 | 6.4% | 0% | 191 km |
| 25 | Noisy-le-Sec Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.6 | 2.7% | 0% | 151 km |
| 26 | Blois Loir-et-Cher | 4.3 | 30% | 5.8% | 216 km |
| 27 | Anglet Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 4 | 18% | 4.5% | On it |
| 28 | Mantes-la-Jolie Yvelines | 3.7 | 12% | 7.1% | 109 km |
| 29 | Saint-Malo Ille-et-Vilaine | 3.5 | 3.8% | 33% | On it |
| 30 | Tarbes Hautes-Pyrénées | 3.4 | 2.8% | 0.8% | 131 km |
| 31 | Livry-Gargan Seine-Saint-Denis | 3.1 | 10% | 0.7% | 152 km |
| 32 | Bastia Haute-Corse | 2.8 | 0.3% | 0% | On it |
| 33 | Châteauroux Indre | 2.3 | 3.8% | 4.8% | 224 km |
| 34 | Alès Gard | 2.2 | 8% | 0% | 63 km |
| 35 | Châlons-en-Champagne Marne | 2.2 | 0.7% | 0% | 237 km |
| 36 | Sète Hérault | 2 | 0.6% | 67% | On it |
| 37 | Aubagne Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.8 | 30% | 13% | 8.9 km |
| 38 | Carcassonne Aude | 1.4 | 8.4% | 0% | 62 km |
| 39 | Salon-de-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.4 | 4.8% | 59% | 26 km |
| 40 | Brive-la-Gaillarde Corrèze | 1.2 | 27% | 0% | 167 km |
| 41 | Istres Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.1 | 3.3% | 49% | 9.7 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 Sète
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Les Pierres Blanches leads, at 25 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Château d'Eau Parc Simone Veil
Park or garden
1.2 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
0.9 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc des Mésanges
Park or garden
0.2 ha0.1 km of path
1.2 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Protected land in and around Sète
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Étang de Thau et lido de Sète à Agde
67% of the commune0.8 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Herbiers de l’étang de Thau
67% of the commune0.8 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Corniche de Sète
1.3 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Côte languedocienne
1.4 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area67%
Natura 2000 site67%
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.
67% of Sète’s 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
81 km of footpaths cross Sète
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
81 km
2 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
0.6%
about 0.3 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
SèteHérault medianFrance median
Footpaths2
Hiking routes0
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
SèteHérault medianFrance median
Woodland0.6%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 57% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 95% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 96% of Sète’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Sète: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Sete, 1.3 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) | 11 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 12 |
| Rain (mm) | 52 | 41 | 43 | 49 | 40 | 25 | 14 | 26 | 63 | 85 | 61 | 45 |
July is the driest month (14 mm) and the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 85 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 5 nights a year. The climate in Sète →
Neighbors
Next to Sète
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Balaruc-les-BainsBalaruc-le-VieuxFrontignanMèzePoussanGigeanSète
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sète | 67% | 0.6% | 2 | On it |
| Balaruc-les-Bains 7,139 · 4.5 km | 33% | 0.7% | 3.5 | 3.8 km |
| Balaruc-le-Vieux 2,737 · 6.1 km | 19% | 5.5% | 2.5 | 5.4 km |
| Frontignan 24,136 · 6.8 km | 29% | 0.9% | 1.8 | On it |
| Mèze 12,669 · 7.3 km | 27% | 5.2% | 0.5 | 6.3 km |
| Poussan 6,797 · 9 km | 38% | 2.1% | 1.5 | 8.5 km |
| Gigean 6,639 · 11 km | 12% | 6.4% | 3.4 | 8.7 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 Sète
Is Sète in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 67% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Sète?
OpenStreetMap maps 81 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Sète is woodland?
0.6% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Sète near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 1.1 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Sète?
April 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 October 30, 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.