First pick
Bois sacré
Wood or forest
44 ha2.6 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.6 km of path
4.6 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Patrice Semeria · Public domain60%of the land protected
Outdoors in Vendres · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Vendres is on the coast
Protected areas cover 60% of Vendres’ land. Mapped woodland covers 1.9% of Vendres. Footpaths add up to 36 km across Vendres (1 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
60%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
1.9%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
36 km
1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
5.5 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
82%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 4.5 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 Vendres?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 4.5 km from its center.Protected countryside60% of the land lies in protected areas.Little mapped woodland1.9% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Vendres apart: the sea, then its protected countryside. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Vendres 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 areas60%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
88out of 100
Woodland1.9%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
10out of 100
Footpaths1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
30out of 100
Hiking routes0.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
33out of 100
Green space nearby82%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
4out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Vendres has the 20th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (2,589 to 2,641 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or (7.2 km per km²) to Hilsenheim (0 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Couzon-au-Mont-d'Or Rhône | 7.2 | 42% | 0% | 261 km |
| 2 | Gometz-le-Châtel Essonne | 2.5 | 24% | 0.2% | 155 km |
| 3 | Champlan Essonne | 2.2 | 14% | 0% | 161 km |
| 4 | Dorlisheim Bas-Rhin | 2.1 | 12% | 0% | 442 km |
| 5 | Tourville-la-Rivière Seine-Maritime | 2 | 15% | 15% | 55 km |
| 6 | Wahagnies Nord | 1.9 | 30% | 0% | 76 km |
| 7 | Coquelles Pas-de-Calais | 1.8 | 1.7% | 0.7% | 2.8 km |
| 8 | Le Bourg-d'Oisans Isère | 1.7 | 33% | 100% | 180 km |
| 9 | Hardricourt Yvelines | 1.6 | 15% | 0.4% | 118 km |
| 10 | Bourguébus Calvados | 1.5 | 1.1% | 0% | 18 km |
| 11 | Le Palais Morbihan | 1.5 | 5% | 26% | On it |
| 12 | Saint-Yorre Allier | 1.4 | 23% | 15% | 283 km |
| 13 | Longeville-sur-Mer Vendée | 1.3 | 18% | 100% | On it |
| 14 | Bessèges Gard | 1.3 | 66% | 100% | 81 km |
| 15 | Villenauxe-la-Grande Aube | 1.3 | 13% | 0% | 223 km |
| 16 | Foug Meurthe-et-Moselle | 1.3 | 73% | 1.2% | 342 km |
| 17 | Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais Eure-et-Loir | 1.2 | 57% | 62% | 115 km |
| 18 | Taden Côtes-d'Armor | 1.1 | 19% | 100% | 3.6 km |
| 19 | La Broque Bas-Rhin | 1.1 | 79% | 8% | 432 km |
| 20 | Vendres Hérault | 1 | 1.9% | 60% | On it |
| 21 | Pîtres Eure | 0.9 | 47% | 0.2% | 64 km |
| 22 | Ivry-la-Bataille Eure | 0.8 | 2.6% | 3.2% | 101 km |
| 23 | Villeneuve-Saint-Germain Aisne | 0.8 | 11% | 0% | 150 km |
| 24 | Grâces Côtes-d'Armor | 0.8 | 12% | 0% | 17 km |
| 25 | Villages du Lac de Paladru Isère | 0.8 | 21% | 0% | 230 km |
| 26 | La Calmette Gard | 0.7 | 29% | 0% | 43 km |
| 27 | Frelinghien Nord | 0.7 | 1% | 0% | 51 km |
| 28 | Soual Tarn | 0.6 | 1.4% | 0% | 95 km |
| 29 | Le Thoronet Var | 0.6 | 49% | 31% | 29 km |
| 30 | La Châtaigneraie Vendée | 0.6 | 4.5% | 0% | 48 km |
| 31 | Rieux-Volvestre Haute-Garonne | 0.6 | 6.6% | 7% | 154 km |
| 32 | Trélon Nord | 0.6 | 78% | 100% | 156 km |
| 33 | Toury Eure-et-Loir | 0.5 | 0.8% | 0% | 180 km |
| 34 | Beychac-et-Caillau Gironde | 0.4 | 16% | 4.7% | 22 km |
| 35 | Baldersheim Haut-Rhin | 0.4 | 63% | 60% | 446 km |
| 36 | Noyers-sur-Cher Loir-et-Cher | 0.3 | 34% | 0.6% | 221 km |
| 37 | Charly-sur-Marne Aisne | 0.3 | 21% | 0% | 177 km |
| 38 | Clairac Lot-et-Garonne | 0.3 | 7.7% | 0% | 105 km |
| 39 | Haspres Nord | 0.2 | 1.8% | 0% | 111 km |
| 40 | Cauchy-à-la-Tour Pas-de-Calais | 0.1 | 0.4% | 0% | 54 km |
| 41 | Hilsenheim Bas-Rhin | 0 | 28% | 18% | 465 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 Vendres
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois sacré leads, at 44 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
8 in 10 residents of Vendres 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).
82% within 800 m18% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
VendresHérault medianFrance median
Within 800 m82%
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
60% of Vendres 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
Collines d’Ensérune (ancien nom : Collines du Narbonnais)
15% of the commune
Regional nature park
Narbonnaise en Méditerranée Regional Nature Park
3.3 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Basse plaine de l’Aude
43% of the commune0 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Basse plaine de l’Aude
41% of the commune0.1 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Cours inférieur de l’Aude
4.2 km from the town center
Natura 2000 site
Mare du plateau de Vendres
1.2 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area60%
Regional nature park0.3%
Natura 2000 site60%
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.
60% of Vendres’ land is protected, more than in 88% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Hérault has 12%. A regional nature park is a charter between communes to look after a landscape: farming, building and hunting go on inside it.
All 8 protected areas
Côte languedocienneNatura 2000 site · 4.5 km
Côtes sableuses de l’infralittoral LanguedocienNatura 2000 site · 4.5 km
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
36 km of footpaths and 6 km of hiking routes cross Vendres
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
36 km
1 km per km²
Hiking routes
5.5 km
waymarked: 0.1 km per km²
Woodland
1.9%
about 0.7 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
VendresHérault medianFrance median
Footpaths1
Hiking routes0.1
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
VendresHérault medianFrance median
Woodland1.9%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 70% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 90% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Vendres: April to June
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Lespignan, 5.8 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 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 30 | 26 | 21 | 16 | 13 |
| Rain (mm) | 53 | 51 | 49 | 56 | 46 | 31 | 15 | 27 | 67 | 96 | 66 | 48 |
July is the driest month (15 mm) and the warmest (highs of 30 °C). 96 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 20 nights a year. Summer highs reach 30 °C, too hot for the outline. The climate in Vendres →
Neighbors
Next to Vendres
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SauvianSérignanValras-PlageLespignanVilleneuve-lès-BéziersCersVendres
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendres | 60% | 1.9% | 1 | On it |
| Sauvian 5,608 · 3.2 km | 0.3% | 0.4% | 1 | 6 km |
| Sérignan 8,588 · 3.4 km | 34% | 0.2% | 1.1 | On it |
| Valras-Plage 4,432 · 4.8 km | 26% | 0% | 3.8 | On it |
| Lespignan 3,414 · 5.2 km | 69% | 0.3% | 1.1 | 8.7 km |
| Villeneuve-lès-Béziers 4,500 · 7 km | 30% | 1.8% | 0.6 | 7.4 km |
| Cers 2,503 · 8.7 km | 36% | 4% | 0.2 | 6.6 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 Vendres
Is Vendres in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 60% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Vendres?
OpenStreetMap maps 36 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 6 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Vendres is woodland?
1.9% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Vendres near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 4.5 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Vendres?
April to 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.