First pick
Parc du Lac de la Bergeonnerie
Park or garden
36 ha5.3 km of path
1 h 10 minto walk all 5.3 km of path
2.9 km southfrom the center
Tour du Lac de la Bergeonnerie
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Ty's Commons · CC BY-SA 4.04.7%of the land protected
Outdoors in Tours · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Tours has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
260 km of footpaths cross Tours (7.8 km per km²). Waymarked hiking routes add up to 47 km in Tours. Mapped woodland covers 6.3% of Tours. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
4.7%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
6.3%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
260 km
7.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
47 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
30
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc du Lac de la Bergeonnerie
Throughout this page, the Indre-et-Loire 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 Tours?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths7.8 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.On waymarked routes47 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.
What sets Tours apart: its footpaths, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Tours 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 areas4.7%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
65out of 100
Woodland6.3%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
28out of 100
Footpaths7.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
97out of 100
Hiking routes1.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
91out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Tours has the 9th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (100,679 to 185,140 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Paris 12e (16.7 km per km²) to Nîmes (1.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris 12e Paris | 16.7 | 30% | 0% | 153 km |
| 2 | Paris 16e Paris | 11.9 | 25% | 0% | 147 km |
| 3 | Grenoble Isère | 11.6 | 4.6% | 0% | 204 km |
| 4 | Paris 19e Paris | 11.1 | 2.1% | 0% | 148 km |
| 5 | Paris 20e Paris | 10.9 | 0.1% | 0% | 151 km |
| 6 | Paris 14e Paris | 10.6 | 0.4% | 0% | 151 km |
| 7 | Paris 13e Paris | 9.2 | 0.4% | 0% | 152 km |
| 8 | Caen Calvados | 8.1 | 2.4% | 0% | 14 km |
| 9 | Tours Indre-et-Loire | 7.8 | 6.3% | 4.7% | 184 km |
| 10 | Villeurbanne Rhône | 7.4 | 2.8% | 0.3% | 253 km |
| 11 | Saint-Denis Seine-Saint-Denis | 7 | 2.4% | 1.8% | 142 km |
| 12 | Nancy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 6.9 | 2.7% | 0% | 366 km |
| 13 | Metz Moselle | 6.8 | 8% | 0% | 329 km |
| 14 | Angers Maine-et-Loire | 6.3 | 5.6% | 17% | 118 km |
| 15 | Orléans Loiret | 6.3 | 5.4% | 4.3% | 206 km |
| 16 | Boulogne-Billancourt Hauts-de-Seine | 6 | 2% | 0% | 147 km |
| 17 | Dijon Côte-d'Or | 6 | 6.5% | 0% | 402 km |
| 18 | Brest Finistère | 5.9 | 6.7% | 0% | On it |
| 19 | Lyon 3e Rhône | 5.9 | 0.5% | 0% | 251 km |
| 20 | Mulhouse Haut-Rhin | 5.7 | 4.3% | 0% | 441 km |
| 21 | Le Mans Sarthe | 5.5 | 6.6% | 0% | 135 km |
| 22 | Paris 11e Paris | 5.4 | 0% | 0% | 150 km |
| 23 | Besançon Doubs | 5.3 | 37% | 0.6% | 402 km |
| 24 | Montreuil Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.2 | 1.8% | 4.7% | 153 km |
| 25 | Rouen Seine-Maritime | 5.1 | 6.2% | 0% | 53 km |
| 26 | Paris 17e Paris | 5.1 | 0.2% | 0% | 145 km |
| 27 | Reims Marne | 4.8 | 2.1% | 1.1% | 199 km |
| 28 | Annecy Haute-Savoie | 4.6 | 29% | 0.2% | 260 km |
| 29 | Paris 18e Paris | 4.4 | 0.5% | 0% | 146 km |
| 30 | Amiens Somme | 3.8 | 3% | 0.7% | 55 km |
| 31 | Clermont-Ferrand Puy-de-Dôme | 3.7 | 4.6% | 0.7% | 258 km |
| 32 | Le Havre Seine-Maritime | 3.6 | 5.8% | 3.3% | On it |
| 33 | Toulon Var | 3.6 | 23% | 26% | On it |
| 34 | Saint-Étienne Loire | 3.5 | 31% | 33% | 210 km |
| 35 | Limoges Haute-Vienne | 3.3 | 15% | 0% | 163 km |
| 36 | Argenteuil Val-d'Oise | 3.2 | 5.5% | 0% | 136 km |
| 37 | Perpignan Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.2 | 0.2% | 0.3% | 12 km |
| 38 | Aix-en-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.1 | 18% | 9.1% | 21 km |
| 39 | Saint-Denis Réunion | 1.6 | 62% | 73% | On it |
| 40 | Saint-Paul Réunion | 1.4 | 20% | 64% | On it |
| 41 | Nîmes Gard | 1.3 | 29% | 4.6% | 37 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 Tours
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc du Lac de la Bergeonnerie leads, at 36 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc des Grandes Brosses
Park or garden
31 ha4.1 km of path
55 minto walk all 4.1 km of path
5.4 km northfrom the center
Rue de la Bonne Nouvelle
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Honoré de Balzac
Park or garden
24 ha6 km of path
1 h 20 minto walk all 6 km of path
2.6 km southfrom the center
EV3 : ScandibériqueAvenue de Grammont
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Grandmont
Wood or forest
59 ha7.7 km of path
1 h 45 minto walk all 7.7 km of path
4.1 km southfrom the center
Allée Victor Duruy
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Cousinerie
Park or garden
20 ha3 km of path
40 minto walk all 3 km of path
5.2 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de Sainte-Radegonde
Park or garden
15 ha2.9 km of path
40 minto walk all 2.9 km of path
1.5 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Gloriette
Park or garden
10 ha3 km of path
40 minto walk all 3 km of path
3.3 km south-westfrom the center
Allée André Besse
Directionsto a point inside
Bois des Douets
Wood or forest
23 ha4.4 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.4 km of path
5.2 km northfrom the center
Rue de la Bonne Nouvelle
Directionsto a point inside
All 30 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc du Lac de la BergeonneriePark or garden · 36 ha · 5.3 km of path
DirectionsParc des Grandes BrossesPark or garden · 31 ha · 4.1 km of path
DirectionsParc Honoré de BalzacPark or garden · 24 ha · 6 km of path
DirectionsParc de GrandmontWood or forest · 59 ha · 7.7 km of path
DirectionsParc de la CousineriePark or garden · 20 ha · 3 km of path
DirectionsParc de Sainte-RadegondePark or garden · 15 ha · 2.9 km of path
DirectionsParc de la GloriettePark or garden · 10 ha · 3 km of path
DirectionsBois des DouetsWood or forest · 23 ha · 4.4 km of path
DirectionsJardin BotaniquePark or garden · 5.8 ha · 3.4 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'Île SimonPark or garden · 4.4 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsParc de la PerraudièrePark or garden · 4.5 ha · 2.1 km of path · just outside
DirectionsJardin des Prébendes d'OéPark or garden · 4.3 ha · 1.9 km of path
DirectionsVallon de la BergeonneriePark or garden · 3.8 ha · 1.4 km of path
DirectionsJardin Guillaume BouzignacPark or garden · 2.2 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsBois de la ChambrerieWood or forest · 3.4 ha · 1.5 km of path
DirectionsParc de la TourPark or garden · 1.9 ha · 0.8 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSquare Marcel PagnolPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.9 km of path · just outside
DirectionsJardin du Musée des Beaux-ArtsPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsJardin thématiquePark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsParc Lucie AubracPark or garden · 1.1 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsJardin de la GrenouillèrePark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsJardin MirabeauPark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsBois du MortierWood or forest · 2.2 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsJardin René BoylesvePark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsJardin MeffrePark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'Île AucardPark or garden · 1.6 ha
DirectionsSquare Adolphe AdamPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsMail BonapartePark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsParc de La SourcePark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsParc Jacques-Louis BlotPark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
4.7% of Tours 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
La Loire de Candes Saint Martin à Mosnes
4.7% of the commune0.5 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Vallée de la Loire d’Indre-et-Loire
4.7% of the commune0.5 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area4.7%
Natura 2000 site4.7%
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.
4.7% of Tours’ land is protected, more than in 65% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Indre-et-Loire has 1.9%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
Footpaths and woods in Tours
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
260 km
7.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
47 km
waymarked: 1.4 km per km²
Woodland
6.3%
about 2.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ToursIndre-et-Loire medianFrance median
Footpaths7.8
Hiking routes1.4
04.59 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ToursIndre-et-Loire medianFrance median
Woodland6.3%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 97% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 72% 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 Tours is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
6 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
De Tours à Toulouse 01, Tours - Châteauroux7.7 km
Via Sancti Martini - Chemin de l'Évêque7.5 km
Chemin de Trèves, Vendôme - Tours6.5 km
Le Cher, de Tours à Vierzon5.5 km
Via Sancti Martini - Chemin d'été de la Saint-Martin5.1 km
De la Rivière aux Coteaux du Val de Choisille4.6 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Tours: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Fondettes, 7.5 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 68 | 58 | 54 | 57 | 62 | 53 | 47 | 47 | 53 | 70 | 76 | 80 |
July is the driest month (47 mm) and the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 80 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 45 nights a year. The climate in Tours →
Gardens
4 gardens to visit in Tours
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardin botanique de ToursIn Tours
DirectionsJardin des Prébendes d'OéIn Tours
DirectionsJardin du Musée des Beaux-ArtsIn Tours
DirectionsJardin MeffreIn Tours
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Tours
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Saint-Pierre-des-CorpsLa RicheSaint-Cyr-sur-LoireSaint-AvertinRochecorbonJoué-lès-ToursTours
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tours | 4.7% | 6.3% | 7.8 |
| Saint-Pierre-des-Corps 15,898 · 2.4 km | 9.3% | 6.9% | 3.8 |
| La Riche 10,487 · 2.8 km | 16% | 4.5% | 4.2 |
| Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire 17,029 · 3 km | 1.9% | 9.4% | 5 |
| Saint-Avertin 14,999 · 4.9 km | 0% | 14% | 4.3 |
| Rochecorbon 3,219 · 5.5 km | 7.3% | 21% | 1.3 |
| Joué-lès-Tours 38,423 · 5.6 km | 0% | 15% | 2.5 |
La Riche has at least twice as much protected land. Rochecorbon is more wooded.
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 Tours
Is Tours in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 4.7% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Tours?
OpenStreetMap maps 260 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 7.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 47 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Tours is woodland?
6.3% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Tours near the sea?
No: the coast is 184 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Tours?
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 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.