First pick
Parc Daniel Bernardet
Park or garden
33 ha4.5 km of path
1 hto walk all 4.5 km of path
1.9 km northfrom the center
Rue du Rochat
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Châteauroux Métropole · CC BY-SA 4.04.8%of the land protected
Outdoors in Châteauroux · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Châteauroux is within 800 m of a park or wood
3.8% of Châteauroux is mapped woodland. Châteauroux has 16 km of waymarked hiking routes. 58 km of footpaths cross Châteauroux (2.3 km per km²). France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
4.8%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
3.8%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
58 km
2.3 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
16 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
20
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc Daniel Bernardet
Throughout this page, the Indre median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
Against French towns
How Châteauroux 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 areas4.8%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
65out of 100
Woodland3.8%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
18out of 100
Footpaths2.3 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
62out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
69out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Châteauroux has the 8th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (40,389 to 45,702 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 Castres (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 | Marseille 5e Bouches-du-Rhône | 8.9 | 0% | 0% | 1.9 km |
| 4 | Paris 6e Paris | 8.4 | 1.7% | 0% | 149 km |
| 5 | Bron Rhône | 7.1 | 6.1% | 0% | 251 km |
| 6 | Villepinte Seine-Saint-Denis | 7 | 15% | 16% | 149 km |
| 7 | Chalon-sur-Saône Saône-et-Loire | 6.7 | 4.2% | 0% | 364 km |
| 8 | Rezé Loire-Atlantique | 6.6 | 7% | 3.6% | 37 km |
| 9 | Arras Pas-de-Calais | 6.5 | 3.4% | 0% | 78 km |
| 10 | Colomiers Haute-Garonne | 6.4 | 5.5% | 0% | 155 km |
| 11 | Stains Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.3 | 6.9% | 14% | 142 km |
| 12 | Boulogne-sur-Mer Pas-de-Calais | 5.8 | 1.3% | 0% | On it |
| 13 | Alfortville Val-de-Marne | 5.7 | 0.1% | 0% | 157 km |
| 14 | Bagnolet Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.5 | 1.4% | 3.6% | 151 km |
| 15 | Saint-Brieuc Côtes-d'Armor | 5.3 | 14% | 2.1% | On it |
| 16 | Valenciennes Nord | 5.2 | 6.6% | 0.2% | 105 km |
| 17 | Caluire-et-Cuire Rhône | 5.1 | 9.1% | 0.1% | 255 km |
| 18 | Charleville-Mézières Ardennes | 5 | 32% | 0.5% | 207 km |
| 19 | Noisy-le-Sec Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.6 | 2.7% | 0% | 151 km |
| 20 | Gagny Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.3 | 9.6% | 0.5% | 155 km |
| 21 | Angoulême Charente | 4.1 | 14% | 3.6% | 75 km |
| 22 | Anglet Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 4 | 18% | 4.5% | On it |
| 23 | Garges-lès-Gonesse Val-d'Oise | 4 | 8.7% | 0% | 141 km |
| 24 | Mantes-la-Jolie Yvelines | 3.7 | 12% | 7.1% | 109 km |
| 25 | Bourg-en-Bresse Ain | 3.5 | 16% | 0% | 307 km |
| 26 | Compiègne Oise | 3.4 | 74% | 76% | 119 km |
| 27 | Tarbes Hautes-Pyrénées | 3.4 | 2.8% | 0.8% | 131 km |
| 28 | Wattrelos Nord | 3.1 | 3.3% | 0% | 60 km |
| 29 | Poissy Yvelines | 3 | 12% | 0% | 131 km |
| 30 | Le Cannet Alpes-Maritimes | 2.8 | 9.9% | 0% | 2.4 km |
| 31 | Thionville Moselle | 2.7 | 33% | 0% | 307 km |
| 32 | Villenave-d'Ornon Gironde | 2.4 | 7% | 14% | 26 km |
| 33 | Gap Hautes-Alpes | 2.3 | 28% | 33% | 133 km |
| 34 | Châteauroux Indre | 2.3 | 3.8% | 4.8% | 224 km |
| 35 | Châlons-en-Champagne Marne | 2.2 | 0.7% | 0% | 237 km |
| 36 | Sète Hérault | 2 | 0.6% | 67% | On it |
| 37 | Montélimar Drôme | 1.8 | 8% | 0.9% | 123 km |
| 38 | Draguignan Var | 1.5 | 29% | 0% | 26 km |
| 39 | Salon-de-Provence Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.4 | 4.8% | 59% | 26 km |
| 40 | Istres Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.1 | 3.3% | 49% | 9.7 km |
| 41 | Castres Tarn | 1.1 | 9.7% | 1.2% | 90 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 Châteauroux
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc Daniel Bernardet leads, at 33 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Jardin Public - La Senatorerie
Park or garden
11 ha4 km of path
55 minto walk all 4 km of path
1.1 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc des Chevaliers
Park or garden
13 ha2.1 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.1 km of path
1.3 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Balsan
Park or garden
5.7 ha1.7 km of path
25 minto walk all 1.7 km of path
1.4 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Margotière
Park or garden
4.1 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
2.2 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin des Cordeliers
Park or garden
1.7 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
0.9 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de l'Abbaye
Park or garden · 170 m outside the commune
1.7 ha0.4 km of path
2 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Square du Maréchal des Logis-Chef Harouna Diop
Park or garden
1.3 ha0.4 km of path
1.6 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
All 20 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc Daniel BernardetPark or garden · 33 ha · 4.5 km of path
DirectionsJardin Public - La SenatoreriePark or garden · 11 ha · 4 km of path
DirectionsParc des ChevaliersPark or garden · 13 ha · 2.1 km of path
DirectionsParc BalsanPark or garden · 5.7 ha · 1.7 km of path
DirectionsParc de la MargotièrePark or garden · 4.1 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsJardin des CordeliersPark or garden · 1.7 ha · 1.4 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'AbbayePark or garden · 1.7 ha · 0.4 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSquare du Maréchal des Logis-Chef Harouna DiopPark or garden · 1.3 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsSquare BrankyPark or garden · 1.5 ha
DirectionsJardin Des CapucinsPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsSquare Charles De GaullePark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsSquare Stéphane MalaméPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsSquare Bernard LouvetPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsAire de Jeux la PointeriePark or garden · 0.7 ha
DirectionsSquare de la BoussolePark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsSquare Léon BorgetPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsSquare François VillonPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsSquare Jean JaurèsPark or garden · 0.3 ha · just outside
DirectionsSquare Camille BerthetPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsParc Charles DulinPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
4.8% of Châteauroux 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
Vallée de l’Indre
4.8% of the commune1 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area4.8%
Natura 2000 site4.8%
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.
4.8% of Châteauroux’s land is protected, more than in 65% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Indre has 2.1%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
58 km of footpaths and 16 km of hiking routes cross Châteauroux
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
58 km
2.3 km per km²
Hiking routes
16 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
3.8%
about 1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ChâteaurouxIndre medianFrance median
Footpaths2.3
Hiking routes0.6
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ChâteaurouxIndre medianFrance median
Woodland3.8%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 62% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 82% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 99% of Châteauroux’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
De Tours à Toulouse 01, Tours - Châteauroux12 km
De Tours à Toulouse 02, Châteauroux - Aubusson8.8 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Châteauroux: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chateauroux, 2.3 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 71 | 58 | 59 | 71 | 76 | 57 | 61 | 56 | 64 | 83 | 78 | 82 |
August is the driest month (56 mm) and the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 83 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 50 nights a year. The climate in Châteauroux →
Neighbors
Next to Châteauroux
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
DéolsLe PoinçonnetSaint-MaurArdentesVilledieu-sur-IndreLevrouxChâteauroux
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Châteauroux | 4.8% | 3.8% | 2.3 |
| Déols 7,600 · 3.3 km | 6.9% | 4.6% | 0.6 |
| Le Poinçonnet 5,855 · 4.1 km | 0% | 66% | 0.5 |
| Saint-Maur 3,537 · 4.1 km | 2.1% | 33% | 0.5 |
| Ardentes 3,715 · 12 km | 0% | 24% | 0.3 |
| Villedieu-sur-Indre 2,583 · 13 km | 1.5% | 18% | 0.1 |
| Levroux 2,797 · 21 km | 0% | 8.7% | 0 |
Le Poinçonnet, Saint-Maur and Ardentes are 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 Châteauroux
Is Châteauroux in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 4.8% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Châteauroux?
OpenStreetMap maps 58 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.3 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 16 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Châteauroux is woodland?
3.8% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Châteauroux near the sea?
No: the coast is 224 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Châteauroux?
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 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.