First pick
Forêt de la Combe
Wood or forest
222 ha18.7 km of path
4 h 10 minto walk all 18.7 km of path
1.9 km westfrom the center
Chemin de Larocadevieille sente des chasseurslayon
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Jvillafruela · CC BY-SA 3.048%woodland
Outdoors in Vizille · protected areas, woods and footpaths
48% of Vizille is woodland, more than in 9 in 10 French towns
Vizille has 24 km of waymarked hiking routes. Footpaths add up to 31 km across Vizille (2.8 km per km²). No protected area reaches Vizille; the nearest, Isles du Drac nature reserve, is 3.7 km from the town center. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Isles du Drac nature reserve, 3.7 km
Woodland
48%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
31 km
2.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
24 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
5
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Forêt de la Combe
Throughout this page, the Isère 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 Vizille?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A wooded commune48% mapped woodland, more than in 90% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.On waymarked routes24 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected land nearbyIsles du Drac nature reserve is 3.7 km from the town center.
What sets Vizille apart: its woods, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Vizille 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 areas0%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
22out of 100
Woodland48%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
90out of 100
Footpaths2.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
72out of 100
Hiking routes2.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
97out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Vizille has the 11th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (7,221 to 7,372 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Gournay-sur-Marne (6 km per km²) to Lanton (0.2 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gournay-sur-Marne Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 | 4.3% | 0% | 159 km |
| 2 | Colombelles Calvados | 4.9 | 3.1% | 0% | 9.7 km |
| 3 | Villemoisson-sur-Orge Essonne | 4.3 | 13% | 0% | 167 km |
| 4 | Cournonterral Hérault | 3.4 | 3.1% | 62% | 13 km |
| 5 | Vendargues Hérault | 3.3 | 11% | 0% | 12 km |
| 6 | Roquefort-les-Pins Alpes-Maritimes | 3.3 | 52% | 15% | 8 km |
| 7 | Audun-le-Tiche Moselle | 3 | 42% | 0% | 288 km |
| 8 | Courdimanche Val-d'Oise | 3 | 17% | 0% | 118 km |
| 9 | Barlin Pas-de-Calais | 2.9 | 5.8% | 0% | 65 km |
| 10 | Perros-Guirec Côtes-d'Armor | 2.9 | 17% | 7% | On it |
| 11 | Vizille Isère | 2.8 | 48% | 0% | 193 km |
| 12 | Courtry Seine-et-Marne | 2.5 | 19% | 0% | 155 km |
| 13 | Moyeuvre-Grande Moselle | 2.4 | 45% | 0% | 310 km |
| 14 | Le Mesnil-Saint-Denis Yvelines | 2.2 | 13% | 100% | 140 km |
| 15 | Waziers Nord | 2.2 | 4.9% | 0% | 88 km |
| 16 | Chauray Deux-Sèvres | 2 | 2.4% | 0% | 58 km |
| 17 | Pontcharra Isère | 2 | 39% | 0% | 217 km |
| 18 | Paimpol Côtes-d'Armor | 1.9 | 12% | 12% | On it |
| 19 | Nanteuil-lès-Meaux Seine-et-Marne | 1.9 | 26% | 0% | 164 km |
| 20 | La Gaude Alpes-Maritimes | 1.8 | 44% | 2.8% | 7.1 km |
| 21 | Bourg-Saint-Maurice Savoie | 1.8 | 15% | 0.4% | 211 km |
| 22 | Le Pian-Médoc Gironde | 1.6 | 60% | 100% | 8.2 km |
| 23 | Fresnes-sur-Escaut Nord | 1.5 | 24% | 100% | 100 km |
| 24 | Mably Loire | 1.2 | 6.8% | 4.4% | 279 km |
| 25 | Divatte-sur-Loire Loire-Atlantique | 1.2 | 7.5% | 5.6% | 56 km |
| 26 | Saint-Christol-lez-Alès Gard | 1.2 | 21% | 0% | 57 km |
| 27 | Orgeval Yvelines | 1.1 | 27% | 0% | 129 km |
| 28 | Les Trois-Bassins Réunion | 1 | 20% | 82% | On it |
| 29 | Lodève Hérault | 1 | 51% | 100% | 47 km |
| 30 | Montoir-de-Bretagne Loire-Atlantique | 0.9 | 0.2% | 50% | On it |
| 31 | Trélissac Dordogne | 0.9 | 43% | 0% | 109 km |
| 32 | Saint-Nicolas-de-Port Meurthe-et-Moselle | 0.9 | 11% | 0% | 376 km |
| 33 | Salazie Réunion | 0.9 | 63% | 100% | 16 km |
| 34 | Digoin Saône-et-Loire | 0.8 | 12% | 6.1% | 325 km |
| 35 | Rosny-sur-Seine Yvelines | 0.7 | 60% | 62% | 104 km |
| 36 | Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 0.6 | 37% | 6.3% | 8.8 km |
| 37 | Ensisheim Haut-Rhin | 0.6 | 35% | 21% | 453 km |
| 38 | Guipry-Messac Ille-et-Vilaine | 0.5 | 8.9% | 0% | 55 km |
| 39 | La Ferté-Saint-Aubin Loiret | 0.4 | 68% | 100% | 224 km |
| 40 | Herbignac Loire-Atlantique | 0.2 | 14% | 100% | 7.8 km |
| 41 | Lanton Gironde | 0.2 | 83% | 100% | On it |
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 Vizille
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt de la Combe leads, at 222 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc du Château de Vizille
Park or garden
41 ha0.2 km of path
0.7 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de Lauzet
Wood or forest · 190 m outside the commune
32 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
3 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Vöhringen
Park or garden
0.9 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Vizille
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Isles du Drac nature reserve is the nearest protected area, 3.7 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Nature reserve
Isles du Drac nature reserve
3.7 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0%
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.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
31 km of footpaths and 24 km of hiking routes cross Vizille
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
31 km
2.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
24 km
waymarked: 2.3 km per km²
Woodland
48%
about 5.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
VizilleIsère medianFrance median
Footpaths2.8
Hiking routes2.3
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
VizilleIsère medianFrance median
Woodland48%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 72% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more 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. Every home in Vizille is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)
GR 96520 km
GR 7389.7 km
2 GR routes pass within 2 km of Vizille: GR 965 and GR 738.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Vizille: April and June to August
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Chatte_Sapc, 37 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) | 9.1 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.9 | 9.5 | 8.8 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 66 | 54 | 64 | 84 | 96 | 81 | 68 | 82 | 101 | 108 | 99 | 66 |
February is the driest month (54 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 28 °C). 108 mm of rain falls in October, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 67 nights a year. The climate in Vizille →
Neighbors
Next to Vizille
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Champ-sur-DracJarrieVaulnaveys-le-HautSaint-Georges-de-CommiersVarces-Allières-et-RissetVifVizille
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vizille | 0% | 48% | 2.8 |
| Champ-sur-Drac 3,335 · 3.2 km | 24% | 51% | 3.9 |
| Jarrie 3,952 · 3.8 km | 0.8% | 33% | 3.2 |
| Vaulnaveys-le-Haut 4,006 · 6.7 km | 0% | 67% | 2.2 |
| Saint-Georges-de-Commiers 2,699 · 6.7 km | 9.7% | 70% | 4.5 |
| Varces-Allières-et-Risset 8,542 · 7.4 km | 32% | 33% | 2.4 |
| Vif 8,530 · 8.3 km | 7% | 48% | 1.8 |
Champ-sur-Drac and Varces-Allières-et-Risset have at least twice as much protected land.
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 Vizille
Is Vizille in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Isles du Drac nature reserve, 3.7 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Vizille?
OpenStreetMap maps 31 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 24 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Vizille is woodland?
48% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Vizille near the sea?
No: the coast is 193 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Vizille?
April and June 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.