First pick
Bois des Avaizes
Wood or forest
87 ha
2.3 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Rijksmuseum · CC05.4%woodland
Outdoors in Charlieu · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Charlieu is within 800 m of a park or wood
5.4% of Charlieu is mapped woodland. No protected area reaches Charlieu; the nearest, Milieux alluviaux et aquatiques de la Loire (Natura 2000), is 5.5 km from the town center. Charlieu has 1 km of waymarked hiking routes. 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: Milieux alluviaux et aquatiques de la Loire, 5.5 km
Woodland
5.4%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
11 km
1.7 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.4 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
7
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois des Avaizes
Throughout this page, the Loire 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 Charlieu 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
Woodland5.4%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
24out of 100
Footpaths1.7 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
51out of 100
Hiking routes0.2 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
38out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Charlieu has the 10th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,734 to 3,798 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Barby (6.7 km per km²) to Courtenay (0 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barby Savoie | 6.7 | 35% | 39% | 232 km |
| 2 | Bruyères-le-Châtel Essonne | 4.2 | 64% | 0.1% | 163 km |
| 3 | Doussard Haute-Savoie | 2.7 | 53% | 100% | 244 km |
| 4 | Grand-Aigueblanche Savoie | 2.4 | 63% | 0.1% | 208 km |
| 5 | Les Rousses Jura | 2.3 | 52% | 100% | 321 km |
| 6 | Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort Gard | 2.2 | 38% | 58% | 47 km |
| 7 | Sospel Alpes-Maritimes | 2 | 57% | 100% | 12 km |
| 8 | Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise Rhône | 1.9 | 1.9% | 0% | 232 km |
| 9 | Saint-Mihiel Meuse | 1.8 | 66% | 7.4% | 314 km |
| 10 | Charlieu Loire | 1.7 | 5.4% | 0% | 289 km |
| 11 | Malville Loire-Atlantique | 1.7 | 17% | 1.9% | 24 km |
| 12 | La Bazoge Sarthe | 1.6 | 25% | 0% | 126 km |
| 13 | Alénya Pyrénées-Orientales | 1.5 | 0.1% | 5.7% | 4.4 km |
| 14 | Torreilles Pyrénées-Orientales | 1.5 | 0.4% | 20% | On it |
| 15 | Ploubezre Côtes-d'Armor | 1.3 | 17% | 6.5% | 3.3 km |
| 16 | Saint-Ay Loiret | 1.3 | 6.3% | 10% | 203 km |
| 17 | Varennes-sur-Seine Seine-et-Marne | 1.3 | 1.7% | 38% | 218 km |
| 18 | Échillais Charente-Maritime | 1.2 | 9% | 8.5% | On it |
| 19 | Saint-Clair-du-Rhône Isère | 1.2 | 19% | 0.2% | 216 km |
| 20 | Rœulx Nord | 1.2 | 0.4% | 0% | 103 km |
| 21 | Saïx Tarn | 0.9 | 12% | 3.3% | 93 km |
| 22 | Saint-Martin-la-Plaine Loire | 0.9 | 11% | 0% | 224 km |
| 23 | Brantôme en Périgord Dordogne | 0.8 | 48% | 20% | 104 km |
| 24 | Bapaume Pas-de-Calais | 0.8 | 0.9% | 0% | 84 km |
| 25 | Pujols Lot-et-Garonne | 0.8 | 12% | 0% | 123 km |
| 26 | Bouxwiller Bas-Rhin | 0.7 | 11% | 0.3% | 418 km |
| 27 | Bénesse-Maremne Landes | 0.7 | 42% | 0.1% | 6.6 km |
| 28 | Lavernose-Lacasse Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 2.6% | 0% | 153 km |
| 29 | Pannes Loiret | 0.7 | 8.9% | 0% | 233 km |
| 30 | Fougerolles-Saint-Valbert Haute-Saône | 0.7 | 36% | 100% | 429 km |
| 31 | Sartène Corse-du-Sud | 0.4 | 17% | 39% | On it |
| 32 | Labastide-Saint-Pierre Tarn-et-Garonne | 0.4 | 3.4% | 1.5% | 169 km |
| 33 | Puiseux-en-France Val-d'Oise | 0.4 | 2.2% | 0% | 138 km |
| 34 | Chauconin-Neufmontiers Seine-et-Marne | 0.3 | 4.2% | 0% | 158 km |
| 35 | Plémet Côtes-d'Armor | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | 35 km |
| 36 | Nazelles-Négron Indre-et-Loire | 0.3 | 17% | 4.5% | 202 km |
| 37 | Ribérac Dordogne | 0.3 | 9% | 12% | 77 km |
| 38 | Terres-de-Haute-Charente Charente | 0.3 | 23% | 0% | 116 km |
| 39 | Montreuil-Bellay Maine-et-Loire | 0.2 | 8.5% | 100% | 119 km |
| 40 | Val de Virvée Gironde | 0.1 | 12% | 0% | 16 km |
| 41 | Courtenay Loiret | 0 | 20% | 0% | 253 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 Charlieu
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois des Avaizes leads, at 87 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Claude Dérobert
Park or garden
0.9 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
Centralin the middle of Charlieu
Directionsto a point inside
Bois des Brosses
Wood or forest · 320 m outside the commune
5.6 ha
3.3 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Le Verger Conservatoire
Park or garden
0.8 ha0.3 km of path
0.8 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin des Musées
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Charlieu
Directionsto a point inside
Parc René Mégret
Park or garden
0.5 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Charlieu
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Milieux alluviaux et aquatiques de la Loire is the nearest protected area, 5.5 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Milieux alluviaux et aquatiques de la Loire
5.5 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
11 km of footpaths cross Charlieu
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
11 km
1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.4 km
waymarked: 0.2 km per km²
Woodland
5.4%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CharlieuLoire medianFrance median
Footpaths1.7
Hiking routes0.2
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CharlieuLoire medianFrance median
Woodland5.4%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 51% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 76% 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 Charlieu is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Charlieu: April and June to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Charlieu, 0.5 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.6 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 56 | 44 | 46 | 58 | 83 | 67 | 71 | 74 | 63 | 74 | 76 | 59 |
February is the driest month (44 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 83 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 75 nights a year. The climate in Charlieu →
Neighbors
Next to Charlieu
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Pouilly-sous-CharlieuMablyChauffaillesCoursRoanneRiorgesCharlieu
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlieu | 0% | 5.4% | 1.7 |
| Pouilly-sous-Charlieu 2,588 · 4.9 km | 2.7% | 8.3% | 0.8 |
| Mably 7,233 · 13 km | 4.4% | 6.8% | 1.2 |
| Chauffailles 3,638 · 14 km | 0% | 32% | 0.4 |
| Cours 4,306 · 14 km | 0% | 46% | 0.6 |
| Roanne 35,409 · 16 km | 15% | 2.7% | 3.7 |
| Riorges 11,139 · 16 km | 0% | 3% | 1.5 |
Roanne has at least twice as much protected land. Chauffailles and Cours 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 Charlieu
Is Charlieu in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Milieux alluviaux et aquatiques de la Loire, 5.5 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Charlieu?
OpenStreetMap maps 11 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.7 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 1 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Charlieu is woodland?
5.4% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Charlieu near the sea?
No: the coast is 289 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Charlieu?
April and June 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.