First pick
Parc Gloria
Park or garden
2.9 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Carentan-les-Marais
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Johan N · CC BY-SA 3.0100%of the land protected
Outdoors in Carentan-les-Marais · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Carentan-les-Marais lies inside Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin Regional Nature Park
100% of Carentan-les-Marais’ land lies in protected areas. 41 km of footpaths cross Carentan-les-Marais (0.3 km per km²). Carentan-les-Marais has almost no mapped woodland. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
100%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
0.2%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
41 km
0.3 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
38 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Green space nearby
67%
of residents within 800 m of a park or wood
Compared town: 100%
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 3.7 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Manche 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 Carentan-les-Marais?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Inside Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin Regional Nature Park100% of the commune is in the regional nature park.On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 3.7 km from its center.Little mapped woodland0.2% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Carentan-les-Marais apart: the regional nature park around it, then the sea. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Carentan-les-Marais 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 areas100%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
97out of 100
Woodland0.2%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
2out of 100
Footpaths0.3 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
6out of 100
Hiking routes0.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
44out of 100
Green space nearby67%Share of residents within 800 m of a mapped park or wood
1out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Carentan-les-Marais has the fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (10,051 to 10,395 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Maxéville (5.5 km per km²) to Carentan-les-Marais (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maxéville Meurthe-et-Moselle | 5.5 | 24% | 0% | 363 km |
| 2 | Mondeville Calvados | 5.2 | 5.4% | 0% | 13 km |
| 3 | Serris Seine-et-Marne | 5.1 | 2.1% | 0% | 168 km |
| 4 | Villerupt Meurthe-et-Moselle | 4.2 | 30% | 0% | 288 km |
| 5 | Courrières Pas-de-Calais | 4.1 | 11% | 0% | 76 km |
| 6 | Villebon-sur-Yvette Essonne | 3.8 | 23% | 0% | 159 km |
| 7 | Oignies Pas-de-Calais | 3.7 | 12% | 0% | 77 km |
| 8 | Cabriès Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.7 | 28% | 1.6% | 11 km |
| 9 | Feyzin Rhône | 3.4 | 12% | 0% | 242 km |
| 10 | Soyaux Charente | 3.3 | 35% | 9% | 78 km |
| 11 | Auchel Pas-de-Calais | 3.1 | 8.6% | 0% | 55 km |
| 12 | Marly Moselle | 3 | 4.4% | 0% | 332 km |
| 13 | Sainte-Savine Aube | 2.5 | 0.6% | 0% | 271 km |
| 14 | Beaumont-sur-Oise Val-d'Oise | 2.4 | 26% | 35% | 121 km |
| 15 | Pierrelaye Val-d'Oise | 2.4 | 20% | 0% | 126 km |
| 16 | Buxerolles Vienne | 2.3 | 10% | 0% | 119 km |
| 17 | Pfastatt Haut-Rhin | 2.2 | 22% | 0.1% | 443 km |
| 18 | Fillière Haute-Savoie | 2.1 | 49% | 20% | 266 km |
| 19 | Miribel Ain | 2 | 17% | 14% | 262 km |
| 20 | Parthenay Deux-Sèvres | 2 | 3.8% | 0.1% | 78 km |
| 21 | Avranches Manche | 1.9 | 1.5% | 0% | 2.5 km |
| 22 | La Ferté-sous-Jouarre Seine-et-Marne | 1.9 | 30% | 0% | 172 km |
| 23 | Fuveau Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.9 | 36% | 0% | 21 km |
| 24 | Gignac-la-Nerthe Bouches-du-Rhône | 1.9 | 2.5% | 0.7% | 5.8 km |
| 25 | Jeumont Nord | 1.8 | 25% | 0.1% | 133 km |
| 26 | Ingré Loiret | 1.8 | 11% | 0% | 200 km |
| 27 | Le Muy Var | 1.7 | 35% | 46% | 16 km |
| 28 | Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Landes | 1.5 | 58% | 3.4% | 69 km |
| 29 | Le Beausset Var | 1.5 | 18% | 69% | 7.1 km |
| 30 | Apt Vaucluse | 1.2 | 29% | 100% | 58 km |
| 31 | Mazamet Tarn | 1.2 | 77% | 0.1% | 74 km |
| 32 | Lézignan-Corbières Aude | 1.2 | 14% | 7% | 31 km |
| 33 | Ploërmel Morbihan | 1.1 | 15% | 0% | 39 km |
| 34 | Couzeix Haute-Vienne | 1.1 | 21% | 0% | 163 km |
| 35 | Douchy-les-Mines Nord | 1 | 11% | 0% | 106 km |
| 36 | Borgo Haute-Corse | 0.8 | 11% | 28% | On it |
| 37 | Aizenay Vendée | 0.8 | 8.2% | 0% | 24 km |
| 38 | Gerzat Puy-de-Dôme | 0.8 | 0.5% | 0% | 261 km |
| 39 | Blain Loire-Atlantique | 0.6 | 15% | 0% | 37 km |
| 40 | Lillers Pas-de-Calais | 0.5 | 7.8% | 0% | 53 km |
| 41 | Carentan-les-Marais Manche | 0.3 | 0.2% | 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 Carentan-les-Marais
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc Gloria leads, at 2.9 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Square Mac Auliffe
Park or garden
0.3 ha0.3 km of path
1 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Close to home
7 in 10 residents of Carentan-les-Marais 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).
67% within 800 m33% further
Residents within 800 m of green space · share of residents
Carentan-les-MaraisManche medianFrance median
Within 800 m67%
0%50%100%
About 3,400 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
Protected land in and around Carentan-les-Marais
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin Regional Nature Park
100% of the commune
Nature reserve
Marais de la Taute nature reserve
0.7% of the commune1.5 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Basses Vallées du Cotentin et Baie des Veys
48% of the commune0.1 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin - Baie des Veys
48% of the commune0.1 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area100%
Regional nature park100%
Nature reserve0.7%
Natura 2000 site48%
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.
100% of Carentan-les-Marais’ land is protected, more than in 97% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Manche has 0.6%. A regional nature park is a charter between communes to look after a landscape: farming, building and hunting go on inside it.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
41 km of footpaths and 38 km of hiking routes cross Carentan-les-Marais
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
41 km
0.3 km per km²
Hiking routes
38 km
waymarked: 0.3 km per km²
Woodland
0.2%
about 0.2 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
Carentan-les-MaraisManche medianFrance median
Footpaths0.3
Hiking routes0.3
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
Carentan-les-MaraisManche medianFrance median
Woodland0.2%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 94% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 98% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 22337 km
Chemin de Barfleur22 km
GR 223 passes within 2 km of Carentan-les-Marais.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Carentan-les-Marais: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Ste Marie du Mo, 12 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) | 8.6 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 10 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 75 | 66 | 57 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 68 | 62 | 105 | 96 | 113 |
July is the driest month (52 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 22 °C). 113 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 21 nights a year. The climate in Carentan-les-Marais →
Neighbors
Next to Carentan-les-Marais
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Isigny-sur-MerSainte-Mère-ÉglisePicauvilleMarigny-Le-LozonAgneauxSaint-Sauveur-VillagesCarentan-les-Marais
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) | Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carentan-les-Marais | 100% | 0.2% | 0.3 | On it |
| Isigny-sur-Mer 3,543 · 10 km | 75% | 1.4% | 0.2 | 5 km |
| Sainte-Mère-Église 2,896 · 13 km | 100% | 0.5% | 0.2 | 8.7 km |
| Picauville 3,228 · 15 km | 100% | 2.9% | 0.2 | 15 km |
| Marigny-Le-Lozon 2,761 · 22 km | 46% | 0.2% | 0.7 | 21 km |
| Agneaux 4,286 · 23 km | 0% | 10% | 3.5 | 25 km |
| Saint-Sauveur-Villages 3,208 · 23 km | 35% | 2% | 0.8 | 13 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 Carentan-les-Marais
Is Carentan-les-Marais in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Carentan-les-Marais lies in Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin Regional Nature Park (100% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Carentan-les-Marais?
OpenStreetMap maps 41 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 0.3 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 38 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Carentan-les-Marais is woodland?
0.2% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Carentan-les-Marais near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 3.7 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Carentan-les-Marais?
May 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.