First pick
Parc de Pré l'Evèque
Park or garden
14 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
1 km south-westfrom the center
Parcours de Santé
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: M.Minderhoud · CC BY-SA 3.03.6%of the land protected
Outdoors in Verdun · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Verdun is within 800 m of a park or wood
21% of Verdun is mapped woodland. 44 km of footpaths cross Verdun (1.4 km per km²). 3.6% of Verdun’s land lies in protected areas. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
3.6%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
21%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
44 km
1.4 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 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: Parc de Pré l'Evèque
Throughout this page, the Meuse 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 Verdun 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 areas3.6%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
63out of 100
Woodland21%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
65out of 100
Footpaths1.4 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
43out of 100
Hiking routes0 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
12out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Verdun has the 12th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (16,363 to 17,457 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Viroflay (9.5 km per km²) to Marmande (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viroflay Yvelines | 9.5 | 42% | 0% | 148 km |
| 2 | Marly-le-Roi Yvelines | 7.6 | 37% | 0% | 138 km |
| 3 | Bois-d'Arcy Yvelines | 7.4 | 38% | 0% | 140 km |
| 4 | Orsay Essonne | 7.3 | 27% | 0% | 157 km |
| 5 | Les Clayes-sous-Bois Yvelines | 6.3 | 35% | 0% | 137 km |
| 6 | Le Pré-Saint-Gervais Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.8 | 0% | 0% | 149 km |
| 7 | Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire Indre-et-Loire | 5 | 9.4% | 1.9% | 184 km |
| 8 | Lons-le-Saunier Jura | 4.9 | 8.8% | 1.8% | 356 km |
| 9 | Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire Loire-Atlantique | 4.7 | 12% | 11% | 45 km |
| 10 | Landerneau Finistère | 4.4 | 18% | 1.2% | On it |
| 11 | Boissy-Saint-Léger Val-de-Marne | 4.4 | 50% | 0% | 166 km |
| 12 | Saran Loiret | 3.9 | 24% | 0% | 200 km |
| 13 | Saint-Jean-de-la-Ruelle Loiret | 3.5 | 4.9% | 3% | 203 km |
| 14 | Avion Pas-de-Calais | 3.4 | 13% | 0% | 77 km |
| 15 | Mennecy Essonne | 3.3 | 19% | 8.2% | 180 km |
| 16 | Firminy Loire | 3 | 25% | 0% | 204 km |
| 17 | Yutz Moselle | 2.6 | 18% | 0% | 310 km |
| 18 | Rumilly Haute-Savoie | 2.3 | 18% | 0.7% | 262 km |
| 19 | Annonay Ardèche | 2.3 | 30% | 0.2% | 193 km |
| 20 | Fécamp Seine-Maritime | 2.2 | 25% | 2.9% | On it |
| 21 | Lattes Hérault | 2.2 | 0.8% | 22% | 5.5 km |
| 22 | Coulommiers Seine-et-Marne | 2 | 16% | 0% | 183 km |
| 23 | Sedan Ardennes | 2 | 17% | 0% | 222 km |
| 24 | Sallanches Haute-Savoie | 2 | 32% | 35% | 250 km |
| 25 | Montceau-les-Mines Saône-et-Loire | 1.8 | 6.6% | 0% | 347 km |
| 26 | La Baule-Escoublac Loire-Atlantique | 1.7 | 9.6% | 37% | 0.8 km |
| 27 | Valserhône Ain | 1.7 | 59% | 19% | 292 km |
| 28 | Blanquefort Gironde | 1.7 | 15% | 7.6% | 11 km |
| 29 | Guérande Loire-Atlantique | 1.5 | 7.1% | 76% | On it |
| 30 | Verdun Meuse | 1.4 | 21% | 3.6% | 290 km |
| 31 | Les Herbiers Vendée | 1.1 | 6.5% | 0% | 62 km |
| 32 | Cestas Gironde | 1 | 58% | 0% | 28 km |
| 33 | Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne Mayenne | 0.9 | 3.1% | 0% | 102 km |
| 34 | Châteaurenard Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.8 | 2.1% | 8.3% | 47 km |
| 35 | Mauguio Hérault | 0.8 | 1.4% | 49% | On it |
| 36 | Lamballe-Armor Côtes-d'Armor | 0.8 | 5% | 2% | On it |
| 37 | Pamiers Ariège | 0.6 | 16% | 1.1% | 118 km |
| 38 | Vire Normandie Calvados | 0.6 | 3.9% | 0% | 41 km |
| 39 | Orée d'Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.5 | 11% | 12% | 66 km |
| 40 | Loire-Authion Maine-et-Loire | 0.4 | 10% | 100% | 130 km |
| 41 | Marmande Lot-et-Garonne | 0.3 | 11% | 4% | 82 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 Verdun
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de Pré l'Evèque leads, at 14 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc Japiot
Park or garden
3.7 ha2.3 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.3 km of path
0.7 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Espace de la Galvaude
Park or garden
3.7 ha0.3 km of path
1.5 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Digue
Park or garden
0.7 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Verdun
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
3.6% of Verdun 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 la Meuse
3.4% of the commune1.5 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Corridor de la Meuse
2.2 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area3.6%
Natura 2000 site3.6%
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.
3.6% of Verdun’s land is protected, more than in 63% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Meuse has 2.4%.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
44 km of footpaths cross Verdun
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
44 km
1.4 km per km²
Hiking routes
0 km
waymarked: 0 km per km²
Woodland
21%
about 6.7 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
VerdunMeuse medianFrance median
Footpaths1.4
Hiking routes0
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
VerdunMeuse medianFrance median
Woodland21%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 57% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 65% of compared French towns. Hiking routes often follow paths and lanes already counted, so the two lengths overlap: don’t add them. 98% of Verdun’s residents live within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, close to the typical town.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Verdun: May to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Septsarges, 22 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 | 13.6 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.0 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 5 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 5 |
| Rain (mm) | 94 | 78 | 74 | 56 | 79 | 67 | 71 | 79 | 68 | 81 | 84 | 112 |
April is the driest month (56 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 112 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 59 nights a year. The climate in Verdun →
Neighbors
Next to Verdun
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Belleville-sur-MeuseThierville-sur-MeuseÉtainVerdun
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verdun | 3.6% | 21% | 1.4 |
| Belleville-sur-Meuse 3,013 · 2 km | 39% | 42% | 1.6 |
| Thierville-sur-Meuse 3,172 · 2.6 km | 2.4% | 6% | 0.2 |
| Étain 3,375 · 19 km | 0% | 16% | 0.8 |
Belleville-sur-Meuse has at least twice as much protected land. Belleville-sur-Meuse 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 Verdun
Is Verdun in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 3.6% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Verdun?
OpenStreetMap maps 44 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1.4 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²).
How much of Verdun is woodland?
21% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Verdun near the sea?
No: the coast is 290 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Verdun?
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 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.