First pick
Rives du Vincin
Wood or forest
19 ha3.1 km of path
40 minto walk all 3.1 km of path
2.9 km south-westfrom the center
Rives du VincinChemin des Rives du Vincin
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.033%of the land protected
Outdoors in Vannes · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Vannes is on the coast
152 km of footpaths cross Vannes (4.6 km per km²). Vannes has 44 km of waymarked hiking routes. Protected areas cover 33% of Vannes’ land. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
33%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
12%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
152 km
4.6 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
44 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: Rives du Vincin
The sea
On it
the commune touches the coast, 0.5 km from its center
Throughout this page, the Morbihan 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 Vannes?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
On the coastThe commune touches the sea; the coast is 0.5 km from its center.A place of footpaths4.6 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.On waymarked routes44 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.Protected countryside33% of the land lies in protected areas.
What sets Vannes apart: the sea, then its footpaths.
Against French towns
How Vannes 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 areas33%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
83out of 100
Woodland12%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
47out of 100
Footpaths4.6 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
88out of 100
Hiking routes1.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
89out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Vannes has the 20th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (50,979 to 60,505 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Paris 5e (12.9 km per km²) to Arles (0.4 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris 5e Paris | 12.9 | 1% | 0% | 151 km |
| 2 | Marseille 10e Bouches-du-Rhône | 10.6 | 23% | 37% | 4 km |
| 3 | Maisons-Alfort Val-de-Marne | 10.3 | 2.1% | 0% | 158 km |
| 4 | Massy Essonne | 9.4 | 5.3% | 0% | 158 km |
| 5 | Sevran Seine-Saint-Denis | 9.1 | 10% | 7.9% | 150 km |
| 6 | Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine Seine-Saint-Denis | 8.5 | 0.2% | 0% | 144 km |
| 7 | Clamart Hauts-de-Seine | 8.4 | 26% | 0% | 151 km |
| 8 | Villejuif Val-de-Marne | 7.4 | 1% | 0% | 156 km |
| 9 | Bobigny Seine-Saint-Denis | 7.3 | 0.3% | 0% | 149 km |
| 10 | Fontenay-sous-Bois Val-de-Marne | 6.4 | 1.4% | 0% | 155 km |
| 11 | Épinay-sur-Seine Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.3 | 0.8% | 0% | 139 km |
| 12 | Chambéry Savoie | 6 | 15% | 1.5% | 235 km |
| 13 | Lyon 9e Rhône | 5.9 | 9.8% | 0% | 253 km |
| 14 | Paris 9e Paris | 5.1 | 0% | 0% | 147 km |
| 15 | Meaux Seine-et-Marne | 5.1 | 7.8% | 5.5% | 162 km |
| 16 | Marseille 3e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5.1 | 0% | 0% | 1.1 km |
| 17 | Chelles Seine-et-Marne | 5 | 9.3% | 0.8% | 158 km |
| 18 | Sarcelles Val-d'Oise | 4.9 | 6.9% | 0% | 139 km |
| 19 | Lorient Morbihan | 4.6 | 1.8% | 0.6% | On it |
| 20 | Vannes Morbihan | 4.6 | 12% | 33% | On it |
| 21 | Neuilly-sur-Seine Hauts-de-Seine | 4.4 | 0.1% | 0% | 143 km |
| 22 | Vaulx-en-Velin Rhône | 3.9 | 16% | 35% | 255 km |
| 23 | Marseille 14e Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.9 | 1.4% | 23% | 2.7 km |
| 24 | Bayonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 3.9 | 23% | 17% | 5.5 km |
| 25 | Gennevilliers Hauts-de-Seine | 3.4 | 2.1% | 0% | 141 km |
| 26 | Marseille 11e Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.3 | 43% | 42% | 7.5 km |
| 27 | Beauvais Oise | 3.3 | 12% | 0.1% | 87 km |
| 28 | Saint-Quentin Aisne | 3.2 | 7.4% | 1.2% | 121 km |
| 29 | Fréjus Var | 3.1 | 48% | 33% | On it |
| 30 | Sartrouville Yvelines | 3 | 0.9% | 0% | 135 km |
| 31 | Corbeil-Essonnes Essonne | 3 | 5.5% | 0% | 178 km |
| 32 | Hyères Var | 3 | 25% | 83% | On it |
| 33 | La Roche-sur-Yon Vendée | 2.2 | 7.5% | 0% | 30 km |
| 34 | Niort Deux-Sèvres | 2 | 6.2% | 100% | 51 km |
| 35 | Cholet Maine-et-Loire | 1.7 | 4.1% | 0% | 84 km |
| 36 | Albi Tarn | 1.7 | 2.6% | 0% | 118 km |
| 37 | Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes | 1.6 | 20% | 2.1% | On it |
| 38 | Narbonne Aude | 1.2 | 11% | 63% | On it |
| 39 | Saint-Louis Réunion | 0.8 | 48% | 66% | On it |
| 40 | Saint-André Réunion | 0.6 | 16% | 31% | On it |
| 41 | Arles Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.4 | 3.1% | 90% | 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 Vannes
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Rives du Vincin leads, at 19 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Vallons de Kercado
Park or garden
5.3 ha1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
1.6 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Espace vert de Tohannic
Park or garden
4.5 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
1.4 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Garenne
Park or garden
2.6 ha2.2 km of path
30 minto walk all 2.2 km of path
0.7 km eastfrom the center
Allée des Frères JolivelAllée de la RésistanceAllée Agnès de la Barre de Nanteuil+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Butte de Kérino
Park or garden
5.2 ha0.5 km of path
1.7 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc urbain du Pargo
Park or garden
4.5 ha0.5 km of path
1.1 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de Lisa
Wood or forest
15 ha0.4 km of path
2.3 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin des remparts
Park or garden
1.2 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Vannes
Directionsto a point inside
All 20 named parks, gardens and woods
Rives du VincinWood or forest · 19 ha · 3.1 km of path
DirectionsVallons de KercadoPark or garden · 5.3 ha · 1.6 km of path
DirectionsEspace vert de TohannicPark or garden · 4.5 ha · 1.4 km of path
DirectionsParc de la GarennePark or garden · 2.6 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsButte de KérinoPark or garden · 5.2 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsParc urbain du PargoPark or garden · 4.5 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsBois de LisaWood or forest · 15 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsJardin des rempartsPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 1.1 km of path
DirectionsEsplanade des droits de l'hommePark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsParc du Palais des ArtsPark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsBois de BohalgoWood or forest · 3.4 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsBois de la LandeWood or forest · 2.3 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsJardin de la PréfecturePark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsParc des Vallons de KerizelPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsEspace Saint-Jean-des-PrésPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsParc de BohalgoPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsJardin de LimurPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsPlace de BretagnePark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsJardin du Manoir de TrussacPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsPollinarium des Salines de ConleauPark or garden · 0.3 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
33% of Vannes lies in protected areas
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Golfe du Morbihan Regional Nature Park
33% of the commune1.4 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Golfe du Morbihan, côte ouest de Rhuys
6.9% of the commune1.9 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Golfe du Morbihan
2 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area33%
Regional nature park33%
Natura 2000 site6.9%
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.
33% of Vannes’ land is protected, more than in 83% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Morbihan has 4.4%. 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
152 km of footpaths and 44 km of hiking routes cross Vannes
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
152 km
4.6 km per km²
Hiking routes
44 km
waymarked: 1.3 km per km²
Woodland
12%
about 4.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
VannesMorbihan medianFrance median
Footpaths4.6
Hiking routes1.3
036 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
VannesMorbihan medianFrance median
Woodland12%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 88% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 53% 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 Vannes is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
9 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Chemin des Douaniers, Vannes - Noyalo20 km
Chemin des Douaniers, Baden - Vannes17 km
Gwened au fil de son patrimoine17 km
Sentier des Gabelous9.8 km
Les Rives de Vannes9.6 km
Sentier des Culs Salés6.6 km
Circuit des Moulins4.9 km
Circuit des deux pointes4.6 km
Tour du bourg de Plescop4.3 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Vannes: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at St-Ave, 4.2 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°C) | 10 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 11 |
| Rain (mm) | 127 | 91 | 73 | 75 | 66 | 57 | 54 | 58 | 70 | 109 | 120 | 135 |
July is the driest month (54 mm) and the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 135 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 25 nights a year. The climate in Vannes →
Gardens
3 gardens to visit in Vannes
Named gardens in the commune.
Jardin de la PréfectureIn Vannes
DirectionsJardin des rempartsIn Vannes
DirectionsParc de la GarenneIn Vannes
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Vannes
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
SénéSaint-AvéArradonPlescopPloerenTheix-NoyaloVannes
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
Séné, Saint-Avé and Arradon have at least twice as much protected land. Saint-Avé 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 Vannes
Is Vannes in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Vannes lies in Golfe du Morbihan Regional Nature Park (33% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Vannes?
OpenStreetMap maps 152 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 4.6 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 44 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Vannes is woodland?
12% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Vannes near the sea?
Yes: the commune touches the coast, 0.5 km from its center.
When is the best time for walking in Vannes?
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.