First pick
Parc Jacques Vernier
Park or garden
33 ha7.2 km of path
1 h 35 minto walk all 7.2 km of path
1.8 km north-eastfrom the center
Voie Verte de la Scarpe Inférieure
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.01.1%of the land protected
Outdoors in Douai · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Douai is within 800 m of a park or wood
59 km of footpaths cross Douai (3.5 km per km²). Waymarked hiking routes add up to 17 km in Douai. 5.3% of Douai is mapped woodland. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
1.1%
of the commune’s land
Compared town: 0.1%
Woodland
5.3%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
59 km
3.5 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
19
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc Jacques Vernier
Throughout this page, the Nord 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 Douai?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths3.5 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.On waymarked routes17 km of GR and other hiking routes cross the commune.
What sets Douai apart: its footpaths, then its hiking routes.
Against French towns
How Douai 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 areas1.1%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
56out of 100
Woodland5.3%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
24out of 100
Footpaths3.5 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
80out of 100
Hiking routes1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
83out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Douai has the 20th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (37,601 to 43,086 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Saint-Martin-d'Hères (10.1 km per km²) to Saint-Benoît (0.4 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint-Martin-d'Hères Isère | 10.1 | 14% | 0% | 203 km |
| 2 | Paris 6e Paris | 8.4 | 1.7% | 0% | 149 km |
| 3 | Annemasse Haute-Savoie | 8.3 | 2.4% | 0% | 286 km |
| 4 | Franconville Val-d'Oise | 8.2 | 27% | 0% | 132 km |
| 5 | Bron Rhône | 7.1 | 6.1% | 0% | 251 km |
| 6 | Villepinte Seine-Saint-Denis | 7 | 15% | 16% | 149 km |
| 7 | Marseille 6e Bouches-du-Rhône | 6.8 | 1.2% | 0% | 1 km |
| 8 | Neuilly-sur-Marne Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.6 | 9.5% | 11% | 157 km |
| 9 | Arras Pas-de-Calais | 6.5 | 3.4% | 0% | 78 km |
| 10 | Colomiers Haute-Garonne | 6.4 | 5.5% | 0% | 155 km |
| 11 | Stains Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.3 | 6.9% | 14% | 142 km |
| 12 | Boulogne-sur-Mer Pas-de-Calais | 5.8 | 1.3% | 0% | On it |
| 13 | Chartres Eure-et-Loir | 5.5 | 2.4% | 0% | 138 km |
| 14 | Bagnolet Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.5 | 1.4% | 3.6% | 151 km |
| 15 | Gagny Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.3 | 9.6% | 0.5% | 155 km |
| 16 | Oullins-Pierre-Bénite Rhône | 4.2 | 2.3% | 0% | 246 km |
| 17 | Pontault-Combault Seine-et-Marne | 4.1 | 27% | 0% | 166 km |
| 18 | Angoulême Charente | 4.1 | 14% | 3.6% | 75 km |
| 19 | Garges-lès-Gonesse Val-d'Oise | 4 | 8.7% | 0% | 141 km |
| 20 | Thonon-les-Bains Haute-Savoie | 3.8 | 17% | 8.5% | 299 km |
| 21 | Bourg-en-Bresse Ain | 3.5 | 16% | 0% | 307 km |
| 22 | Douai Nord | 3.5 | 5.3% | 1.1% | 88 km |
| 23 | Marcq-en-Barœul Nord | 3.4 | 3.7% | 0% | 60 km |
| 24 | Compiègne Oise | 3.4 | 74% | 76% | 119 km |
| 25 | Savigny-sur-Orge Essonne | 3.4 | 2.2% | 0% | 166 km |
| 26 | La Ciotat Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.4 | 20% | 27% | On it |
| 27 | Wattrelos Nord | 3.1 | 3.3% | 0% | 60 km |
| 28 | Tremblay-en-France Seine-Saint-Denis | 3 | 3.9% | 0% | 151 km |
| 29 | Poissy Yvelines | 3 | 12% | 0% | 131 km |
| 30 | Le Cannet Alpes-Maritimes | 2.8 | 9.9% | 0% | 2.4 km |
| 31 | Thionville Moselle | 2.7 | 33% | 0% | 307 km |
| 32 | Joué-lès-Tours Indre-et-Loire | 2.5 | 15% | 0% | 179 km |
| 33 | Villenave-d'Ornon Gironde | 2.4 | 7% | 14% | 26 km |
| 34 | Gap Hautes-Alpes | 2.3 | 28% | 33% | 133 km |
| 35 | Châteauroux Indre | 2.3 | 3.8% | 4.8% | 224 km |
| 36 | Châlons-en-Champagne Marne | 2.2 | 0.7% | 0% | 237 km |
| 37 | Montélimar Drôme | 1.8 | 8% | 0.9% | 123 km |
| 38 | Draguignan Var | 1.5 | 29% | 0% | 26 km |
| 39 | Castres Tarn | 1.1 | 9.7% | 1.2% | 90 km |
| 40 | Saint-Joseph Réunion | 0.6 | 50% | 85% | On it |
| 41 | Saint-Benoît Réunion | 0.4 | 59% | 78% | 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 Douai
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc Jacques Vernier leads, at 33 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Terril des Paturelles
Wood or forest
78 ha5.1 km of path
1 h 5 minto walk all 5.1 km of path
5.1 km north-eastfrom the center
Single des PaturellesSingle de l'Escarpelle de WarenChemin du Marais de l'Escarpelle+3 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Charles Fenain
Park or garden
17 ha3.5 km of path
45 minto walk all 3.5 km of path
2.7 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de l'enfant Jésus
Park or garden
13 ha2.5 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.5 km of path
2.4 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Terril de l'Escarpelle
Wood or forest · 100 m outside the commune
30 ha3.5 km of path
45 minto walk all 3.5 km of path
3.7 km north-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Urbain
Park or garden · 10 m outside the commune
9 ha2.8 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.8 km of path
3.1 km southfrom the center
Chemin des Allemands
Directionsto a point inside
Bois des Anglais
Wood or forest
35 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
2.4 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Actif
Park or garden
7.2 ha2.5 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.5 km of path
2.7 km southfrom the center
Chemin des Allemands
Directionsto a point inside
All 19 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc Jacques VernierPark or garden · 33 ha · 7.2 km of path
DirectionsTerril des PaturellesWood or forest · 78 ha · 5.1 km of path
DirectionsParc Charles FenainPark or garden · 17 ha · 3.5 km of path
DirectionsParc de l'enfant JésusPark or garden · 13 ha · 2.5 km of path
DirectionsTerril de l'EscarpelleWood or forest · 30 ha · 3.5 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc UrbainPark or garden · 9 ha · 2.8 km of path · just outside
DirectionsBois des AnglaisWood or forest · 35 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsParc ActifPark or garden · 7.2 ha · 2.5 km of path
DirectionsParc Charles BertinPark or garden · 6.3 ha · 2.2 km of path
DirectionsLes Bois RivauxWood or forest · 8.8 ha · 2.6 km of path · just outside
DirectionsEsplanade de l'ArsenalPark or garden · 3 ha · 0.9 km of path
DirectionsJardin de la Tour des DamesPark or garden · 2.8 ha · 1 km of path
DirectionsPlaine de Jeux de la Résidence Notre-DamePark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.8 km of path · just outside
DirectionsLa Butte aux GibonsPark or garden · 0.8 ha
DirectionsJardin des PlantesPark or garden · 0.7 ha
DirectionsJardins du musée de la ChartreusePark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsSquare Pierre BrossolettePark or garden · 0.2 ha · 0.1 km of path
DirectionsPlace de JemmapesPark or garden · 0.4 ha
DirectionsSquare RogerolPark or garden · 0.2 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
1.1% of Douai 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
Scarpe-Escaut Regional Nature Park
4.3 km from the town center
Nature reserve
Marais de Wagnonville nature reserve
1% of the commune2 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area1.1%
Regional nature park0.1%
Nature reserve1%
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.
1.1% of Douai’s land is protected, more than in 56% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Nord has 0%. 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
59 km of footpaths and 17 km of hiking routes cross Douai
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
59 km
3.5 km per km²
Hiking routes
17 km
waymarked: 1 km per km²
Woodland
5.3%
about 0.9 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
DouaiNord medianFrance median
Footpaths3.5
Hiking routes1
024 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
DouaiNord medianFrance median
Woodland5.3%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 80% 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 Douai is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
6 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 121B2 km
Boucle 4 - Le Douaisis à pas de Géants22 km
Au fil de la Scarpe14 km
Terril 81A - Libercourt9.2 km
Boucle du Vivier7.3 km
Circuit de la Cité Gayant6.4 km
GR 121B passes within 2 km of Douai.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Douai: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Douai, 1.9 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) | 8.5 | 10.0 | 11.7 | 13.7 | 15.4 | 16.4 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 8.9 | 8.0 |
| High (°C) | 6 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 58 | 51 | 53 | 42 | 57 | 63 | 68 | 68 | 61 | 64 | 71 | 73 |
April is the driest month (42 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 24 °C). 73 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 48 nights a year. The climate in Douai →
Neighbors
Next to Douai
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
WaziersCuincySin-le-NobleLambres-lez-DouaiFlers-en-EscrebieuxCourchelettesDouai
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douai | 1.1% | 5.3% | 3.5 |
| Waziers 7,266 · 2.2 km | 0% | 4.9% | 2.2 |
| Cuincy 6,467 · 2.3 km | 0% | 13% | 1.6 |
| Sin-le-Noble 16,076 · 2.5 km | 0.1% | 12% | 2.7 |
| Lambres-lez-Douai 4,883 · 2.7 km | 0% | 4.4% | 1.8 |
| Flers-en-Escrebieux 5,424 · 2.9 km | 1% | 12% | 1.5 |
| Courchelettes 2,855 · 3.8 km | 0% | 6.5% | 4.3 |
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 Douai
Is Douai in a national or regional nature park?
No, but 1.1% of its land is in a nature reserve or a Natura 2000 site.
Are there good walks in Douai?
OpenStreetMap maps 59 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 3.5 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 17 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Douai is woodland?
5.3% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Douai near the sea?
No: the coast is 88 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Douai?
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 8, 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.