First pick
Iloa
Park or garden
64 ha8.7 km of path
1 h 55 minto walk all 8.7 km of path
4.4 km westfrom the center
Chemin des Plaines
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Tabl-trai · CC BY-SA 4.0100%of the land protected
Outdoors in Thiers · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Thiers lies inside Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park
Protected areas cover 100% of Thiers’ land. Mapped woodland covers 43% of Thiers. Thiers has 34 km of waymarked hiking routes. 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
43%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
45 km
1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
34 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: Iloa
Throughout this page, the Puy-de-Dôme 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 Thiers?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Inside Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park100% of the commune is in the regional nature park.A wooded commune43% mapped woodland, more than in 87% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Thiers apart: the regional nature park around it, then its woods.
Against French towns
How Thiers 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
99out of 100
Woodland43%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
87out of 100
Footpaths1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
32out of 100
Hiking routes0.8 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
75out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Thiers has the 7th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (11,392 to 11,766 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Épinay-sous-Sénart (10.3 km per km²) to Baugé-en-Anjou (0.4 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Épinay-sous-Sénart Essonne | 10.3 | 54% | 0% | 171 km |
| 2 | Seyssinet-Pariset Isère | 6.6 | 60% | 57% | 203 km |
| 3 | Villecresnes Val-de-Marne | 6.5 | 27% | 0% | 170 km |
| 4 | Enghien-les-Bains Val-d'Oise | 5.4 | 0% | 0% | 137 km |
| 5 | Sassenage Isère | 4.6 | 48% | 50% | 205 km |
| 6 | Briançon Hautes-Alpes | 4.4 | 62% | 0% | 142 km |
| 7 | Gravelines Nord | 3.9 | 7.7% | 0% | On it |
| 8 | Gaillard Haute-Savoie | 3.9 | 14% | 8% | 286 km |
| 9 | Hœnheim Bas-Rhin | 3.7 | 0.5% | 0% | 448 km |
| 10 | Dugny Seine-Saint-Denis | 3.5 | 6.8% | 9.5% | 144 km |
| 11 | Arpajon Essonne | 3.3 | 2.4% | 0% | 167 km |
| 12 | Maizières-lès-Metz Moselle | 3.2 | 8.6% | 0% | 319 km |
| 13 | Plan-de-Cuques Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.2 | 0.6% | 59% | 8.8 km |
| 14 | Le Haillan Gironde | 3.2 | 18% | 3.4% | 16 km |
| 15 | Yvetot Seine-Maritime | 3 | 3.5% | 100% | 28 km |
| 16 | Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon Essonne | 3 | 16% | 0% | 167 km |
| 17 | Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer Var | 2.9 | 30% | 25% | On it |
| 18 | Dourdan Essonne | 2.8 | 58% | 0% | 157 km |
| 19 | Saint-Estève Pyrénées-Orientales | 2.8 | 2.8% | 0.5% | 16 km |
| 20 | Ploufragan Côtes-d'Armor | 2.5 | 13% | 0.2% | 5.7 km |
| 21 | Saverne Bas-Rhin | 2.5 | 65% | 0% | 418 km |
| 22 | Nœux-les-Mines Pas-de-Calais | 2.4 | 4.6% | 0% | 66 km |
| 23 | Vaux-le-Pénil Seine-et-Marne | 2.4 | 27% | 0% | 194 km |
| 24 | Ancenis-Saint-Géréon Loire-Atlantique | 2.4 | 10% | 27% | 71 km |
| 25 | Pacé Ille-et-Vilaine | 2.2 | 3.6% | 0% | 41 km |
| 26 | Bruay-sur-l'Escaut Nord | 2.1 | 14% | 98% | 102 km |
| 27 | Méricourt Pas-de-Calais | 2 | 4.3% | 0% | 79 km |
| 28 | Les Avirons Réunion | 1.7 | 47% | 78% | On it |
| 29 | Fourmies Nord | 1.6 | 48% | 100% | 157 km |
| 30 | Provins Seine-et-Marne | 1.6 | 6.6% | 0% | 215 km |
| 31 | Bolbec Seine-Maritime | 1.5 | 7.1% | 0% | 17 km |
| 32 | Somain Nord | 1.4 | 5.2% | 1.3% | 96 km |
| 33 | Chauny Aisne | 1.2 | 5.7% | 10% | 127 km |
| 34 | Biganos Gironde | 1.1 | 71% | 100% | On it |
| 35 | Thiers Puy-de-Dôme | 1 | 43% | 100% | 259 km |
| 36 | La Hague Manche | 1 | 5.5% | 14% | On it |
| 37 | Saint-Junien Haute-Vienne | 0.8 | 17% | 0% | 139 km |
| 38 | Pontchâteau Loire-Atlantique | 0.6 | 9.4% | 24% | 16 km |
| 39 | Pia Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.5 | 0.2% | 0% | 10 km |
| 40 | Vauvert Gard | 0.4 | 3.1% | 71% | 20 km |
| 41 | Baugé-en-Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.4 | 31% | 0.5% | 151 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 Thiers
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Iloa leads, at 64 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc du Breuil
Park or garden
2.6 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
1 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Jardins de l'Ancien Hôpital
Park or garden
2.4 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
0.9 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Étang du Chambon
Park or garden
3.1 ha0.1 km of path
3.3 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
L'Orangerie
Park or garden
1.5 ha0.4 km of path
0.8 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Protected land in and around Thiers
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park
100% of the commune
Natura 2000 site
Dore et affluents
1.9% of the commune3.3 km from the center
Natura 2000 site
Zones alluviales de la confluence Dore-Allier
1.1% of the commune3.6 km from the center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area100%
Regional nature park100%
Natura 2000 site3%
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 Thiers’ land is protected, more than in 99% of compared French towns; the median compared town in Puy-de-Dôme has 3.2%. 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
45 km of footpaths and 34 km of hiking routes cross Thiers
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
45 km
1 km per km²
Hiking routes
34 km
waymarked: 0.8 km per km²
Woodland
43%
about 19.1 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
ThiersPuy-de-Dôme medianFrance median
Footpaths1
Hiking routes0.8
012 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
ThiersPuy-de-Dôme medianFrance median
Woodland43%
0%50%100%
That is less than in 68% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 87% 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 Thiers is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
12 named hiking routes within 2 km
Other named walk
Le sentier de Pierre Folle11 km
Château de Vaulx - Thiers11 km
De l'Enfer aux Rouets10 km
Chemin de Montaigne de Thiers à Lezoux9.5 km
Thiers - Château de Vaulx9.4 km
Chemin de Montaigne de Saint-Jean-la-Vêtre à Thiers8.7 km
Les Terrasses de la Dore8.4 km
Le sentier de Néron5.9 km
Le Peage4.7 km
Le Puy d'Oscot3.4 km
La Vallee des Rouets1.4 km
Sentiers des Cabanes0.9 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Thiers: April and July to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Clermont-Fd, 31 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 | 8.7 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 27 | 23 | 18 | 12 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 27 | 19 | 26 | 51 | 67 | 68 | 63 | 62 | 58 | 49 | 46 | 29 |
February is the driest month (19 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 27 °C). 68 mm of rain falls in June, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 56 nights a year. The climate in Thiers →
Neighbors
Next to Thiers
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
CourpièreLezouxPuy-GuillaumeMaringuesVertaizonBillomThiers
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
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 Thiers
Is Thiers in a national or regional nature park?
Yes: Thiers lies in Livradois-Forez Regional Nature Park (100% of the commune).
Are there good walks in Thiers?
OpenStreetMap maps 45 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 34 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Thiers is woodland?
43% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Thiers near the sea?
No: the coast is 259 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Thiers?
April and July 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.