First pick
Forêt domaniale de Montmorency
Wood or forest
1,619 ha186.8 km of path
41 h 30 minto walk all 186.8 km of path
4.2 km eastfrom the center
Route Forestière du FaîteRoute Forestière des FondsFoutue Route+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: VVVCFFrance · CC029%woodland
Outdoors in Bessancourt · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Bessancourt has more footpaths per km² than 8 in 10 French towns
Footpaths add up to 29 km across Bessancourt (4.6 km per km²). No protected area reaches Bessancourt; the nearest, Oise-Pays de France Regional Nature Park, is 1.8 km from the town center. Mapped woodland covers 29% of Bessancourt. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Oise-Pays de France Regional Nature Park, 1.8 km
Woodland
29%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
29 km
4.6 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.7 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
10
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Forêt domaniale de Montmorency
Throughout this page, the Val-d'Oise 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 Bessancourt?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths4.6 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.A wooded commune29% mapped woodland, more than in 75% of compared French towns, against 13% for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyOise-Pays de France Regional Nature Park is 1.8 km from the town center.
What sets Bessancourt apart: its footpaths, then its woods.
Against French towns
How Bessancourt 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 areas0%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
22out of 100
Woodland29%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
75out of 100
Footpaths4.6 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
88out of 100
Hiking routes0.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
31out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Bessancourt has the 5th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (8,709 to 9,034 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Beauzelle (5.6 km per km²) to Sarlat-la-Canéda (0.3 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beauzelle Haute-Garonne | 5.6 | 9.2% | 25% | 154 km |
| 2 | Le Portel Pas-de-Calais | 5.5 | 3.3% | 6.7% | On it |
| 3 | Wingles Pas-de-Calais | 5.1 | 13% | 0% | 69 km |
| 4 | Les Angles Gard | 5.1 | 27% | 13% | 56 km |
| 5 | Bessancourt Val-d'Oise | 4.6 | 29% | 0% | 127 km |
| 6 | Epagny Metz-Tessy Haute-Savoie | 4.4 | 24% | 0% | 264 km |
| 7 | Périgny Charente-Maritime | 4.1 | 3.4% | 0% | 4.1 km |
| 8 | Chartres-de-Bretagne Ille-et-Vilaine | 4.1 | 5.2% | 0% | 55 km |
| 9 | Quetigny Côte-d'Or | 4 | 0.7% | 0% | 406 km |
| 10 | Meulan-en-Yvelines Yvelines | 3.8 | 11% | 0.4% | 118 km |
| 11 | Gouvieux Oise | 3.5 | 43% | 100% | 122 km |
| 12 | Velaux Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.2 | 29% | 25% | 19 km |
| 13 | Longvic Côte-d'Or | 3.1 | 3.4% | 0% | 406 km |
| 14 | Pibrac Haute-Garonne | 3 | 27% | 0% | 159 km |
| 15 | Gretz-Armainvilliers Seine-et-Marne | 3 | 57% | 0% | 176 km |
| 16 | Quéven Morbihan | 2.9 | 26% | 5.9% | On it |
| 17 | Irigny Rhône | 2.8 | 13% | 0% | 242 km |
| 18 | Bellerive-sur-Allier Allier | 2.7 | 23% | 2.2% | 289 km |
| 19 | Cébazat Puy-de-Dôme | 2.6 | 5.6% | 0% | 263 km |
| 20 | Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux Drôme | 2.3 | 19% | 0% | 100 km |
| 21 | Boucau Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 2.2 | 26% | 5.8% | 3.1 km |
| 22 | Saint-Jean-de-Monts Vendée | 2.2 | 13% | 73% | On it |
| 23 | Golbey Vosges | 2.2 | 26% | 0% | 411 km |
| 24 | Morières-lès-Avignon Vaucluse | 2.1 | 4.7% | 0% | 54 km |
| 25 | Lempdes Puy-de-Dôme | 2.1 | 1.8% | 0% | 254 km |
| 26 | Roquevaire Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.1 | 11% | 66% | 15 km |
| 27 | Le Teil Ardèche | 2 | 37% | 0% | 120 km |
| 28 | Cornebarrieu Haute-Garonne | 1.9 | 13% | 0% | 158 km |
| 29 | Pithiviers Loiret | 1.5 | 2.2% | 0% | 198 km |
| 30 | Monistrol-sur-Loire Haute-Loire | 1.4 | 34% | 16% | 192 km |
| 31 | La Chapelle-d'Armentières Nord | 1.3 | 2.2% | 0% | 52 km |
| 32 | Joigny Yonne | 0.9 | 70% | 0% | 274 km |
| 33 | Gonfreville-l'Orcher Seine-Maritime | 0.9 | 5.2% | 6.1% | On it |
| 34 | La Ferté-Bernard Sarthe | 0.9 | 1.2% | 0% | 135 km |
| 35 | Veauche Loire | 0.9 | 1.5% | 3.3% | 223 km |
| 36 | Le Thor Vaucluse | 0.7 | 0.9% | 7.2% | 54 km |
| 37 | Ombrée d'Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.7 | 11% | 0% | 94 km |
| 38 | Nangis Seine-et-Marne | 0.6 | 10% | 0% | 205 km |
| 39 | Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue Vaucluse | 0.5 | 2% | 11% | 61 km |
| 40 | Les Hauts-d'Anjou Maine-et-Loire | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.1% | 121 km |
| 41 | Sarlat-la-Canéda Dordogne | 0.3 | 42% | 10% | 143 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 Bessancourt
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt domaniale de Montmorency leads, at 1,619 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bois du Parc Barrachin (Bois de Beauchamp)
Wood or forest
54 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
2.7 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de Beauchamp
Wood or forest
60 ha0.3 km of path
2.3 km westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
93
Wood or forest · 340 m outside the commune
12 ha1.3 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
2.3 km eastfrom the center
Chemin de MontuboisRoute des Fonds
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du Château
Park or garden
2.5 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Bessancourt
Directionsto a point inside
Parc aux Oiseaux
Park or garden · 380 m outside the commune
0.7 ha0.4 km of path
1.4 km south-eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Les Brosses
Wood or forest
2.3 ha0.3 km of path
1 km north-westfrom the center
Chemin latéral des Beaux Lions
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Keller
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Bessancourt
Directionsto a point inside
All 10 named parks, gardens and woods
Forêt domaniale de MontmorencyWood or forest · 1,619 ha · 186.8 km of path
DirectionsBois du Parc Barrachin (Bois de Beauchamp)Wood or forest · 54 ha · 1.4 km of path
DirectionsBois de BeauchampWood or forest · 60 ha · 0.3 km of path
Directions93Wood or forest · 12 ha · 1.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc du ChâteauPark or garden · 2.5 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsParc aux OiseauxPark or garden · 0.7 ha · 0.4 km of path · just outside
DirectionsLes BrossesWood or forest · 2.3 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsParc KellerPark or garden · 0.6 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsParc des MeuniersPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsJardins Pierre RabhiPark or garden · 0.6 ha
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Oise-Pays de France Regional Nature Park is the nearest protected area, 1.8 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Regional nature park
Oise-Pays de France Regional Nature Park
1.8 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0%
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.
Source: INPN / PatriNat, protected areas July 2026, Natura 2000 December 2024; shares of IGN’s commune boundary.
Footpaths and woods
Footpaths and woods in Bessancourt
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
29 km
4.6 km per km²
Hiking routes
0.7 km
waymarked: 0.1 km per km²
Woodland
29%
about 1.9 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BessancourtVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Footpaths4.6
Hiking routes0.1
036 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BessancourtVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Woodland29%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 88% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 75% 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 Bessancourt is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR de PaysOther named walk
GRP de la Ceinture Verte, étape 12 : La Forêt de Montmorency1 km
Sentier des Lisières9 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Bessancourt: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Pontoise -Ville, 9.2 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 58 | 52 | 49 | 45 | 62 | 54 | 49 | 53 | 46 | 64 | 59 | 75 |
April is the driest month (45 mm) and August the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 75 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 35 nights a year. The climate in Bessancourt →
Neighbors
Next to Bessancourt
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
FrépillonTavernyBeauchampMéry-sur-OiseSaint-Leu-la-ForêtMérielBessancourt
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bessancourt | 0% | 29% | 4.6 |
| Frépillon 3,317 · 1.5 km | 0.2% | 19% | 4.3 |
| Taverny 27,593 · 2 km | 0.4% | 33% | 10.5 |
| Beauchamp 9,849 · 3 km | 0% | 12% | 4.2 |
| Méry-sur-Oise 9,983 · 3.4 km | 0% | 35% | 3.6 |
| Saint-Leu-la-Forêt 16,138 · 3.7 km | 0.5% | 36% | 8.5 |
| Mériel 5,347 · 4 km | 9.5% | 41% | 6 |
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 Bessancourt
Is Bessancourt in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Oise-Pays de France Regional Nature Park, 1.8 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Bessancourt?
OpenStreetMap maps 29 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).
How much of Bessancourt is woodland?
29% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Bessancourt near the sea?
No: the coast is 127 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Bessancourt?
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.