First pick
Prairie du Vignois
Park or garden
12 ha2 km of path
25 minto walk all 2 km of path
1.3 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: P.poschadel · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr4%woodland
Outdoors in Gonesse · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Gonesse is within 800 m of a park or wood
Mapped woodland covers 4% of Gonesse. No protected area reaches Gonesse; the nearest, Sites de Seine-Saint-Denis (Natura 2000), is 4.1 km from the town center. Gonesse has 1 km of waymarked hiking routes. 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: Sites de Seine-Saint-Denis, 4.1 km
Woodland
4%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
43 km
2.1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.1 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
8
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Prairie du Vignois
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 Gonesse?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
Protected land nearbySites de Seine-Saint-Denis (Natura 2000) is 4.1 km from the town center.Little mapped woodland4% of the land, against 13% for the median compared town.
What sets Gonesse apart: protected land close by. It is shorter on woodland.
Against French towns
How Gonesse 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
Woodland4%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
19out of 100
Footpaths2.1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
60out of 100
Hiking routes0.1 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
28out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Gonesse has the 6th fewest footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (26,241 to 29,055 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Paris 4e (12.9 km per km²) to Bergerac (1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris 4e Paris | 12.9 | 0% | 0% | 150 km |
| 2 | Lyon 1er Rhône | 11.3 | 1.1% | 0% | 253 km |
| 3 | Taverny Val-d'Oise | 10.5 | 33% | 0.4% | 129 km |
| 4 | Champs-sur-Marne Seine-et-Marne | 9.6 | 36% | 0.1% | 160 km |
| 5 | Grigny Essonne | 8.7 | 7.2% | 0% | 170 km |
| 6 | Le Plessis-Robinson Hauts-de-Seine | 8.6 | 13% | 0% | 153 km |
| 7 | Élancourt Yvelines | 8.2 | 26% | 3.5% | 138 km |
| 8 | Vanves Hauts-de-Seine | 7.3 | 3.4% | 0% | 150 km |
| 9 | Cormeilles-en-Parisis Val-d'Oise | 7.2 | 14% | 0% | 133 km |
| 10 | Gradignan Gironde | 6.8 | 17% | 0% | 26 km |
| 11 | Yerres Essonne | 6.6 | 36% | 0% | 169 km |
| 12 | Sannois Val-d'Oise | 6 | 17% | 0% | 135 km |
| 13 | Bussy-Saint-Georges Seine-et-Marne | 5.9 | 31% | 2.3% | 167 km |
| 14 | Charenton-le-Pont Val-de-Marne | 5.9 | 0.7% | 0% | 155 km |
| 15 | Armentières Nord | 5.9 | 3.8% | 0% | 50 km |
| 16 | Sucy-en-Brie Val-de-Marne | 5.7 | 31% | 0% | 165 km |
| 17 | Blagnac Haute-Garonne | 5.6 | 5.4% | 7.5% | 152 km |
| 18 | Cenon Gironde | 5.4 | 8.9% | 0% | 18 km |
| 19 | Limeil-Brévannes Val-de-Marne | 4.8 | 29% | 0% | 165 km |
| 20 | Lambersart Nord | 4.7 | 3.4% | 0% | 59 km |
| 21 | Bois-Colombes Hauts-de-Seine | 4.6 | 0% | 0% | 141 km |
| 22 | Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire Loire-Atlantique | 4.5 | 9.9% | 23% | 41 km |
| 23 | Orvault Loire-Atlantique | 3.9 | 17% | 0% | 37 km |
| 24 | Sotteville-lès-Rouen Seine-Maritime | 3.9 | 1.4% | 0% | 53 km |
| 25 | Illkirch-Graffenstaden Bas-Rhin | 3.9 | 30% | 26% | 454 km |
| 26 | La Garde Var | 3.8 | 7.6% | 25% | On it |
| 27 | Dieppe Seine-Maritime | 3.3 | 2.9% | 2.7% | On it |
| 28 | Périgueux Dordogne | 3.1 | 10% | 0% | 105 km |
| 29 | Sens Yonne | 3.1 | 4.6% | 0% | 249 km |
| 30 | Brétigny-sur-Orge Essonne | 3 | 9.5% | 0% | 169 km |
| 31 | Montfermeil Seine-Saint-Denis | 2.9 | 8.2% | 5.5% | 155 km |
| 32 | Soissons Aisne | 2.7 | 7.5% | 0% | 148 km |
| 33 | Rambouillet Yvelines | 2.6 | 48% | 74% | 139 km |
| 34 | Maubeuge Nord | 2.6 | 2.2% | 0.1% | 129 km |
| 35 | Lunel Hérault | 2.2 | 0.4% | 0.6% | 14 km |
| 36 | Gonesse Val-d'Oise | 2.1 | 4% | 0% | 141 km |
| 37 | Villeparisis Seine-et-Marne | 1.9 | 13% | 0% | 153 km |
| 38 | Saumur Maine-et-Loire | 1.5 | 15% | 100% | 133 km |
| 39 | La Teste-de-Buch Gironde | 1.1 | 56% | 46% | On it |
| 40 | Étampes Essonne | 1 | 12% | 0% | 172 km |
| 41 | Bergerac Dordogne | 1 | 14% | 1.9% | 86 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 Gonesse
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Prairie du Vignois leads, at 12 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc de l'Eglantier
Park or garden
5.8 ha1.3 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gonesse
Directionsto a point inside
Square Charles Gounod
Park or garden
4.4 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gonesse
Directionsto a point inside
Square du Nord
Park or garden
3.3 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
1.4 km north-westfrom the center
Square du Nord
Directionsto a point inside
Parc Urbain Saint Blin
Park or garden
3.7 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
Centralin the middle of Gonesse
Directionsto a point inside
Bois de l'Aviation
Wood or forest
8.1 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
4 km eastfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Géothermie
Park or garden · 130 m outside the commune
1.2 ha0.2 km of path
1.8 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de l'Hôtel de Ville
Park or garden
0.6 ha0.1 km of path
1.5 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
Sites de Seine-Saint-Denis is the nearest protected area, 4.1 km away
The protected areas reaching the commune, and the nearest: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 site
Sites de Seine-Saint-Denis
4.1 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
43 km of footpaths cross Gonesse
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
43 km
2.1 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.1 km
waymarked: 0.1 km per km²
Woodland
4%
about 0.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
GonesseVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Footpaths2.1
Hiking routes0.1
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
GonesseVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Woodland4%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 60% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 81% 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 Gonesse is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
2 named hiking routes within 2 km
PR (local walk)Other named walk
PR 144.4 km
Via Sancti Martini - Chemin d'Utrecht7 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Gonesse: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Le Bourget, 2.8 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 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 47 | 41 | 44 | 43 | 61 | 54 | 56 | 53 | 45 | 57 | 54 | 63 |
February is the driest month (41 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 63 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 37 nights a year. The climate in Gonesse →
Neighbors
Next to Gonesse
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
ArnouvilleVilliers-le-BelLe ThillayGarges-lès-GonesseSarcellesDugnyGonesse
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonesse | 0% | 4% | 2.1 |
| Arnouville 15,023 · 1.1 km | 0% | 4.6% | 1.6 |
| Villiers-le-Bel 30,053 · 2.7 km | 0% | 5.1% | 7 |
| Le Thillay 4,560 · 3.2 km | 0% | 2.5% | 0.5 |
| Garges-lès-Gonesse 41,791 · 3.3 km | 0% | 8.7% | 4 |
| Sarcelles 59,173 · 4 km | 0% | 6.9% | 4.9 |
| Dugny 11,700 · 4.4 km | 9.5% | 6.8% | 3.5 |
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 Gonesse
Is Gonesse in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Sites de Seine-Saint-Denis, 4.1 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Gonesse?
OpenStreetMap maps 43 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 1 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Gonesse is woodland?
4% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Gonesse near the sea?
No: the coast is 141 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Gonesse?
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.