First pick
Bois de Cergy
Wood or forest · 110 m outside the commune
43 ha10.8 km of path
2 h 25 minto walk all 10.8 km of path
2.9 km southfrom the center
Chemin de Chasse-MaréeAllée Cavalière
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Patrick Jaloyan modified by Zil · CC BY-SA 2.011%woodland
Outdoors in Pontoise · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Pontoise has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
44 km of footpaths cross Pontoise (6.2 km per km²). Pontoise has 5 km of waymarked hiking routes. No protected area reaches Pontoise; the nearest, Vexin Français Regional Nature Park, is 1.3 km from the town center. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.
Protected areas
0.5%
of the commune’s land
Nearest: Vexin Français Regional Nature Park, 1.3 km
Woodland
11%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
44 km
6.2 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
4.6 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
13
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois de Cergy
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 Pontoise?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths6.2 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyVexin Français Regional Nature Park is 1.3 km from the town center.
What sets Pontoise apart: its footpaths, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Pontoise 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 areas0.5%Share of the land in a national park, regional nature park, nature reserve or Natura 2000 site
54out of 100
Woodland11%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
45out of 100
Footpaths6.2 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
94out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
70out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Pontoise has the 9th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (30,098 to 33,692 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Cachan (11.5 km per km²) to Carpentras (1.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cachan Val-de-Marne | 11.5 | 1.2% | 0% | 155 km |
| 2 | Montigny-le-Bretonneux Yvelines | 10 | 18% | 4.9% | 143 km |
| 3 | Tournefeuille Haute-Garonne | 7.5 | 9.4% | 0% | 153 km |
| 4 | L'Haÿ-les-Roses Val-de-Marne | 7.5 | 4% | 0% | 156 km |
| 5 | Thiais Val-de-Marne | 7.3 | 5.4% | 0% | 160 km |
| 6 | Savigny-le-Temple Seine-et-Marne | 6.5 | 15% | 0% | 183 km |
| 7 | Paris 3e Paris | 6.4 | 0.1% | 0% | 149 km |
| 8 | Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt Yvelines | 6.3 | 21% | 0% | 144 km |
| 9 | Pontoise Val-d'Oise | 6.2 | 11% | 0.5% | 121 km |
| 10 | Malakoff Hauts-de-Seine | 5.6 | 0% | 0% | 151 km |
| 11 | Plaisir Yvelines | 5.5 | 26% | 0% | 135 km |
| 12 | Viry-Châtillon Essonne | 5.4 | 4.4% | 0% | 168 km |
| 13 | Bègles Gironde | 5.3 | 5.5% | 8.9% | 23 km |
| 14 | Agen Lot-et-Garonne | 5 | 4.9% | 3.6% | 132 km |
| 15 | Draveil Essonne | 4.6 | 47% | 0% | 168 km |
| 16 | Ris-Orangis Essonne | 4.6 | 7.7% | 0% | 171 km |
| 17 | Lens Pas-de-Calais | 4.6 | 6.4% | 0% | 74 km |
| 18 | Chatou Yvelines | 4.5 | 0.3% | 0% | 138 km |
| 19 | Nogent-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 4.4 | 2.8% | 0% | 157 km |
| 20 | Vigneux-sur-Seine Essonne | 4.3 | 21% | 0% | 167 km |
| 21 | Aix-les-Bains Savoie | 3.9 | 14% | 20% | 246 km |
| 22 | Épinal Vosges | 3.7 | 67% | 0% | 413 km |
| 23 | Rillieux-la-Pape Rhône | 3.5 | 16% | 6.1% | 259 km |
| 24 | Menton Alpes-Maritimes | 3.5 | 32% | 20% | On it |
| 25 | Nevers Nièvre | 3.3 | 1.2% | 11% | 336 km |
| 26 | Villiers-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 3 | 2% | 0% | 160 km |
| 27 | Marignane Bouches-du-Rhône | 2.9 | 3.4% | 16% | 8.5 km |
| 28 | Cambrai Nord | 2.8 | 4.5% | 0% | 111 km |
| 29 | Herblay-sur-Seine Val-d'Oise | 2.7 | 10% | 0% | 128 km |
| 30 | Dreux Eure-et-Loir | 2.7 | 24% | 2.4% | 107 km |
| 31 | Bourgoin-Jallieu Isère | 2.7 | 13% | 0% | 240 km |
| 32 | Vienne Isère | 2.6 | 30% | 0.1% | 227 km |
| 33 | Montluçon Allier | 2.4 | 7.5% | 2.3% | 279 km |
| 34 | La Garenne-Colombes Hauts-de-Seine | 2.2 | 0% | 0% | 141 km |
| 35 | Saint-Laurent-du-Var Alpes-Maritimes | 2.2 | 6.3% | 8.8% | On it |
| 36 | Mont-de-Marsan Landes | 2.1 | 33% | 4.9% | 70 km |
| 37 | Goussainville Val-d'Oise | 1.7 | 2.8% | 0% | 139 km |
| 38 | Romans-sur-Isère Drôme | 1.7 | 11% | 12% | 178 km |
| 39 | Saint-Médard-en-Jalles Gironde | 1.7 | 46% | 4.4% | 17 km |
| 40 | Châtellerault Vienne | 1.6 | 4.3% | 0% | 140 km |
| 41 | Carpentras Vaucluse | 1.1 | 6% | 64% | 69 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 Pontoise
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de Cergy leads, at 43 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Parc des Larris
Park or garden
11 ha2.7 km of path
35 minto walk all 2.7 km of path
2.1 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois Dame Jeanne
Wood or forest · 120 m outside the commune
44 ha1.1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.1 km of path
3.9 km northfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc François Mitterrand
Park or garden · 350 m outside the commune
9.1 ha1.3 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.3 km of path
2.3 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Parc du Château de Marcouville
Park or garden
5 ha0.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Pontoise
Directionsto a point inside
Jardin de la Ville
Park or garden
2.1 ha1.4 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Pontoise
Directionsto a point inside
Parc de la Mairie
Park or garden · 350 m outside the commune
2.3 ha0.6 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.6 km of path
1.3 km south-eastfrom the center
Chemin des ÉcoliersAllée de Fano
Directionsto a point inside
Le Jardin des Lavandières
Park or garden
1.4 ha0.4 km of path
Centralin the middle of Pontoise
Directionsto a point inside
All 13 named parks, gardens and woods
Bois de CergyWood or forest · 43 ha · 10.8 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc des LarrisPark or garden · 11 ha · 2.7 km of path
DirectionsBois Dame JeanneWood or forest · 44 ha · 1.1 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc François MitterrandPark or garden · 9.1 ha · 1.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsParc du Château de MarcouvillePark or garden · 5 ha · 0.2 km of path
DirectionsJardin de la VillePark or garden · 2.1 ha · 1.4 km of path
DirectionsParc de la MairiePark or garden · 2.3 ha · 0.6 km of path · just outside
DirectionsLe Jardin des LavandièresPark or garden · 1.4 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsParc du Musée PissarroPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsParc de la PépinièrePark or garden · 1 ha · just outside
DirectionsParc BossuPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsLe VergerPark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.3 km of path · just outside
DirectionsJardins du DômePark or garden · 0.3 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Vexin Français Regional Nature Park is the nearest protected area, 1.3 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
Vexin Français Regional Nature Park
1.3 km from the town center
Share of the commune’s land
Any protected area0.5%
Regional nature park0.5%
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.
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
Footpaths and woods in Pontoise
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
44 km
6.2 km per km²
Hiking routes
4.6 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
11%
about 0.8 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
PontoiseVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Footpaths6.2
Hiking routes0.6
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
PontoiseVal-d'Oise medianFrance median
Woodland11%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 94% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 55% 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 Pontoise is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
3 named hiking routes within 2 km
PR (local walk)Other named walk
PR B022.9 km
Le Fil d'Ariane5.8 km
Chemin des Peintres vert1.9 km
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Pontoise: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Pontoise -Ville, 1 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) | 8.6 | 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 Pontoise →
Neighbors
Next to Pontoise
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
Saint-Ouen-l'AumôneOsnyÉragny-sur-OiseCergyAuvers-sur-OisePierrelayePontoise
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pontoise | 0.5% | 11% | 6.2 |
| Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône 25,578 · 2 km | 0% | 7.4% | 3.2 |
| Osny 17,954 · 2.4 km | 0.1% | 14% | 3.2 |
| Éragny-sur-Oise 18,436 · 3.6 km | 0% | 15% | 4.1 |
| Cergy 70,906 · 3.8 km | 0% | 13% | 11.2 |
| Auvers-sur-Oise 6,863 · 5.4 km | 100% | 19% | 1.7 |
| Pierrelaye 10,130 · 5.6 km | 0% | 20% | 2.4 |
Auvers-sur-Oise has at least twice as much protected land.
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 Pontoise
Is Pontoise in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Vexin Français Regional Nature Park, 1.3 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Pontoise?
OpenStreetMap maps 44 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 6.2 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 5 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Pontoise is woodland?
11% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Pontoise near the sea?
No: the coast is 121 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Pontoise?
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.