Photo: EYOM · Public domain

25%woodland

Outdoors in Saint-Benoît · protected areas, woods and footpaths

Almost every home in Saint-Benoît is within 800 m of a park or wood

Footpaths add up to 45 km across Saint-Benoît (3.3 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 25% of Saint-Benoît. No protected area reaches Saint-Benoît; the nearest, Plaines du Mirebalais et du Neuvillois (Natura 2000), is 9.5 km from the town center. France has no Outdoors Grade yet: these are the figures, each beside the compared towns’ median.

25%woodland 45km of footpaths

Protected areas

of the commune’s land

Nearest: Plaines du Mirebalais et du Neuvillois, 9.5 km

Woodland

25%

of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap

Compared town: 13%

Footpaths

45 km

3.3 km per km²

Compared town: 1.7 km per km²

Hiking routes

6.1 km

waymarked, GR and others

Compared town: 0.3 km per km²

Parks & woods

named, in or within 400 m of the commune

First: Forêt communale de Ligugé

Throughout this page, the Vienne 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 Saint-Benoît?

Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.

A place of footpaths3.3 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyPlaines du Mirebalais et du Neuvillois (Natura 2000) is 9.5 km from the town center.

What sets Saint-Benoît apart: its footpaths, then protected land close by.

Against French towns

How Saint-Benoît 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

Woodland25%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap

70out of 100

Footpaths3.3 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune

77out of 100

Hiking routes0.4 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune

58out of 100

Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.

Towns its size

Saint-Benoît has the 9th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size

The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (7,292 to 7,454 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.

Saint-Benoît 3.3

GièresLanton

048 km per km²

From Gières (7.2 km per km²) to Lanton (0.2 km per km²).

Every town in the comparison

	Town	Paths (km/km²)	Woodland	Protected	Coast
1	Gières Isère	7.2	35%	0%	202 km
2	Gournay-sur-Marne Seine-Saint-Denis	6	4.3%	0%	159 km
3	Villemoisson-sur-Orge Essonne	4.3	13%	0%	167 km
4	Lisses Essonne	3.8	22%	2.9%	176 km
5	Soisy-sur-Seine Essonne	3.6	64%	0%	173 km
6	Remiremont Vosges	3.5	70%	18%	432 km
7	Cournonterral Hérault	3.4	3.1%	62%	13 km
8	Roquefort-les-Pins Alpes-Maritimes	3.3	52%	15%	8 km
9	Saint-Benoît Vienne	3.3	25%	0%	116 km
10	Clisson Loire-Atlantique	3.1	9%	0%	54 km
11	Audun-le-Tiche Moselle	3	42%	0%	288 km
12	Courdimanche Val-d'Oise	3	17%	0%	118 km
13	Fabrègues Hérault	2.9	7.6%	8.4%	9.4 km
14	Barlin Pas-de-Calais	2.9	5.8%	0%	65 km
15	Perros-Guirec Côtes-d'Armor	2.9	17%	7%	On it
16	Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d'Or Rhône	2.7	20%	0%	256 km
17	Courtry Seine-et-Marne	2.5	19%	0%	155 km
18	Moyeuvre-Grande Moselle	2.4	45%	0%	310 km
19	Pontcharra Isère	2	39%	0%	217 km
20	Carhaix-Plouguer Finistère	1.9	12%	0%	40 km
21	Paimpol Côtes-d'Armor	1.9	12%	12%	On it
22	Nanteuil-lès-Meaux Seine-et-Marne	1.9	26%	0%	164 km
23	Saujon Charente-Maritime	1.8	4%	14%	4.1 km
24	Le Pian-Médoc Gironde	1.6	60%	100%	8.2 km
25	Toulouges Pyrénées-Orientales	1.6	0.2%	0%	17 km
26	Fresnes-sur-Escaut Nord	1.5	24%	100%	100 km
27	Langres Haute-Marne	1.2	9.7%	0.1%	371 km
28	Pordic Côtes-d'Armor	1.2	8.1%	0%	On it
29	Yssingeaux Haute-Loire	1.2	39%	15%	176 km
30	Saint-Christol-lez-Alès Gard	1.2	21%	0%	57 km
31	Lagnieu Ain	1.1	35%	0%	274 km
32	Trélissac Dordogne	0.9	43%	0%	109 km
33	Saint-Nicolas-de-Port Meurthe-et-Moselle	0.9	11%	0%	376 km
34	Ruelle-sur-Touvre Charente	0.8	6.5%	8%	81 km
35	Digoin Saône-et-Loire	0.8	12%	6.1%	325 km
36	Rosny-sur-Seine Yvelines	0.7	60%	62%	104 km
37	Ensisheim Haut-Rhin	0.6	35%	21%	453 km
38	Rethel Ardennes	0.6	2.9%	0%	207 km
39	Chaumes-en-Retz Loire-Atlantique	0.5	14%	0%	9.6 km
40	Guipry-Messac Ille-et-Vilaine	0.5	8.9%	0%	55 km
41	Lanton Gironde	0.2	83%	100%	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 Saint-Benoît

Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Forêt communale de Ligugé leads, at 870 ha. Directions go to a point inside.

First pick

Forêt communale de Ligugé

Wood or forest

870 ha24.5 km of path

5 h 25 minto walk all 24.5 km of path

2.7 km south-westfrom the center

Allée des HêtresAllée des CèdresAllée des Dolines+5 paths

Directionsto a point inside

Bois de la Celle

Wood or forest

135 ha1.6 km of path

20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path

4.5 km south-eastfrom the center

Directionsto a point inside

Bassins de rétention et d'infiltration des eaux pluviales Vallée Mouton

Park or garden

5 ha1.9 km of path

25 minto walk all 1.9 km of path

1.6 km north-eastfrom the center

Directionsto a point inside

Parc du Triangle d'Or

Park or garden

5.2 ha1.4 km of path

20 minto walk all 1.4 km of path

1.2 km northfrom the center

Directionsto a point inside

Parc des Prés Mignons

Park or garden · 180 m outside the commune

4.6 ha1.2 km of path

15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path

2.3 km north-westfrom the center

Directionsto a point inside

Parc de la Gibauderie

Park or garden · 350 m outside the commune

5 ha1 km of path

15 minto walk all 1 km of path

2.6 km north-eastfrom the center

Allée du Rabbin Élie BlochAllée Félicia Barbanel-Combaud

Directionsto a point inside

jardin de Bayou

Park or garden

2.5 ha0.7 km of path

10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path

1.5 km south-westfrom the center

Directionsto a point inside

Parc de Strunga

Park or garden

1.8 ha0.3 km of path

0.7 km south-westfrom the center

Directionsto a point inside

All 11 named parks, gardens and woods

Forêt communale de LigugéWood or forest · 870 ha · 24.5 km of path

Directions

Bois de la CelleWood or forest · 135 ha · 1.6 km of path

Directions

Bassins de rétention et d'infiltration des eaux pluviales Vallée MoutonPark or garden · 5 ha · 1.9 km of path

Directions

Parc du Triangle d'OrPark or garden · 5.2 ha · 1.4 km of path

Directions

Parc des Prés MignonsPark or garden · 4.6 ha · 1.2 km of path · just outside

Directions

Parc de la GibauderiePark or garden · 5 ha · 1 km of path · just outside

Directions

jardin de BayouPark or garden · 2.5 ha · 0.7 km of path

Directions

Parc de StrungaPark or garden · 1.8 ha · 0.3 km of path

Directions

Parc du GravionPark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.2 km of path

Directions

Les Jardins de CookhamPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.3 km of path

Directions

Jardin d'ImagesPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.3 km of path

Directions

Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.

Protected areas

Plaines du Mirebalais et du Neuvillois is the nearest protected area, 9.5 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

Plaines du Mirebalais et du Neuvillois

9.5 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

45 km of footpaths and 6 km of hiking routes cross Saint-Benoît

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

3.3 km per km²

Hiking routes

6.1 km

waymarked: 0.4 km per km²

Woodland

25%

about 3.4 km² of mapped woods

Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap

Saint-BenoîtVienne medianFrance median

Footpaths3.3

Hiking routes0.4

024 km per km²

Share of the land · mapped woods and forest

Saint-BenoîtVienne medianFrance median

Woodland25%

0%50%100%

That is more than in 77% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 70% 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 Saint-Benoît is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.

3 named hiking routes within 2 km

Other named walk

Via Sancti Martini - Chemin de Ligugé14 km

De La Chapelle-aux-Lys à La Roche-Posay13 km

Via Sancti Martini - Chemin de l'Évêque3.2 km

When to get out

The best walking months in Saint-Benoît: April to September

Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Poitiers-Biard, 4.8 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)	9.0	10.2	11.8	13.5	15.0	15.8	15.5	14.2	12.5	10.8	9.3	8.6
High (°C)	8	10	13	16	20	24	26	26	23	18	12	9
Rain (mm)	61	47	49	53	64	60	46	43	53	72	75	73

August is the driest month (43 mm) and the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 75 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Saint-Benoît →

Neighbors

Next to Saint-Benoît

The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.

PoitiersLigugéSmarvesMignaloux-BeauvoirBuxerollesVouneuil-sous-BiardSaint-Benoît

Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+

Town	Protected	Woodland	Paths (km/km²)
Saint-Benoît	0%	25%	3.3
Poitiers 89,916 · 3 km	0%	8.8%	4.5
Ligugé 3,444 · 4.1 km	0%	38%	1.8
Smarves 2,941 · 4.8 km	0%	37%	2.3
Mignaloux-Beauvoir 5,229 · 4.9 km	0%	17%	0.9
Buxerolles 10,289 · 5.4 km	0%	10%	2.3
Vouneuil-sous-Biard 6,290 · 6.1 km	0%	28%	1.2

Ligugé is more wooded.

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 Saint-Benoît

Is Saint-Benoît in a national or regional nature park?

No. The nearest protected area is Plaines du Mirebalais et du Neuvillois, 9.5 km from the town center.

Are there good walks in Saint-Benoît?

OpenStreetMap maps 45 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 3.3 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 6 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.

How much of Saint-Benoît is woodland?

25% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.

Is Saint-Benoît near the sea?

No: the coast is 116 km from the town center, as the crow flies.

When is the best time for walking in Saint-Benoît?

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.