First pick
Bois de la Butte Verte
Park or garden
67 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
2.3 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Original uploader was Spedona at fr.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.07.5%woodland
Outdoors in Buchelay · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Almost every home in Buchelay is within 800 m of a park or wood
14 km of footpaths cross Buchelay (2.8 km per km²). No protected area reaches Buchelay; the nearest, Boucles de Moisson, de Guernes et de Rosny (Natura 2000), is 2.6 km from the town center. 7.5% of Buchelay is mapped woodland. 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: Boucles de Moisson, de Guernes et de Rosny, 2.6 km
Woodland
7.5%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
14 km
2.8 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.5 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
5
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Bois de la Butte Verte
Throughout this page, the Yvelines median and the France median are the median of compared communes (those with an overall grade), each figure its own median.
Against French towns
How Buchelay 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
Woodland7.5%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
32out of 100
Footpaths2.8 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
70out of 100
Hiking routes0.3 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
46out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Buchelay has the 10th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (3,331 to 3,391 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Collégien (5.9 km per km²) to La Ville-Dieu-du-Temple (0.1 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collégien Seine-et-Marne | 5.9 | 29% | 0% | 165 km |
| 2 | Champ-sur-Drac Isère | 3.9 | 51% | 24% | 193 km |
| 3 | Bernin Isère | 3.7 | 28% | 14% | 207 km |
| 4 | Briis-sous-Forges Essonne | 3.5 | 22% | 0.1% | 157 km |
| 5 | Renage Isère | 3.1 | 31% | 0% | 215 km |
| 6 | Saint-Maximin Oise | 3 | 54% | 88% | 120 km |
| 7 | Roscoff Finistère | 3 | 0% | 0.4% | On it |
| 8 | Seilh Haute-Garonne | 3 | 15% | 12% | 156 km |
| 9 | Anduze Gard | 2.9 | 49% | 100% | 55 km |
| 10 | Buchelay Yvelines | 2.8 | 7.5% | 0% | 108 km |
| 11 | Cocheren Moselle | 2.6 | 36% | 0% | 360 km |
| 12 | Doubs Doubs | 2 | 37% | 0% | 361 km |
| 13 | Vourles Rhône | 1.8 | 6.6% | 0% | 240 km |
| 14 | Salles-d'Aude Aude | 1.7 | 12% | 19% | 9 km |
| 15 | Saint-Cast-le-Guildo Côtes-d'Armor | 1.7 | 12% | 100% | On it |
| 16 | Porcheville Yvelines | 1.6 | 11% | 0% | 115 km |
| 17 | Merlimont Pas-de-Calais | 1.6 | 28% | 63% | On it |
| 18 | Aigues-Vives Gard | 1.3 | 4.2% | 13% | 21 km |
| 19 | Hulluch Pas-de-Calais | 1.3 | 7.9% | 0% | 69 km |
| 20 | Mareuil-lès-Meaux Seine-et-Marne | 1.1 | 18% | 0.6% | 163 km |
| 21 | Boissy-le-Châtel Seine-et-Marne | 1.1 | 20% | 0% | 184 km |
| 22 | Bonifacio Corse-du-Sud | 1.1 | 11% | 18% | On it |
| 23 | Narrosse Landes | 1 | 25% | 10% | 34 km |
| 24 | Précy-sur-Oise Oise | 1 | 14% | 100% | 119 km |
| 25 | Saint-André Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.9 | 1.3% | 0% | 6.3 km |
| 26 | Villelongue-de-la-Salanque Pyrénées-Orientales | 0.8 | 0.1% | 0% | 4.5 km |
| 27 | Étain Meuse | 0.8 | 16% | 0% | 295 km |
| 28 | Vernet Haute-Garonne | 0.7 | 4.5% | 1.7% | 141 km |
| 29 | Pont-sur-Yonne Yonne | 0.6 | 20% | 0% | 238 km |
| 30 | Louvigné-du-Désert Ille-et-Vilaine | 0.6 | 4.2% | 0% | 24 km |
| 31 | Mont-près-Chambord Loir-et-Cher | 0.5 | 58% | 23% | 224 km |
| 32 | Veuzain-sur-Loire Loir-et-Cher | 0.5 | 24% | 6.2% | 220 km |
| 33 | Saint-Andiol Bouches-du-Rhône | 0.5 | 0% | 0% | 43 km |
| 34 | Chaumont-en-Vexin Oise | 0.5 | 18% | 0% | 93 km |
| 35 | Saint-André-de-Corcy Ain | 0.3 | 20% | 49% | 272 km |
| 36 | Descartes Indre-et-Loire | 0.2 | 15% | 0% | 158 km |
| 37 | Val-au-Perche Orne | 0.2 | 21% | 100% | 128 km |
| 38 | Durtal Maine-et-Loire | 0.2 | 34% | 0% | 135 km |
| 39 | Cérans-Foulletourte Sarthe | 0.2 | 34% | 0% | 139 km |
| 40 | Castillon-la-Bataille Gironde | 0.1 | 12% | 1.5% | 47 km |
| 41 | La Ville-Dieu-du-Temple Tarn-et-Garonne | 0.1 | 9% | 0% | 180 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 Buchelay
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Bois de la Butte Verte leads, at 67 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Bois des Terriers
Wood or forest
75 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
1.4 km southfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Forêt de la butte verte
Wood or forest · 80 m outside the commune
17 ha
2.3 km north-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois du Coudray
Wood or forest · 50 m outside the commune
14 ha
1.8 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Bois du Petit Père
Wood or forest · 170 m outside the commune
2.1 ha
2 km south-westfrom the center
Directionsto a point inside
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Boucles de Moisson, de Guernes et de Rosny is the nearest protected area, 2.6 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
Boucles de Moisson, de Guernes et de Rosny
2.6 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
14 km of footpaths cross Buchelay
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
14 km
2.8 km per km²
Hiking routes
1.5 km
waymarked: 0.3 km per km²
Woodland
7.5%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BuchelayYvelines medianFrance median
Footpaths2.8
Hiking routes0.3
02.55 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BuchelayYvelines medianFrance median
Woodland7.5%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 70% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland less than in 68% 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 Buchelay is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
3 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)Other named walk
GR 266.4 km
Grand Tour de Paris, Courgent - Mantes-la-Jolie4.9 km
Grand Tour de Paris, Mantes-la-Jolie - Magny-en-Vexin0.6 km
GR 26 passes within 2 km of Buchelay.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Buchelay: April to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Magnanville, 2.1 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.3 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.2 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 17 | 11 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 49 | 48 | 48 | 43 | 62 | 54 | 52 | 57 | 41 | 65 | 57 | 67 |
September is the driest month (41 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 26 °C). 67 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 40 nights a year. The climate in Buchelay →
Neighbors
Next to Buchelay
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
MagnanvilleMantes-la-JolieMantes-la-VilleRosny-sur-SeineLimayPorchevilleBuchelay
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchelay | 0% | 7.5% | 2.8 |
| Magnanville 6,383 · 1.3 km | 0% | 17% | 1.9 |
| Mantes-la-Jolie 43,526 · 2 km | 7.1% | 12% | 3.7 |
| Mantes-la-Ville 22,332 · 2.1 km | 0% | 7.2% | 2.5 |
| Rosny-sur-Seine 7,328 · 4 km | 62% | 60% | 0.7 |
| Limay 17,885 · 4.5 km | 6.1% | 16% | 2.1 |
| Porcheville 3,382 · 7 km | 0% | 11% | 1.6 |
Rosny-sur-Seine has at least twice as much protected land. Rosny-sur-Seine 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 Buchelay
Is Buchelay in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Boucles de Moisson, de Guernes et de Rosny, 2.6 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Buchelay?
OpenStreetMap maps 14 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 2.8 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 1 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Buchelay is woodland?
7.5% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Buchelay near the sea?
No: the coast is 108 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Buchelay?
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 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.