First pick
Parc de Versailles
Park or garden
663 ha79 km of path
17 h 35 minto walk all 79 km of path
2.9 km westfrom the center
Allée du MailRu de GallyAllée des Moutons+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: ToucanWings · CC BY-SA 3.028%woodland
Outdoors in Versailles · protected areas, woods and footpaths
Versailles has more footpaths per km² than 9 in 10 French towns
213 km of footpaths cross Versailles (8.1 km per km²). Mapped woodland covers 28% of Versailles. No protected area reaches Versailles; the nearest, Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park, is 5.7 km from the town center. 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: Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park, 5.7 km
Woodland
28%
of the land, mapped on OpenStreetMap
Compared town: 13%
Footpaths
213 km
8.1 km per km²
Compared town: 1.7 km per km²
Hiking routes
15 km
waymarked, GR and others
Compared town: 0.3 km per km²
Parks & woods
30
named, in or within 400 m of the commune
First: Parc de Versailles
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.
What kind of place
What kind of outdoors place is Versailles?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and less good.
A place of footpaths8.1 km per km² of mapped footpath, against 1.7 km per km² for the median compared town.Protected land nearbyHaute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park is 5.7 km from the town center.
What sets Versailles apart: its footpaths, then protected land close by.
Against French towns
How Versailles 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
Woodland28%Share of the land mapped as forest or woods on OpenStreetMap
74out of 100
Footpaths8.1 km per km²Km of mapped footpath and track open on foot, per km² of the commune
98out of 100
Hiking routes0.6 km per km²Km of waymarked hiking routes (GR and others), per km² of the commune
66out of 100
Percentiles among compared French towns; ties count half.
Towns its size
Versailles has the 6th most footpaths per km² of 41 towns its size
The 40 compared French towns nearest in population (68,092 to 103,671 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Paris 10e (15.2 km per km²) to Le Tampon (0.7 km per km²).
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | Coast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris 10e Paris | 15.2 | 0.1% | 0% | 148 km |
| 2 | Créteil Val-de-Marne | 13.8 | 2% | 0% | 161 km |
| 3 | Cergy Val-d'Oise | 11.2 | 13% | 0% | 120 km |
| 4 | Nanterre Hauts-de-Seine | 9.2 | 0.9% | 0% | 141 km |
| 5 | Courbevoie Hauts-de-Seine | 8.8 | 0.1% | 0% | 142 km |
| 6 | Versailles Yvelines | 8.1 | 28% | 0% | 146 km |
| 7 | Levallois-Perret Hauts-de-Seine | 7.7 | 0% | 0% | 143 km |
| 8 | Rueil-Malmaison Hauts-de-Seine | 7.3 | 17% | 0% | 141 km |
| 9 | Nancy Meurthe-et-Moselle | 6.9 | 2.7% | 0% | 366 km |
| 10 | La Rochelle Charente-Maritime | 6.7 | 1.3% | 0.9% | On it |
| 11 | Noisy-le-Grand Seine-Saint-Denis | 6.6 | 25% | 0% | 160 km |
| 12 | Marseille 8e Bouches-du-Rhône | 6.4 | 11% | 47% | On it |
| 13 | Marseille 15e Bouches-du-Rhône | 6 | 6.5% | 8.9% | On it |
| 14 | Lyon 3e Rhône | 5.9 | 0.5% | 0% | 251 km |
| 15 | Aubervilliers Seine-Saint-Denis | 5.8 | 1.3% | 0% | 146 km |
| 16 | Pau Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 5.8 | 15% | 2.9% | 95 km |
| 17 | Champigny-sur-Marne Val-de-Marne | 5.6 | 3.7% | 0% | 160 km |
| 18 | Roubaix Nord | 5 | 0.8% | 0% | 61 km |
| 19 | Marseille 9e Bouches-du-Rhône | 5 | 39% | 83% | On it |
| 20 | Dunkerque Nord | 4.8 | 1.8% | 1.5% | On it |
| 21 | Cannes Alpes-Maritimes | 4.6 | 15% | 10% | On it |
| 22 | Lyon 8e Rhône | 4.6 | 0.7% | 0% | 249 km |
| 23 | Vitry-sur-Seine Val-de-Marne | 4.5 | 1.7% | 0% | 157 km |
| 24 | Poitiers Vienne | 4.5 | 8.8% | 0% | 118 km |
| 25 | Lyon 7e Rhône | 4.5 | 0.1% | 0% | 250 km |
| 26 | Colombes Hauts-de-Seine | 4.3 | 1.4% | 0% | 139 km |
| 27 | Aulnay-sous-Bois Seine-Saint-Denis | 4.1 | 5.1% | 6.2% | 148 km |
| 28 | Tourcoing Nord | 3.9 | 1.1% | 0% | 57 km |
| 29 | Marseille 13e Bouches-du-Rhône | 3.8 | 3.3% | 32% | 5.5 km |
| 30 | Asnières-sur-Seine Hauts-de-Seine | 3.7 | 0% | 0% | 141 km |
| 31 | Saint-Nazaire Loire-Atlantique | 3.4 | 7.2% | 37% | On it |
| 32 | Antibes Alpes-Maritimes | 3.3 | 7.3% | 1.3% | On it |
| 33 | Avignon Vaucluse | 3.3 | 2.9% | 27% | 54 km |
| 34 | Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Val-de-Marne | 3.3 | 0.5% | 0% | 161 km |
| 35 | Mérignac Gironde | 3.1 | 15% | 0% | 20 km |
| 36 | Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Manche | 3.1 | 10% | 0% | On it |
| 37 | Drancy Seine-Saint-Denis | 2.3 | 0% | 0% | 147 km |
| 38 | Ajaccio Corse-du-Sud | 1.5 | 9.8% | 16% | On it |
| 39 | Béziers Hérault | 1.3 | 5.4% | 0% | 12 km |
| 40 | Saint-Pierre Réunion | 0.9 | 9.1% | 18% | On it |
| 41 | Le Tampon Réunion | 0.7 | 23% | 19% | 10 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 Versailles
Named parks, gardens and woods in the commune or within 400 m, the biggest and best-pathed first: Parc de Versailles leads, at 663 ha. Directions go to a point inside.
Forêt domaniale de Meudon
Wood or forest · 200 m outside the commune
1,100 ha137.4 km of path
30 h 30 minto walk all 137.4 km of path
5.2 km eastfrom the center
Route du Pavé de MeudonCordon de VélizyGalerie de Secours du Tunnel de Meudon+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Forêt domaniale de Versailles
Wood or forest
970 ha87.2 km of path
19 h 20 minto walk all 87.2 km of path
4.6 km south-westfrom the center
Route de la Butte À l'ÂneRoute de SebaqueRoute des Chevreuils+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Forêt de Fausses-Reposes
Wood or forest
479 ha69.6 km of path
15 h 30 minto walk all 69.6 km of path
3 km north-eastfrom the center
Route du Cordon du NordRoute des BassinsRoute des Ormes+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Arboretum de Versailles-Chèvreloup
Park or garden
212 ha0.5 km of path
5 minto walk all 0.5 km of path
3.9 km north-westfrom the center
Parcours pieds-nus
Directionsto a point inside
Le jardin de Versailles
Park or garden
77 ha32 km of path
7 h 5 minto walk all 32 km of path
1.8 km westfrom the center
Allée d'ApollonAllée du MailAllée du Petit Pont+5 paths
Directionsto a point inside
Domaine de Trianon
Park or garden
76 ha28.7 km of path
6 h 25 minto walk all 28.7 km of path
2.9 km north-westfrom the center
Allée de la Reine
Directionsto a point inside
Bois des Fonds Maréchaux
Wood or forest
86 ha15.5 km of path
3 h 25 minto walk all 15.5 km of path
2.9 km northfrom the center
Route du Pré VertChemin Forestier des BœufsRoute du Butard+3 paths
Directionsto a point inside
All 30 named parks, gardens and woods
Parc de VersaillesPark or garden · 663 ha · 79 km of path
DirectionsForêt domaniale de MeudonWood or forest · 1,100 ha · 137.4 km of path · just outside
DirectionsForêt domaniale de VersaillesWood or forest · 970 ha · 87.2 km of path
DirectionsForêt de Fausses-ReposesWood or forest · 479 ha · 69.6 km of path
DirectionsArboretum de Versailles-ChèvreloupPark or garden · 212 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsLe jardin de VersaillesPark or garden · 77 ha · 32 km of path
DirectionsDomaine de TrianonPark or garden · 76 ha · 28.7 km of path
DirectionsBois des Fonds MaréchauxWood or forest · 86 ha · 15.5 km of path
DirectionsLe Potager du RoiPark or garden · 8.9 ha · 5 km of path
DirectionsParc du Domaine de Madame ElisabethPark or garden · 7.8 ha · 2.1 km of path
DirectionsParterre du NordPark or garden · 2.9 ha · 1.9 km of path
DirectionsLe Grand CarréPark or garden · 2.5 ha · 1.6 km of path
DirectionsFer à ChevalWood or forest · 14 ha · 0.4 km of path
DirectionsParterre du MidiPark or garden · 1.6 ha · 1.2 km of path
DirectionsParc Forestier de la Porte-VertePark or garden · 2.7 ha · 0.6 km of path
DirectionsParc BalbiPark or garden · 2.8 ha · 0.5 km of path
DirectionsLabyrinthe de maïsPark or garden · 3.6 ha
DirectionsSabotiersWood or forest · 12 ha
DirectionsParc de PicardiePark or garden · 2.8 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsJardin des Étangs GobertPark or garden · 1.5 ha · 0.8 km of path
DirectionsCarré RichaudPark or garden · 0.8 ha · 1 km of path
DirectionsParc de la Bonne AventurePark or garden · 1.2 ha · 0.7 km of path
DirectionsPlaine Saint AntoinePark or garden · 0.8 ha · 0.7 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSquare Blaise PascalPark or garden · 1 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsBois de ChoisyWood or forest · 4.5 ha
DirectionsLa FlottilleWood or forest · 4.2 ha
DirectionsParc de Bon ReposPark or garden · 0.9 ha · 0.1 km of path · just outside
DirectionsJardin des Musiciens ItaliensPark or garden · 0.5 ha · 0.3 km of path
DirectionsBois matelots SudWood or forest · 3.1 ha
DirectionsParc des DemoisellesPark or garden · 0.4 ha · 0.2 km of path · just outside
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL): named parks, gardens and woods; sizes are the whole site.
Protected areas
Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park is the nearest protected area, 5.7 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
Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park
5.7 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 Versailles
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
213 km
8.1 km per km²
Hiking routes
15 km
waymarked: 0.6 km per km²
Woodland
28%
about 7.4 km² of mapped woods
Km per km² of the commune · mapped on OpenStreetMap
VersaillesYvelines medianFrance median
Footpaths8.1
Hiking routes0.6
0510 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
VersaillesYvelines medianFrance median
Woodland28%
0%50%100%
That is more than in 98% of compared French towns for footpaths per km², and for woodland more than in 74% 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 Versailles is within 800 m of a mapped park or wood, as in most French towns.
19 named hiking routes within 2 km
GR (long-distance)PR (local walk)Other named walk
GR 1114 km
GR 22.6 km
GR 221.9 km
PR 1413 km
PR 57.5 km
PR 104.4 km
PR 43.9 km
PR 873.8 km
PR 893.6 km
PR 62.6 km
PR 1002 km
PR 1012 km
+7 more
3 GR routes pass within 2 km of Versailles: GR 11, GR 2 and GR 22.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), extracts of October 25, 2026 (Geofabrik).
When to get out
The best walking months in Versailles: April and June to September
Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals at Toussus le Noble, 6.3 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 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°C) | 7 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 10 | 7 |
| Rain (mm) | 55 | 47 | 50 | 50 | 68 | 55 | 53 | 58 | 52 | 61 | 61 | 66 |
February is the driest month (47 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 25 °C). 68 mm of rain falls in May, the wettest month. Frost comes on about 46 nights a year. The climate in Versailles →
Gardens
26 gardens to visit in Versailles
Named gardens in the commune.
Bosquet de l'Arc-de-TriompheIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet de l'EnceladeIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet de l'ÉtoileIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet de l'ObélisqueIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet de la ColonnadeIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet de la GirandoleIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet de la ReineIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet des Bains d'ApollonIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet des DômesIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet des RocaillesIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet des Trois-FontainesIn Versailles
DirectionsBosquet du DauphinIn Versailles
DirectionsSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata.
Neighbors
Next to Versailles
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more, colored by the share of their land in protected areas.
ViroflayLe Chesnay-RocquencourtBucChavilleVélizy-VillacoublayVille-d'AvrayVersailles
Under 1%1–10 %10–25 %25–50 %50 %+
| Town | Protected | Woodland | Paths (km/km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Versailles | 0% | 28% | 8.1 |
| Viroflay 17,237 · 2.4 km | 0% | 42% | 9.5 |
| Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt 30,689 · 2.5 km | 0% | 21% | 6.3 |
| Buc 5,816 · 3.3 km | 0% | 45% | 5.6 |
| Chaville 20,594 · 3.6 km | 0% | 46% | 8.3 |
| Vélizy-Villacoublay 23,011 · 4.1 km | 0% | 33% | 7.6 |
| Ville-d'Avray 11,089 · 4.1 km | 0% | 60% | 11 |
Buc, Chaville and Ville-d'Avray are 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 Versailles
Is Versailles in a national or regional nature park?
No. The nearest protected area is Haute Vallée de Chevreuse Regional Nature Park, 5.7 km from the town center.
Are there good walks in Versailles?
OpenStreetMap maps 213 km of footpaths and tracks open on foot in the commune, 8.1 km per km² (the median compared town: 1.7 km per km²); 15 km of waymarked hiking routes cross it.
How much of Versailles is woodland?
28% of the commune is mapped woodland, private woods included; the median compared French town has 13%.
Is Versailles near the sea?
No: the coast is 146 km from the town center, as the crow flies.
When is the best time for walking in Versailles?
April and June 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.