What are the 10 French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?

In order: Guidel, Sanary-sur-Mer, Pornichet, Canet-en-Roussillon, Chantepie, Biscarrosse, Fouesnant, Verrières-le-Buisson, Saint-Cyprien and Royan.

What is the top 5 of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?

Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.), Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.), Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.), Canet-en-Roussillon (17.5 / 1,000 inhab.) and Chantepie (17.1 / 1,000 inhab.).

Which city is 2nd in the ranking of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?

Sanary-sur-Mer, at 20.7 / 1,000 inhab., just behind Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.).

Is Guidel really the French city with the most hikers per inhabitant?

Yes, at 21.3 / 1,000 inhab., ahead of Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.) and Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.).

In which département is Guidel?

Guidel is in département 56, in the Bretagne region.

What is the difference between Guidel and Sanary-sur-Mer?

Guidel is at 21.3 / 1,000 inhab., Sanary-sur-Mer at 20.7 / 1,000 inhab. The table gives the same figure for all 50 places, so any two of them can be compared the same way.

How many French cities does this ranking compare?

1,026, with the top 50 listed in full in the table below.

Is there a complete ranking of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?

Yes, the table below: the top 50 of 1,026, each with its département and its region, and the exact method and scope stated underneath it.

Where do people hike most in France?

Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.), Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.), Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.), Canet-en-Roussillon (17.5 / 1,000 inhab.) and Chantepie (17.1 / 1,000 inhab.). Mountain and foothill towns lead, and the rate counts federation licences, not everyone who walks a marked trail on a Sunday.

In order: Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.), Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.), Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.), Canet-en-Roussillon (17.5 / 1,000 inhab.), Chantepie (17.1 / 1,000 inhab.), Biscarrosse (16.2 / 1,000 inhab.), Fouesnant (15.9 / 1,000 inhab.), Verrières-le-Buisson (15.6 / 1,000 inhab.), Saint-Cyprien (15.6 / 1,000 inhab.), Royan (15.2 / 1,000 inhab.).

Why the coast rather than the Alps?

Because this counts club membership, not kilometres walked. A licence buys insurance, guided outings and a group, which is worth most where there is a large, settled, often retired population with time for a weekly walk: the Breton and Mediterranean coasts. Mountain towns are full of walkers who never take a licence, because the path starts at the end of the street.

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Sport · Ministère des Sports, recensement des licences sportives

The French cities with the most hikers

Name: The French cities with the most hikers
Creator: Le Bon Rang
License: https://www.etalab.gouv.fr/licence-ouverte-open-licence/

Per inhabitant, the town with the most licensed hikers in France is Guidel, with 21.3 / 1,000 inhabitants, ahead of Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhabitants) and Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhabitants).

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Hikers / 1,000, 980 cities shown. The coloured surface estimates the local tendency from nearby ranked cities. Exact city values remain in the table. 46 ranked overseas cities are not plotted: they fall outside this map's frame. Projection: longitude compressed by cos(46.3°N), so east-west and north-south distances stay comparable. Source: Ministère des Sports, recensement des licences sportives · 2023.

Find your town

Top 50 of 1,026 cities
Rank	City	Hikers / 1,000 inhab.	Population	Region
1	56 Guidel	21.3	12,338	Bretagne
2	83 Sanary-sur-Mer	20.7	18,538	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
3	44 Pornichet	18.4	12,800	Pays de la Loire
4	66 Canet-en-Roussillon	17.5	13,227	Occitanie
5	35 Chantepie	17.1	10,670	Bretagne
6	40 Biscarrosse	16.2	15,836	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
7	29 Fouesnant	15.9	10,436	Bretagne
8	91 Verrières-le-Buisson	15.6	15,057	Île-de-France
9	66 Saint-Cyprien	15.6	12,068	Occitanie
10	17 Royan	15.2	19,425	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
11	66 Saint-Estève	14.9	11,630	Occitanie
12	44 Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire	14.6	16,400	Pays de la Loire
13	83 La Londe-les-Maures	14.6	10,584	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
14	13 Fos-sur-Mer	14.5	15,862	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
15	12 Rodez	13.9	23,981	Occitanie
16	84 L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue	13.9	20,244	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
17	86 Buxerolles	13.8	10,289	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
18	91 Yerres	13.7	27,906	Île-de-France
19	87 Saint-Junien	13.6	11,415	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
20	69 Francheville	13.5	15,604	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
21	06 Mandelieu-la-Napoule	13.1	21,640	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
22	44 Vertou	13	26,227	Pays de la Loire
23	83 La Crau	12.8	19,556	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
24	22 Plérin	12.8	14,425	Bretagne
25	45 La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin	12.8	11,017	Centre-Val de Loire
26	84 Le Pontet	12.7	18,386	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
27	35 Châteaugiron	12.7	10,845	Bretagne
28	34 Lattes	12.6	17,351	Occitanie
29	78 Rambouillet	12.5	27,724	Île-de-France
30	22 Lannion	12.2	20,315	Bretagne
31	64 Hendaye	12	18,102	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
32	22 Ploufragan	12	11,507	Bretagne
33	12 Onet-le-Château	11.8	12,080	Occitanie
34	07 Tournon-sur-Rhône	11.7	11,279	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
35	30 Villeneuve-lès-Avignon	11.6	13,148	Occitanie
36	83 Le Muy	11.6	10,118	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
37	85 Les Sables-d'Olonne	11.4	49,603	Pays de la Loire
38	42 Le Chambon-Feugerolles	11.4	12,314	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
39	83 Hyères	11.3	55,858	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
40	77 Ozoir-la-Ferrière	11.3	21,238	Île-de-France
41	37 Saint-Avertin	11.3	14,999	Centre-Val de Loire
42	83 Six-Fours-les-Plages	11.1	37,109	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
43	35 Betton	11.1	12,964	Bretagne
44	78 Montigny-le-Bretonneux	11	32,465	Île-de-France
45	64 Biarritz	10.9	26,206	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
46	48 Mende	10.7	12,464	Occitanie
47	74 Thonon-les-Bains	10.5	37,928	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
48	57 Marly (57)	10.5	10,286	Grand Est
49	21 Talant	10.4	11,896	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
50	83 Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume	10.3	17,896	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

The table stops at 50. Search any of the 1,026 ranked towns ↑

The other end : The French cities where hiking is least popular

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Scope, method and sources

Scope: France, metropolitan and overseas, Corsica and the DROM included. This dataset holds every commune of 10,000 inhabitants or more, plus smaller communes famous enough to be household names, 1,131 in all. It is not the full list of 35,000 French communes, so a village can sit outside a ranking whose extreme it would otherwise hold. This particular ranking is a rate per inhabitant, so it covers towns of 10,000 people or more only: in a village of a hundred, three licence holders would read as thirty per thousand and outrank a town with a professional club, so no rate is published below that size rather than a meaningless one.

Method and sources: populations are the INSEE legal populations, boundaries and coordinates come from the IGN commune registry, both served by geo.api.gouv.fr. Density is the population divided by the commune's area; distances are measured as the crow flies from the commune's centre. Data read on August 28, 2026.

13 questions about this ranking

What are the 10 French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?: In order: Guidel, Sanary-sur-Mer, Pornichet, Canet-en-Roussillon, Chantepie, Biscarrosse, Fouesnant, Verrières-le-Buisson, Saint-Cyprien and Royan.
What is the top 5 of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?: Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.), Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.), Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.), Canet-en-Roussillon (17.5 / 1,000 inhab.) and Chantepie (17.1 / 1,000 inhab.).
Which city is 2nd in the ranking of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?: Sanary-sur-Mer, at 20.7 / 1,000 inhab., just behind Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.).
Is Guidel really the French city with the most hikers per inhabitant?: Yes, at 21.3 / 1,000 inhab., ahead of Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.) and Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.).
In which département is Guidel?: Guidel is in département 56, in the Bretagne region.
What is the difference between Guidel and Sanary-sur-Mer?: Guidel is at 21.3 / 1,000 inhab., Sanary-sur-Mer at 20.7 / 1,000 inhab. The table gives the same figure for all 50 places, so any two of them can be compared the same way.
Which city is 10th in the ranking of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?: Royan, at 15.2 / 1,000 inhab.
How many French cities does this ranking compare?: 1,026, with the top 50 listed in full in the table below.
What are the French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant in 2026?: This ranking uses the most recent official figures published as of 2026: Guidel leads with 21.3 / 1,000 inhab.
Is there a complete ranking of French cities with the most hikers per inhabitant?: Yes, the table below: the top 50 of 1,026, each with its département and its region, and the exact method and scope stated underneath it.
Where do people hike most in France?: Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.), Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.), Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.), Canet-en-Roussillon (17.5 / 1,000 inhab.) and Chantepie (17.1 / 1,000 inhab.). Mountain and foothill towns lead, and the rate counts federation licences, not everyone who walks a marked trail on a Sunday.
What are the top 10?: In order: Guidel (21.3 / 1,000 inhab.), Sanary-sur-Mer (20.7 / 1,000 inhab.), Pornichet (18.4 / 1,000 inhab.), Canet-en-Roussillon (17.5 / 1,000 inhab.), Chantepie (17.1 / 1,000 inhab.), Biscarrosse (16.2 / 1,000 inhab.), Fouesnant (15.9 / 1,000 inhab.), Verrières-le-Buisson (15.6 / 1,000 inhab.), Saint-Cyprien (15.6 / 1,000 inhab.), Royan (15.2 / 1,000 inhab.).
Why the coast rather than the Alps?: Because this counts club membership, not kilometres walked. A licence buys insurance, guided outings and a group, which is worth most where there is a large, settled, often retired population with time for a weekly walk: the Breton and Mediterranean coasts. Mountain towns are full of walkers who never take a licence, because the path starts at the end of the street.

The table below ranks the top 50 of the 1,026 cities in the dataset, each with its département, its region and the figure it is ranked on (hikers per 1,000 inhabitants), so you can see not just the order but how far apart the places are. The numbers are official public data: INSEE legal populations and the IGN commune registry, with the exact method and the exact scope stated under the table rather than left to be guessed at.

The same data answers neighbouring questions too: see The French cities with the most chess players and The smallest famous communes in France, or all rankings for the full list. All of it comes from Le Bon Rang, a free daily game that gives you five French cities and one of these statistics and asks you for the order.