The best places to live for peace and greenery
Green space and quiet, on the actual figures.
Towns of more than 5,000 residents.
Weights: nature 50 %, quiet 50 % (Forum Vies Mobiles and L’ObSoCo, December 2022: nature 58%, quiet 58%).
Each criterion is scored on its actual figures, across all of France.
Sources: IGN and OpenStreetMap 2025, noise maps 2022, DVF 2023-2025.
Updated 2 November 2026.
1CournonterralHérault · 2,861 €/m²87.5/100strength : nature, quiet
2BédarieuxHérault · 872 €/m²86.4/100strength : nature, quiet
3Cazouls-lès-BéziersHérault · 1,367 €/m²78.2/100strength : quiet
30 towns the first of 48 ranked
- 1
Cournonterral87.5/100Hérault2,861 €/m²strength : nature, quiet - 2
Bédarieux86.4/100Hérault872 €/m²strength : nature, quiet - 3
Cazouls-lès-Béziers78.2/100Hérault1,367 €/m²strength : quiet - 4
Grabels77.8/100Hérault3,135 €/m²strength : nature - 5
Mèze75.6/100Hérault3,531 €/m²strength : quiet - 6
Poussan74.0/100Hérault2,701 €/m² - 7
Gigean72.3/100Hérault2,581 €/m²strength : nature - 8
Florensac71.4/100Hérault1,632 €/m²strength : quiet - 9
Pignan69.5/100Hérault3,474 €/m² - 10
Sauvian67.8/100Hérault2,801 €/m²strength : quiet - 11
Saint-Clément-de-Rivière66.5/100Hérault3,619 €/m² - 12
Lodève66.4/100Hérault1,103 €/m²strength : nature - 13
Castries65.5/100Hérault3,700 €/m² - 14
Saint-Gély-du-Fesc63.9/100Hérault3,737 €/m²strength : nature - 15
Prades-le-Lez62.6/100Hérault3,854 €/m²strength : nature - 16
Fabrègues62.3/100Hérault3,553 €/m² - 17
Clermont-l'Hérault60.5/100Hérault1,835 €/m² - 18
Clapiers59.7/100Hérault3,716 €/m² - 19
Saint-Georges-d'Orques58.6/100Hérault1,763 €/m² - 20
Bessan58.3/100Hérault1,458 €/m² - 21
Marseillan58.0/100Hérault4,195 €/m² - 22
La Grande-Motte57.4/100Hérault5,313 €/m² - 23
Jacou56.5/100Hérault3,926 €/m² - 24
Juvignac56.0/100Hérault3,170 €/m² - 25
Gignac54.1/100Hérault2,153 €/m² - 26
Marsillargues53.8/100Hérault2,937 €/m² - 27
Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone53.4/100Hérault3,292 €/m² - 28
Mauguio53.3/100Hérault4,673 €/m² - 29
Balaruc-les-Bains53.1/100Hérault4,205 €/m² - 30
Sérignan52.3/100Hérault2,998 €/m²
Of the 48 towns in Montpellier and the Hérault département with more than 5,000 residents, 48 have all the data this profile needs; the top 30 are listed above. The median flat price there is 3,345 €/m² (actual DVF sales).
The ranking rests on 2 criteriona — those that define this profile. Each row names the one that carries the town most; the town page gives the 8 others, dated and sourced — so that the rank does not hide the rest of life there.
What this ranking costs. The median price of the top 30 is 3,153 €/m², 6% less than all the towns considered. The cheapest in this ranking is Bédarieux (872 €/m², no. 2) — where this profile costs least.
What this ranking does not say. Greenery is measured by access to natural areas, not by their beauty or the right to walk there. A farmed field counts like a wood.
Method
Each town is scored on its actual figures, across all of France (prices and rents against towns of a similar size), on the criteria of the “for peace and greenery” profile. Median prices come from DVF (France’s record of actual sale prices). Only towns with more than 5,000 residents are listed. Icioola hosts no listings and takes no commission.
Frequently asked questions
Montpellier and the Hérault département — “Peace & greenery” profile: which town comes first?
Cournonterral comes first (7,359 residents), with a median price of 2,861 €/m². This rank holds for this profile (nature, quiet): another town may come first on another profile.
What exactly does the “Peace & greenery” profile cover?
2 criteria: nature, quiet. Each is scored on its actual value across all of France (0 to 100), then the scores are combined by geometric mean. In practice a weak point weighs more than a strength: a town excellent everywhere but on one criterion climbs far less than with a plain average. No payment influences the result, and no property listing is hosted.
Why is a town I know not listed?
Three possible reasons: it has fewer than 5,000 residents (the ranking threshold), or it ranks beyond the top 30. Its page exists all the same: every town in France has one.
Does this ranking take my budget and commute into account?
No — it is a general ranking. Budget and door-to-door commute are personal filters: they rule towns out rather than score them. The app recalculates this ranking with your own constraints, free and without an account.
Where do the figures come from?
The rank is computed from 2 public sources: IGN and OpenStreetMap (access to natural areas); strategic noise maps (EU directive 2002/49/EC). The price shown on each row comes from the DVF database and is not part of the calculation. All these data are open and reusable; each figure’s year is shown on each town’s page. This page was regenerated on 2 November 2026.