The Ultimate Neighbourhood Guide for the Pawfect Dog Friendly Vacation

Why should your beloved pup miss out on all the dog-friendly bars and exciting doggy meet-ups around London and Paris? They shouldn’t. That’s barking mad!

To help you along—and look at pictures of adorable pups—we’ve selected 10 of our favourite pet-friendly stays in London and Paris. As well as a ton of ideas about places you and your best friend can visit.

Over the years, London has become more and more dog-friendly. A rising number of city-dwellers now have dogs, and plenty work digitally, which means they can take them anywhere. So long as that anywhere will allow them to, that is.

Fortunately, all of this has given cafés, bars, and restaurants incentive become more canine-friendly.

Not only that, but there are special days and events exclusively for your dog!

The location of this property is perfect as not too many tourists wander this far, and there are several green spaces nearby.

The Spirit of Portobello captures the cool, hip, and entirely West London vibe of this part of town. Literally around the corner from Portobello Road and the underrated Golborne Road, you and your pawtner will be proud to call it home.

Notting Hill and its surrounding areas are ideal for doggos and their humans. There’s plenty of green spaces scattered all over. Excluding Portobello Road’s weekend tourist rush, it’s a pretty quiet area for nervous dogs.

(Or their humans looking for a bit of peace and quiet.)

Take Doggo to:

• Gluten-free bakery Pearl & Groove (341 Portobello Rd) is just around the corner!

• Win Dog of the Week in the dog-friendly Pedlars General Store & Café (128 Talbot Rd)

• Pamper your pooch at Mutz Nutz Pet Boutique (221 Westbourne Park Rd)

• Let Doggo be your date to Kensington staple, Maggie Jones’s (6 Old Court Place)

Chelsea Country House is a mews home that might as well be off in the English countryside. Its facade is precisely as one would imagine a pet-friendly home to be and its location to the Thames is enviable.

In a hop, skip, and a bit of a jump (or ride on the tube), you and Doggo can be roaming around Battersea Park. If ever there comes a time when you can only pick one park in London to take your dog: It’s this one!

Take Doggo to:

• Drop them off for some bougie TLC at The Pet Spa (305 Fulham Road - Lower Floor)

• Bluebird Chelsea (350 King's Road) now does a three-course luxury doggy brunch!

• Fancy a Doggy Afternoon Tea? Edgerton House Hotel (17-19 Egerton Terrace) is the place to be

The hosts of The Cleveland V and accompanying pub, The Cleveland Arms, are very much the definition of dog people. Their selection of six apartments each has their own individual Scandi-charm and varying prices.

The property is a very walkable mile from Hyde Park, which will provide endless hours of entertainment for you and your pooch.

Take Doggo to:

• Connaught Cellars (8 Porchester Place) has a doggy bar that serves hooch for your pooch!

Set on the square whose name it takes, St. James’s Square is 10 minutes from Buckingham Palace. If the Queen still had her corgis, that would make Doggo their neighbour!

This property is within walking distance of St. James’s Park and Green Park - as well as a tonne of dog-friendly establishments.

Take Doggo to:

• Well-behaved pups can pull up a seat at French bistro-inspired La Poule au Pot (231 Ebury Street)

• Brunch together at M Victoria Street (Zig Zag Building, 74 Victoria St) every weekend!

• There’s a Dogtail menu at Smith & Whistle (Park Lane Hotel) with your buddy’s name on it

London truly is a dog owner's city now. There’s so much to do and so much to see, we couldn’t possibly fit them all in! Here are a few essential blogs, apps, and more.

• Pet Scene is a brand new social petwork app for London pets of all kinds. Set up a profile for your pooch and you’ll both make friends! [iOS]

• Try some Doga in Kentish Town! What’s Doga? Yoga for you and your dog, silly! [website]

• Catch a flick with Doggo at dog-friendly cinema Picturehouse Central (West End) and join the Puppy Love Brunch Cinema Club at The Exhibit (Balham, Streatham)

• Get a posh new handmade collar from Holly & Lil the Collar Makers (90 Tower Bridge Road)

• ...then have a Poochini at Shake Shack!

If London is considered dog-friendly then chic Paris was made to cater to them. Parisians love dogs. After all, Paris has the highest population of pet dogs in Europe! Dogs are allowed in almost every restaurant, bakeries, boutiques, and bars - especially the smaller and more tranquil of breeds.

Not every park in Paris allows dog-walking, however, a lot of the larger ones have designated areas where you can. Doggo nor human has to miss out on seeing the sights while in the city of lights - unless they want to see the Mona Lisa.

PAWS FOR THOUGHT!

There is an official list of the public parks in which dogs are allowed. Parks are arranged by arrondissement.

But that’s just a bad idea all around.

About half of the hotels in Paris will let your pup stay without question, but some of them have a size-restriction so it’s good to check to make sure in advance. Then again, that’s why short-term lets and holiday homes win this round once more!

The Designer Mezzanine is situated in the hip eastern spot of Canal Saint-Martin. Canal Saint-Martin sits perfectly between Montmartre and the Marais with just a mile from each. Its highlight is its tree-lined canal where, during the summer, Parisians (and their chiens!) sit either side to read.

Canal Saint-Martin is also close to one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in Paris. The Parc des Buttes Chaumont is one park where you’ll be able to walk your dog everywhere. There won’t be any signs telling you or your pooch where and where not to walk - though it is the law that they’re kept on a leash at all times.

With the breathtaking Temple Sybille that stands on a cliff over the lake and all of the doggy friends your dog can make, this is definitely our favourite spot in Paris for furry friends. They’ll love chasing all of the crows and the ducks - just be sure your leash can extend!

Both parts of the Marais are great places to wander the streets with your dog and the Victorian Véranda is the perfect property to live for a while. You can set up shop on Rue du Temple and exchange knowing glances with the locals (and their humans…) Or you can make your way to the Île de la Cité to peruse Notre Dame’s surrounding nooks and crannies.

Bois de Vincennes is kind of a meet-up area for dogs and their friends. It is slightly out-of-the-way of the Marais, but in Paris, slightly out-of-the-way really just means, “a bit more walking.” Vincennes has a huge field for dogs to run around together, streams in which to swim, and woods that surround the area.

It’s doggy heaven! (Just remember to take water.)

In the winding roads between the 5th and 6th arrondissement lies A Secret Garden. The left bank, still quintessentially Parisian, has a different aura to the right. Between these two areas, there are students from the university and aristocracy - all of them (and their pets) dress wonderfully.

This is the home of the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Jardin des Plantes. The latter doesn’t allow dogs, but the Jardin du Luxembourg allows them in an area on the east side of the park. If we knew why we’d let you know. Still, if you/re staying in any arrondissement in Paris, it’s a beautiful walk at all times of the year, and there are plenty of pigeons for Doggo to excitedly yap at.

Worry not: The Parisians will find it cute and amusing!

The gardens of Alfred’s Park spill right out onto Parc Monceau; a gorgeous dog-friendly park in the northwest of Paris. Surrounded by beautiful, affluent people and their beautiful, affluent pups, you and Doggo will simply love this area.

Close to the Champs-Élysées and happily lacking many tourists, if you pick the right season to visit, even one of the busiest places in Paris is calm.

Head to the Jardins des Champs-Élysées for some social petworking (French-style), or further East to the second biggest green space in Paris, Bois de Boulogne. Here, your pooch will be able to run around and chase rabbits their heart’s content.

Bois de Boulogne has been said to be the best place in Paris to get a long, green walk in with your dog - if they want to walk with all those pastries lying around.

Paris’s love of dogs is the stuff that goes back centuries. One might even argue (just maybe not with a historian) that the dog, to Paris, is like the cat to Ancient Egypt. The statues in the Tuileries that have their dogs give us nothing to state otherwise!

Here are a few more Paris things to do with your pup:

• Take them to the north side of Parc George Brassens in the 15th arrondissement for some surprises

• Parc Montsouris in the outer rims of the 14th arrondissement is an English-style park with lots of things for your pooch to do!

• Walk your dog around tourist hotspots with glee! The Tuileries, the gardens of the Palais Royal, and all around the Place du Trocadéro and Champ de Mars welcomes the.

Sure, you can’t go up the Eiffel Tower together, but that would mean having to queue.

We say woof to that!