Best Dog Parks and Walks in Aix-en-Provence

The largest and best-known public park in central Aix — 3 hectares of plane-tree-shaded lawns, gravel boules courts and an Italianate fountain on the avenue Anatole France south of the Quartier Mazarin. Dogs must stay on a lead but the lawns are an unofficial gathering point for local owners.

Sandstone quarries that supplied the honey-coloured stone of the Cours Mirabeau and that Cézanne painted obsessively from 1895 onward, now a Grand Site Sainte-Victoire footpath network. Trails leave from the free P1 car park and run for up to 15 km; dogs must stay on a lead because of the surrounding fire-protection forest reserve.

Reservoir at the foot of Sainte-Victoire, with a 5 km lakeside loop on a flat compacted-gravel path — the most popular dog walk in the Aix area for owners of senior or short-legged dogs. Free parking at the dam entrance; dogs must be on a lead because of the surrounding wildlife reserve.