Honfleur

Honfleur's iconic old harbour, ringed by tall slate-fronted houses along the Quai Sainte-Catherine, is the town's postcard image and its liveliest walk. Leashed dogs are welcome on the flat cobbled quays, though it gets crowded at midday in high season.

France's largest wooden church, built by local shipwrights using boat-building techniques, stands with a separate bell tower across its own square. Dogs cannot enter the church interior, but the surrounding square is an easy, leashed stop on a harbour walk.

A 17th-century pilgrimage chapel crowns the wooded hill above Honfleur, with a terrace looking out over the Seine estuary and the Pont de Normandie. Leashed dogs can join the climb up, best continued along the path to the Mont-Joli lookout for an even wider view.

A free 10-hectare public garden laid out as boat-shaped mini-gardens honouring artists and figures linked to Honfleur, including Claude Monet. Dogs are welcome on a leash, with waste bags provided at the entrance for a shaded, easy stroll.

Two 17th-century salt storehouses with soaring oak-beamed roofs sit near the Enclos, the old fortified centre of Honfleur where the town's medieval street pattern survives. The narrow lanes and small squares are an easy leashed walk, especially peaceful outside midsummer.

This cable-stayed bridge spanning the Seine estuary toward Le Havre is best admired from a distance, from the Côte de Grâce viewpoint or the harbour quays. It's a striking backdrop for a leashed evening walk, especially at sunset when the estuary light turns gold.