Dog-Friendly Attractions in Hvar

Saint Stephen`s Square is the largest piazza in Dalmatia, a flat 4,500 m² rectangle paved in white Brač limestone, with the 16th-century Saint Stephen`s Cathedral (with a 17th-century belltower) closing the east side, the Arsenal (built 1612, one of the oldest public theatres in Europe, with the first municipal theatre on its upper floor opened in 1612) closing the south side, and the harbour quay open to the west. Leashed dogs are welcome on the square, around the cathedral exterior and on the Arsenal arches; the cathedral and theatre interior follow the small-dog-in-carrier rule.

The Franciscan Monastery clings to the south-eastern flank of the Hvar Town harbour at the end of a 700 m cypress-lined seafront walk from the Riva, with a 15th-century cloister, a small museum (housing the 16th-century `Last Supper` painting attributed to the school of Matteo Ingoli) and a Mediterranean garden over the water. Reached by a flat sea-level path, this is the easiest dog-friendly walk out of Hvar Town. Leashed dogs are welcome on the path, the harbour terrace and the outer cloister; the museum interior follows the small-dog-in-carrier rule.

Stari Grad is the oldest town in Croatia, founded as the Greek colony of Pharos in 384 BC at the head of a deep, sheltered bay 20 km east of Hvar Town. The dense, flat-paved Old Town wraps around the Tvrdalj of the poet Petar Hektorović (a 16th-century fortified country house with a saltwater fishpond garden), the parish church of St. Stephen, the Pjaca, and a network of dog-friendly back lanes between the harbour and the UNESCO agricultural plain. Almost entirely leashed-dog-friendly outside; museum and church interiors follow small-dog-in-carrier rules.