Dog-Friendly Parks & Green Spaces in Hvar

A signposted 20-min stepped climb from behind Saint Stephen`s Square up to the 16th-century Fortica Španjola fortress, with a panoramic view over Hvar Town, the harbour, and the Pakleni Islands archipelago strung off the western tip. The path is shaded by Aleppo pines and cypress, with stone benches every 80 m. Leashed dogs are welcome on the path and on the outdoor glacis around the fortress walls; the small interior museum follows the small-dog-in-carrier rule. Best walked before 09:00 in summer.

A partially abandoned hilltop hamlet on the central spine of Hvar, surrounded by the lavender fields that gave the island its `sun-and-lavender` brand in the 19th and 20th centuries. The signposted path network around the village (8 km of stone-walled tracks through lavender, olive groves and Aleppo pine) is open year-round and almost empty outside the early-July lavender bloom. Off-leash is tolerated on the inner village tracks where there is no livestock; verify on the signpost map at the entry.

The Stari Grad Plain (Ager) is the best-preserved Greek chora in the Mediterranean, laid out as a 73-cell agricultural grid by the colonists of Pharos in the 4th century BC and still farmed for vineyards, olives and lavender today - UNESCO World Heritage since 2008. A 16 km network of dry-stone-walled lanes and farm tracks crosses the plain between Stari Grad and Jelsa, almost entirely flat, off-road and dog-friendly on lead year-round. Free entry; the Dol-Vrbanj-Stari Grad route is the most rewarding 3 h walk.