Dog-Friendly Parks & Gardens in Menton

The Jardins Biovès are the central green corridor of Menton, running from the seafront inland up Avenue Boyer towards the railway station. Palm trees, fountains, citrus trees, and immaculate flowerbeds frame a wide pedestrian alley used for promenading at all hours. Dogs on leash are welcome throughout. In February, the gardens are taken over by the giant citrus sculptures of the Fête du Citron and access is ticketed; for the rest of the year they are free and one of the most agreeable urban dog walks on the eastern Riviera.

Created in the 1920s by the English plant-hunter Lawrence Johnston (of Hidcote fame), Serre de la Madone is a terraced botanical garden on the western slopes above Menton, classified Jardin Remarquable. It assembles plants from Asia, southern Africa, Mexico and the Mediterranean basin on a series of steep terraces with pools and pavilions. Leashed dogs are admitted with a paid entry, one of very few historic French botanical gardens to do so. The site is a 15-minute drive from the centre or accessible by bus 7.

A botanical garden of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle on the Garavan hillside, Val Rahmeh holds one of the finest collections of subtropical plants in mainland France, with bananas, papayas, citrus and rare species from across the tropics. The garden is small but densely planted, on a hillside terrace with views down to the sea. Leashed dogs are admitted with paid entry. Combined with a stop at Serre de la Madone, it makes a botanical day trip out of Menton with a dog.

The full seafront promenade running from the Casino to the Vieux Port, around 2 kilometres of paved walking with the sea on one side and the orange facades of the town on the other. Dogs on leash are always welcome on the promenade itself; only the beaches below are restricted in summer. The promenade is shaded by tall palms and has benches at regular intervals. It is the most reliable everyday dog walk in central Menton.