Riga

A century-old garden suburb around a pine-forested park with lakes, open-air stage and a dedicated 1-hectare fenced dog area near the main entrance. The forest trails further north allow leashed dogs and get you quickly away from city noise.

Riga holds around 800 Jugendstil facades, a third of them on Alberta and Elizabetes streets, signed by Mikhail Eisenstein. The sidewalks are wide enough for a slow walk with a leashed dog and every gargoyle photo op.

Five repurposed Zeppelin hangars make up one of Europe's largest covered markets, opened in 1930. Latvian food-hygiene rules forbid dogs inside the pavilions, but the outdoor stalls by the Daugava embankment welcome leashed pets and sell smoked fish perfect to share.

Riga's oldest public park, opened in 1817, with a rose garden, chess tables and a summer outdoor cinema. Leashed dogs are welcome on all paths and the central fountain lawn is a popular spot on summer evenings.

A quiet wooden-house island linked to the Old Town by the Vanšu cable-stayed bridge, with a 3 km riverside promenade facing the most photogenic Riga skyline. Morning joggers, cyclists and leashed dogs outnumber cars here.

The UNESCO-listed medieval core, rebuilt after WWII around Town Hall Square and the 1334 House of the Black Heads. The cobbles are hard on paws in summer heat, so stick to shady Līvu and Doma squares where dogs and dogs-and-beer menus abound.