Saint-Jean-de-Luz

The shell-shaped bay, sheltered by its breakwaters, offers fine sand and calm waters rare on the Basque coast. Dogs are banned here in the summer season, even on a lead: off season, the waterside walk becomes possible again, especially at low tide, following the posted municipal bylaw.

The beating heart of the town, between the harbour and rue Gambetta, lines up plane trees, a bandstand and cafe terraces at the foot of the shipowners' houses. Leashed dogs are welcome, and most terraces accept well-behaved companions; the neighbouring covered market, however, stays closed to them.

The shipowner's mansion where the Sun King stayed before his 1660 wedding can be visited with its period furniture and Luzian kitchen. Dogs do not enter the house-museum: take turns visiting, as place Louis XIV and the nearby quays make a pleasant waiting room.

Begun under Henry IV and remodelled by Vauban, the fort watches over the entrance to the bay from the Socoa headland, on the Ciboure side. The on-lead walk along the sea wall and Socoa harbour is superb in heavy weather, when waves explode against the Artha breakwater.

From Socoa to Hendaye, the coastal path follows flysch cliffs, coves and heathland for a dozen kilometres facing the ocean, with La Rhune as a backdrop. It is the great outing for local dogs, on lead: sheer cliffs and flocks of sheep mean you should not unclip.

Twenty minutes' drive away, Ainhoa, Sare and Ascain line up red-timbered Labourd houses, pelota frontons and galleried churches. Shaded squares, La Rhune footpaths and the banks of the Nivelle make an ideal hinterland for on-lead wandering away from the seaside crowds.