Neringa

A wooden boardwalk and gravel path climb the 52-metre Parnidis Dune at the south edge of Nida, topped by a granite sundial with a 360-degree panorama over the Baltic, the lagoon and Russian Kaliningrad. Roughly 1.5 km return on an easy gradient; leashed dogs are welcome on the boardwalk and marked sand path but never on the fenced dune-restoration zones either side.

An open-air sculpture trail through the pine forest above Juodkrante, with over 80 wooden carvings of witches, devils and characters from Lithuanian folklore first assembled in 1979. A gentle 1.5 km forest loop, free and open around the clock; leashed dogs are welcome throughout, the path has a few root steps but suits most dogs.

A paved waterfront promenade running several kilometres along the Curonian Lagoon north from the Nida marina, past restored fisherman houses, pine shade and frequent benches with sweeping dune views. This is the default daily dog walk in Nida: flat, scenic and fully leashed, with bins spaced along the route and café terraces at the marina end.

The 1930 lagoon-hillside summer house of Nobel-laureate German writer Thomas Mann, who called it "an Italian experience amid Lithuanian pines". The museum interior bans dogs, but the garden, terrace and surrounding pine wood are dog-accessible on leash and share the same iconic lagoon view, so one partner can tour inside while the other waits on the bench.

A wide white-sand Blue Flag beach on the Baltic side of the spit, reached by a 1 km boardwalk through pine forest and over the dunes from Nida village. The central guarded section bans dogs from mid-June to August, but walk five minutes north or south and you are on quiet sand with leashed dogs welcome; off-season the whole beach is effectively dog-friendly.

The free five-minute pedestrian ferry from Klaipeda's Old Castle terminal across the lagoon to Smiltyne, at the northern tip of the spit, with leashed dogs travelling at no charge. Once across, soft sandy trails through pine and broadleaf forest lead to the dunes and the Baltic beach, the gateway every Neringa visitor crosses on the way in.