Santander

A 25-hectare royal peninsula closing the bay to the east, with King Alfonso XIII's 1912 summer palace at its heart, open lawns, a small open-air zoo and 3 km of clifftop perimeter paths with sea views on three sides. Dogs are welcome on lead throughout the grounds and paths; only the palace interior and zoo enclosures are off-limits.

Santander's emblematic 1.5 km crescent of golden sand, split into Primera and Segunda by the Piquío promontory and lined with Belle Époque hotels and the casino. Dogs are banned during the summer bathing season (1 May to 30 September) but allowed on lead the rest of the year, and an empty Sardinero at low tide on an October morning is one of the finest dog walks in the north.

The city's largest inner park, around 30 hectares of lawns and a central lake built on reclaimed marshland behind the Sardinero. It holds one of Santander's main fenced off-leash dog zones (Zona de Esparcimiento Canino), where dogs can run freely under supervision; the rest of the park requires a lead and PPP breeds are always leashed and muzzled.

The 1839 lighthouse on the dramatic headland north of the Sardinero, the northernmost point of the bay and the end of the city's seafront walk. Leashed dogs can roam the surrounding clifftop heathland and the coastal path linking it to the Mataleñas park, with wide views of the Cantabrian Sea; mind the unfenced cliff edges in strong wind.

A clifftop park between the Sardinero and the Cabo Mayor lighthouse, with pine groves, open lawns and a small municipal golf course set above wild coves. Dogs on lead are welcome on the public paths and lawns (the golf course itself is off-limits), and the trail makes an easy, shaded link in the longer coastal walk.

The leafy waterfront gardens between the old town and the bay, beside Renzo Piano's Centro Botín art centre, with sculptures, ponds and shaded lawns. Leashed dogs are welcome throughout, making it the natural green start of the seafront promenade; the Centro Botín building and its rooftop are not open to dogs, but the surrounding plaza is.