Top 5 Most Dog-Friendly Countries in Europe

Meet Bindi, our little Labrador mix who has been our loyal travel companion for the past decade. After we adopted her from a rescue in Northern Virginia, she had a few relatively normal dog years, but once we took on job opportunities in Europe, her life changed drastically.

Back in the US, dogs are mostly left at home. They're not welcome in restaurants or indoor spaces, and with limited pet-friendly public transit options in the DC area, we couldn't bring Bindi many places at all. But things are so different now. It's become the exception, rather than the norm, that Bindi gets left behind.

After traveling through 20+ countries together, here are what Bindi and I consider our top 5 most dog-friendly destinations in Europe.

No. 5 - England 🇬🇧

England was the first international destination we visited with Bindi, and it was an immediate eye-opener. Dogs in the pub? No problem. Your pup joining you for a dinner reservation? Of course. Taking the dog on the train for a day trip? Absolutely.

Once we arrived, Bindi was no longer spending her days waiting for us to come home from work. She started tagging along to the WeWork office with Mehmet regularly. Weekend mornings evolved from a quick walk into a ritual: leisurely coffees at local cafes, Bindi settled happily at our feet. And with so many beautiful parks, there was never a shortage of things for her to sniff out and explore.

England was just the tip of the iceberg for how much Bindi's life, and ours, was going to change.

Dog-Friendly Highlights

• Dogs welcome in most pubs
• Pet-friendly restaurants common
• Dogs allowed on trains and buses
• Abundant off-lead parks

No. 4 - The Netherlands 🇳🇱

The Dutch are famously relaxed about a lot of things, and dogs are no exception. It's clear that people here genuinely care about their dogs' well-being. One of the most common sights on a weekday morning in Amsterdam is a cargo bike loaded with five to ten surprisingly well-behaved dogs, headed off to doggy daycare.

After work, dogs join in for everything. One of the best sights you might be lucky enough to catch in Amsterdam is a totally unbothered dog sitting at the bow of a boat, lazily drifting down one of the city's canals.

A word of caution: the Dutch attitude towards dogs might actually be too relaxed. It's nearly impossible to take a walk without encountering an owner who isn't following leash laws, or who is blissfully unaware their dog is causing mischief.

Dog-Friendly Highlights

• Dogs welcome in most cafes and shops
• Doggy daycares everywhere
• Dogs on boats and bikes
• Very dog-social culture

No. 3 - Czech Republic 🇨🇿

This one genuinely surprised us. Before our trip, I'd read a few blogs about traveling with a dog in the Czech Republic and was a bit nervous. We made sure to have a muzzle on hand and booked accommodation where we could easily leave Bindi if needed. We couldn't have been more wrong.

In Prague, we had zero problems bringing Bindi into restaurants. We even discovered one that brought her an entire little plate of treats while we ate. Then, on one particularly memorable evening, all three of us showed up 20 minutes late for our dinner reservation, completely soaked from a sudden rainstorm, absolutely certain the smell of wet dog was about to get us turned away at the door, and yet, we were welcomed so warmly.

Since so many of Prague's most famous sights are outdoors anyway, it's easy to explore as a tourist with a dog. Even the grounds of Prague Castle are accessible (they can't go inside the buildings, understandably, but still).

Dog-Friendly Highlights

• Dogs welcome in restaurants
• Prague Castle grounds accessible
• Outdoor-heavy tourist attractions
• Enthusiastic, dog-loving locals

No. 2 - France 🇫🇷

Nothing seems to disarm that notoriously nonchalant French attitude quite like a cute dog. When other travelers tell us about their experiences with rude waitstaff and standoffish locals, we're genuinely puzzled, and then we remember Bindi. She has a way of opening doors (sometimes literally) that we never could on our own.

In restaurants, hotels, and on public transport, she captures the attention of everyone around her, leading to genuine friendly interactions with locals that otherwise would have felt impossible for the average tourist.

Whatever kind of trip you're after in France, your pup can almost certainly come along. We've been to champagne tasting rooms, along the beaches of the Côte d'Azur, and through the famous Christmas markets of Alsace, all with Bindi in tow.

Dog-Friendly Highlights

• Dogs welcome in most restaurants
• Pet-friendly hotels widely available
• Dogs allowed on most trains (SNCF)
• Beach access in many areas

No. 1 - Italy 🇮🇹

Italy deserves this top spot without question. The Italian attitude towards dogs is nothing short of heartwarming. You can even find dog-friendly grocery stores, provided your dog is content to ride in the designated dog shopping cart, of course.

We humans travel to Italy for the food, and Bindi eats pretty well there, too. It's so common for someone at a restaurant to sneak her a treat or a bite of something that it's honestly rare to finish a meal in Italy without Bindi having gotten at least a taste of the local cuisine herself.

Bindi has been all over, sniffing her way through scenic Northern Italy, through the foodie haven of Emilia-Romagna, down the Ligurian Coast, dodging scooters on the streets of Naples, and wandering through the whitewashed villages of Puglia. In every single place, she wasn't just tolerated; people were often more excited to see her than us.

Italy is the one country where we've never once encountered a situation where Bindi wasn't welcome. It still surprises us every time.

Dog-Friendly Highlights

• Dogs welcome almost everywhere
• Dog-friendly supermarkets exist
• Restaurants frequently offer treats
• Pet-friendly across all regions

While these are our top five, it's worth saying that nearly every European country we've visited has been more dog-friendly than we could have ever imagined. We've been so consistently surprised at how accessible Europe is with a dog.

Even the countries that we'd rank as the least dog-friendly on the continent (I'll share more on those soon) are still more welcoming to dogs than most places in the US. If you're on the fence about bringing your dog on a European adventure, let this be the sign to just do it.