Dog Friendly City Guide: London, England

London is a big, crowded city that happens to be generous to dogs. A dog can ride the Tube for nothing, walk into a surprising number of pubs and grand hotel bars, and spend a whole morning in the royal parks or on the heaths without touching a pavement. The trick is knowing which places mean it, which parks have their own rules, and which neighbourhoods put a pub at the end of a long walk. Hampstead, Primrose Hill, Richmond, Chelsea and Battersea are the places to start.

Getting There With a Dog

Coming from abroad, your dog has to meet the rules on the government's bringing your pet to Great Britain pages. It must be microchipped before, or at the same time as, its rabies vaccination, and you must wait at least 21 full days after the first vaccination before travelling. You need the right pet travel document for the country you are coming from, and unless you arrive directly from Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malta or Norway, a vet must give your dog a tapeworm treatment no less than 24 hours and no more than five days before you enter Great Britain. Pets must come in on an approved route, a banned breed cannot come in without a valid Certificate of Exemption, and getting any of this wrong can mean up to four months in quarantine.

Eurostar's own pet travel page says pets are not allowed on trains to and from London, with guide and assistance dogs the exception, so a dog coming from Paris or Brussels needs another way across.

Once you are in the city, getting about is easy. Transport for London's pets on public transport page says pets travel free with a paying passenger, dogs must stay on a lead at all times and off the seats, and pets must not walk on escalators.

Where to Stay

You can compare every hotel we have ranked in the city on our ranked dog friendly hotels in London. These are the A ranked houses we would book first.

The Lanesborough holds an A at Hyde Park Corner, with the park on its doorstep. Dogs stay free, with no fee and no damage deposit, and small and medium sized dogs are welcome in The Withdrawing Room and The Library Bar. Every dog gets bespoke bedding, bowls and welcome treats, and the Pet Concierge Service can arrange grooming and walks. Dogs should not be left alone in the room.

On Knightsbridge, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park also holds an A and charges nothing for the dog. There is no weight limit, up to two dogs can share a room, and they can join you in the bar, the restaurant and the lounge. The room comes with a dog bed, bowls, treats and poo bags, dog food is on sale, and the hotel offers both walking and sitting.

Egerton House, a 28 room hotel on Egerton Terrace in Knightsbridge, holds an A and lets dogs into the bar, the restaurant, the terrace and the lounge. Its dog menu runs to a doggy afternoon tea and a Dogtini, there is no weight limit, dogs may be left alone in the room, and grooming, walking and sitting can all be arranged. The fee is £50 a night, with a £500 deposit.

In Mayfair, Hotel Cafe Royal on Regent Street holds an A for small dogs, with a 12 lb limit, no fee and no deposit. Dogs go everywhere with you, the bar, the restaurant, the lounge and the terrace, and the staff are trained for canine guests. A few streets west on Albemarle Street, Brown's Hotel holds an A and serves an À La Bark dog menu in Charlie's and The Drawing Room. Small, well behaved dogs are welcome in the Donovan Bar, The Drawing Room and Charlie's before midday, with Green Park a short stroll away. It takes one dog per room up to 44 lb, and the fee is £50 a day plus a one off deep cleaning fee of £150 for rooms or £250 for suites.

Kimpton Fitzroy London on Russell Square holds an A, lets dogs stay free with no weight limit, allows them to be left alone in the room, and the staff can arrange walking and sitting. There is a £100 a night damage deposit. Out west in Ealing, The Drayton Court Hotel is a pub with rooms and an A: dogs go everywhere including the pub and restaurant, there is a large garden, no weight limit, and the fee is £20 a night.

Eat and Drink

Hampstead has the best pub walk in London. The Holly Bush, a Fuller's pub tucked up Holly Mount, says on its own site that it welcomes all canine companions, and it is aimed squarely at people coming in from a long walk on Hampstead Heath. A few streets away on Well Walk, The Wells keeps dog bowls on its ground floor, alongside the bar, the fireplace, the board games and the sofas.

On the far side of town, The Lass O'Richmond Hill calls itself a dog friendly pub nestled beside Richmond Park, and its resident dog Pickles has a list of favourite walks to recommend.

In Chelsea, Colbert on Sloane Square publishes a proper dog access policy: dogs are welcome in the bar area and on the outside terrace, on a lead and on the floor beside your table.

South of the river, two Battersea pubs list themselves as dog friendly on their own pages. The Masons Arms on Battersea Park Road is a Fuller's pub a short walk from the park, and The Merchant on Battersea Rise sits near Clapham Common. In the East End, The Owl and Pussycat on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch has a covered, heated garden and says plainly that four legged friends are welcome to tag along.

Walks and Parks

The royal parks are the backbone of a dog's London. The Royal Parks dogs leaflet says dogs with responsible owners are welcome, should be kept in sight and under control at all times, and must not chase wildlife. Each park has places dogs cannot go or must be on a lead, and the leaflet lists them.

Hyde Park is closest to the Knightsbridge hotels. Dogs are kept away from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, the lido swimming area and the Serpentine itself, so keep the lead to hand near the water. The Regent's Park, joined to Primrose Hill, is the other big central green space; its formal gardens, including Queen Mary's Gardens and the Avenue Gardens, are closed to dogs, but the open grass and the climb up Primrose Hill for the view over the city are not.

Richmond Park is the wildest of them, a deer park on a huge scale. Its rules are about the deer: the Royal Parks' deer safety advice says that from 1 May to 31 July every year it is compulsory to keep your dog on a lead in all areas of the park, and visitors should keep at least 50 metres from the deer at any time. If a deer charges, let your dog off the lead so it can get away. Greenwich Park has its own Wilderness Deer Park and flower gardens where dogs are not allowed, with the rest of the hill above the river open to them.

Hampstead Heath is managed by the City of London, not the Royal Parks. Its dog walking page asks you to keep your dog under control at all times, to make sure it comes back when called off the lead, and to put it on a lead around children and picnickers, and you can be fined if it is not under control. South of the river, Battersea Park is a 200 acre Victorian park with a riverside promenade, and Wandsworth Council publishes a dog control map for it on the same page.

A Day Out

Take the Northern line to Hampstead and walk out onto the Heath from the village, letting the dog run where it is safe and calling it in around picnickers. Come back through the village for lunch at The Holly Bush or The Wells. On a second day, start early in Richmond Park, outside the birthing season if you want the lead off, and finish at The Lass O'Richmond Hill beside the park. For something in town, walk Hyde Park from Hyde Park Corner to the Serpentine and back, then a drink in The Library Bar at The Lanesborough.

Good to Know

Pick up after your dog everywhere; in the royal parks failing to clean up is an offence under The Royal Parks Regulations, and dog waste bins are provided in all of them. Dogs are not allowed in children's playgrounds or inside the cafés and restaurants in the royal parks, and in Richmond Park the lead goes on for the whole of May, June and July.