Walking your dog in ReimsThe complete guide: parks, walks and good addresses

🌳1. Hautes et Basses Promenades (the Upper and Lower Promenades) — Reims's "Central Park"

Laid out from the 18th century onwards on the city's former ramparts, the Promenades form a long tree-lined ribbon that runs straight through the centre, from the Porte de Paris in the south (facing the Patte d'Oie park) up to the Halles du Boulingrin and Place de la République in the north. Locals treat them as a single space, divided in the middle by Square Colbert, opposite the train station. Mayor Arnaud Robinet has called them "Reims's Central Park" — a phrase that captures exactly what this linear park means to the city.

To the south, the Basses Promenades, completed in 2022 after reclaiming the former car parks, unfold vast lawns shaded by majestic plane trees, two reflecting pools and a "mist fountain" that cools summer afternoons, a bandstand, a carousel, and a generous picnic lawn aligned with the Porte de Paris. To the north, the Hautes Promenades (renamed Promenades Jean-Louis Schneiter in 2016 and entirely refurbished in 2019) end near the Porte de Mars, a monumental Roman gate around which a wide esplanade has been created, dotted with 25 jets of water that delight children in summer.

For dog walkers, the space splits naturally: playgrounds and the fitness zone are off-limits to dogs, but the main paths and lawns are perfectly suited to a walk on the lead. The drinking fountains and water features installed during the refurbishment are a real bonus in summer — your dog can cool its paws after a longer outing.

🌿2. Square de la Patte d'Oie (the Patte d'Oie Garden) — the heritage garden

Dating from the early 18th century, restored as an English-style garden in the late 19th and remodelled in 1994, the Square de la Patte d'Oie is a natural extension of the Basses Promenades. It is one of the city's finest heritage gardens, with notable trees — sequoias, plane trees, black walnuts, honeylocusts, beeches — an elegant bandstand, ornamental ponds dotted along the paths, and the singular sculptures of the Ateliers de Launay scattered across the grounds.

The atmosphere is calm, the paths are wide, and the blend of historic character, bandstand, water features and centuries-old trees makes for a quality walk, even over twenty minutes or so. Its immediate proximity to the Promenades means you can string the two together for an hour-long loop, ideal as a morning outing.

⛪3. Jardin Henri Deneux (the Henri Deneux Garden) — behind the cathedral

Tucked behind the cathedral and the Palais du Tau, the Jardin Henri Deneux is one of the historic centre's best-kept secrets. At 6,200 square metres, it isn't merely a token green pause: you can actually take a proper walk here, enjoy a close-up and unusual view of the cathedral's Gothic apse, and spot the chimera statues that punctuate the flowerbeds. Since 2011 it has carried the name of the Reims architect who led the cathedral's reconstruction after the First World War.

For dog walkers, its strength is unbeatable: sheer central location. Right behind the cathedral, a stone's throw from the Palais du Tau and the Carnegie library, it's the genuine pause you need on a day spent exploring the centre — somewhere to sit down, give your dog a drink, and catch your breath between visits.

🐕4. Parc de Champagne (the Champagne Park) — the Rémois dogs' favourite

If you have to pick just one, this is it. The Parc de Champagne, formerly Parc Pommery, covers 21.6 hectares on Saint-Nicaise hill, listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Created in 1907 by the Pommery champagne house and taken over by the city in 2004, it has retained an exceptional landscape character: maples, chestnuts, box trees, American black walnuts, Judas trees. Add in a one-kilometre fitness trail, basketball courts, table tennis tables and several playgrounds.

For dogs, the Parc de Champagne offers something almost no other park in Reims provides: a large fenced dog run where you can let your companion off the lead in safety. The park has several drinking fountains for visitors, but only one is specifically designed for dogs, in the upper part of the park — well worth the detour if your walk runs long.

🦆5. Parc Léo Lagrange — the great landscaped park of Courlancy

Designed in 1978 by landscape architect Jacques Sgard, the Parc Léo Lagrange spreads over 12 hectares in the Courlancy district, between the Chaussée Bocquaine to the north (which separates it from the Auguste-Delaune stadium) and the Rue de Courlancy to the south. One of the largest urban parks in Reims, it is built around a large lake, extended on the eastern side by a semi-natural wetland that attracts plenty of birdlife.

For a walk with your dog, the appeal is layered: wide lawns, two walking loops of roughly one kilometre each, a small shaded bridge, a calming lake, and a real diversity of uses that mean you're never alone, yet never crowded. The park also features a skatepark, a pumptrack and playgrounds — areas to steer clear of with a dog reactive to wheels or to groups of children.

💧6. La coulée verte (the Greenway) — 24 km along the canal

Built along the former towpath of the Aisne-Marne canal, the coulée verte is the great walking spine of Reims. Twenty-four kilometres between canal and river, from the city centre to Sillery, taking in the Parc de la Roseraie and the Parc de la Cerisaie along the way. Walkers, runners and cyclists share the path — the atmosphere is friendly, the terrain entirely flat, and you can cut the route to suit your stamina.

From the city centre, access is straightforward: you reach the coulée verte in a few minutes via the Pont de Vesle or the Pont de Venise, two natural entry points that take you straight from the urban grid to the waterside.

For a dog that needs to clock up the miles, this is the option of choice. The banks are shaded in places, level throughout, and the canal-and-river setting offers changing views that keep longer walks engaging. Do keep your dog firmly on the lead: the coulée verte is shared with cyclists who can move at speed.