  We review most dynamical constraints on the gravitational field of spiral
galaxies in general, and of the Milky Way in particular. Such constraints are
of prime importance for determining the characteristics of the putative dark
matter haloes of galaxies. For the Milky Way, we review observational
constraints in the inner parts (cored or cusped dark matter distribution,
maximum disk or not), in the solar neighbourhood (local dark matter density)
and in the outer parts (virial mass and triaxial shape of the dark matter
halo). We also point out various caveats, systematic effects, and large current
uncertainties. Many fundamental parameters such as the local circular velocity
are poorly known, evidence for triaxiality of the dark halo is shaky, and
different estimates of the virial mass as well as of the local dark matter
density vary by at least a factor of two. We however argue that the current
best-fit value for the local dark matter density, which should be used as a
benchmark for direct dark matter detection searches, is of the order of 0.5
GeV/cm3. We also explain why alternatives to particle dark matter on galactic
scales should still be very seriously considered.
