Madrid with a baby or toddler (0-2)

The city's big park: rowing boats, playgrounds and weekend puppet shows. Free to enter.

Seventeen play areas along the river and water jets in summer. Flat, free and stroller-easy.

Zoo, dolphinarium and aquarium on one ticket. It is a big site, so pick a half and stick to it.

Smaller than the zoo, with indoor climate halls. The better choice on very hot or cold days.

Dinosaur skeletons and a giant squid for €3.50 a child. Small enough to finish before lunch.

Real locomotives in a nineteenth-century station hall. Train-obsessed 2 to 6 year olds will not want to leave.