Plans that survive a six-year-old

Good with children

Ranked by our editors for how well a trip actually works with children — shade, short walks, somewhere to swim, a museum that earns an hour. Every one has a published family day plan; the order is our judgement, not a measurement.

30 destinations

The Eiffel Tower above the Seine at violet dusk, with river boats moored along the bank

FranceDisneyland Paris, and a sailboat on the Luxembourg pond

Aerial view of London at sunset: Tower Bridge, the River Thames and the skyline of the City

United KingdomDinosaurs and a science gallery, both free

A ramen bowl seen from above with thin noodles, soft-boiled egg halves, sweetcorn, spicy minced topping and fresh greens in a speckled ceramic bowl

JapanTokyo Disneyland, Ghibli and the Ueno pandas

Aerial view of Marina Bay Sands’ three towers and SkyPark at dawn, with the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum in the foreground

Sentosa, the zoo, and nothing to worry about

Aerial view of the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab on its island off the Dubai coast, with the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the foreground and Palm Jumeirah behind

United Arab EmiratesWater parks in the morning, malls in the heat

Colourful gabled townhouses and moored wooden boats along the Nyhavn canal in Copenhagen under an evening sky

DenmarkTivoli, in the middle of town

Aerial view of Barcelona with the Sagrada Família rising from the octagonal blocks of the Eixample grid

SpainA beach at the end of the metro line

The Colosseum in Rome at dusk, its arches glowing with warm light under a deep blue evening sky

ItalyThe Colosseum, then a boating lake

The stepped pyramid of El Castillo at Chichén Itzá under a blue sky, with a carved stone serpent head in the foreground

The Riviera Maya

MexicoCenote swims and shallow beaches

Riddarholmen island and its dark church spire under a pink and purple sunset, seen across calm water in Stockholm

SwedenJunibacken, then the Vasa

The gilded copper canopy of Innsbruck's Goldenes Dachl glowing above its frescoed oriel balcony on the pale Neuhof facade, with the snow-covered crags of the Nordkette rising directly behind the roofline under a blue sky.

AustriaA funicular straight to the Alpine Zoo

Red-brick buildings, curving tram tracks and office towers in central Manchester, seen from above.

United KingdomFree museums, all of it indoors

Colourful houses of the Ribeira district rising above the Douro riverside quay in Porto, with traditional boats on the water

PortugalTrams, tiles and the six-bridge boat

View over Lyon's rooftops and the Part-Dieu skyline from the Fourviere esplanade

FranceThe ficelle funicular and the Roman theatres

A sailboat anchored in a secluded turquoise cove framed by pine-covered cliffs on the Ibiza coast

SpainA shallow cove and a slow lunch

Close-up of a thick grilled steak with a charred crust being carved on a wooden board, its interior rosy medium rare

ArgentinaThe Planetarium and the Palermo parks

Turquoise sea meeting a palm-backed Goan beach lined with sunshades and boats on golden sand

IndiaThe beach to yourselves before breakfast

St Mark's Church in Zagreb's Upper Town, its glazed tiled roof laid out as the coats of arms of Croatia and of the city

CroatiaThe world's shortest funicular

The Johannesburg skyline under a cloudy sky, with the Hillbrow Tower rising above apartment blocks and a curving road below

South AfricaThe zoo, then a picnic at Zoo Lake

A wedge of plum tart on a wooden board beside a cup of coffee, the halved purple plums set in a pale custard on a thin pastry base, in the style of the Quetschentaart baked across Luxembourg at the late-summer plum harvest.

Luxembourg City

LuxembourgCasemate tunnels under the old town

Charcoal-grilled pork souvlaki skewers served over grilled pita and fries, with sliced tomato, onion-and-parsley salad and a pot of tzatziki.

CyprusMosaic hunting, then the harbour castle

A crowded Macau shopping lane lined with almond-cookie and pastry shops, the lit counter of the Koi Kei Bakery on the left and neon signs hanging over the heads of the crowd.

ChinaA treasure hunt on Senado Square

A narrow cobbled lane climbing through Granada's Albaicin quarter between a brick and river-stone wall and whitewashed houses, a cascade of magenta bougainvillea spilling across the gap above.

SpainThe Alhambra as a fortress, then the park

Florence Cathedral: Brunelleschi's red-tiled dome and Giotto's bell tower rising above the rooftops of the city

ItalyDavid first, the carousel after

Aerial view of Dubrovnik's walled Old Town on the Adriatic, with terracotta rooftops, the Old Port full of moored boats and sea fortifications

CroatiaThe walls at opening, then the Lokrum boat

The red-brick and white-stone arches of Verona's Ponte Pietra spanning the fast green Adige, with the dome and bell tower of San Giorgio in Braida rising among cypresses behind.

ItalyThe Arena while everyone is still fresh

Overhead close-up of a bowl of Vietnamese beef pho: flat rice noodles in clear broth topped with minced beef, fresh herbs, spring onion and chopped scallions in a white bowl

VietnamThe Museum of Ethnology

A monk in saffron robes standing before the gilded gable and tiered roof of a Lao temple hall in Vientiane, the low evening sun setting the gold leaf alight against a clear blue sky

LaosBuddha Park, then the pool hour

A camel resting on the sand in front of the carved columns and pediment of the Treasury (Al-Khazneh) at Petra

JordanBest March–May, September–November

Red sand plain of Wadi Rum stretching toward jagged sandstone mountains under a hazy sky

JordanBest Spring and autumn

Every destination here qualifies on the basis stated above, and each one is somewhere we have published guides for. Back to the full atlas.