Graz · With kids

Hands-on exhibitions split by age — inventor mice for 3–7s, invention and maths rooms for 8s and up — at Friedrichgasse 34 by the Augarten. Open Monday 9am–6pm and Wednesday to Sunday 9am–5pm, closed Tuesdays.

A 25-minute ride on rails through the old tunnels inside the Schlossberg, past lit fairy-tale scenes. Entrance directly on Schloßbergplatz (trams 3 and 5); daily 10.30am–5pm, 9.30am–6pm in July and August, €11.50 adults and €8.90 for ages 3–14.

A 170-metre tube slide dropping 64 metres through the inside of the hill, entered from the Schlossberg tunnel. €6.50 a ride, or €10.90 combined with the 4D cinema next to it; cash at the tunnel ticket office, card at the cinema counter.

Graz's house mountain, half an hour north at St. Radegund. The cable car runs roughly 9am to 5pm weather permitting — weekday and weekend times differ, so check first — and at the top there is a summer toboggan run, a wooden marble run, disc golf and 40km of paths.

Austria's largest dripstone cave, 25km north of the city and about half an hour by car. Guided tours run 55–70 minutes, daily at 11am, 2pm and 3.30pm from 15 April to 31 October and at weekends only in winter; €12 adults, €8 children.