Dresden · With kids

Tiergartenstraße 1, on the edge of the Großer Garten and open 365 days a year. About 13 hectares with roughly 1,400 animals across 235 species — small enough to do properly in half a day with a toddler rather than dragging everyone round a vast site.

Lingnerplatz 1, open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00 and closed Mondays except Easter and Whit Monday. Admission €12, €6 reduced, free for under-17s. The "World of Senses" children's museum in the building is hands-on and pitched at primary-school ages; book online to skip the queue.

In the Johanneum on the Neumarkt at Augustusstraße 1, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00. Four halls covering road, rail, shipping and aviation, a model railway with over 200 locomotives, a Bobby Car traffic park and the dyna mix lab. Happy hour is €5, or €3 reduced, from 17:00 to 18:00. Access is currently via the rear entrance because of building work.

A 5.6 km narrow-gauge circuit through the Großer Garten, five stations including Straßburger Platz, Zoo, Carolasee and Karcherallee, about 30 minutes for a lap. Runs April to October, Wednesday to Sunday. Almost every job apart from driving is done by children and teenagers, around 200 volunteers a year; the steam locos Lisa and Moritz usually work weekends and holidays.

The Sächsische Dampfschifffahrt sails from the Terrassenufer piers below the Brühlsche Terrasse: upstream to Pillnitz, Pirna, Königstein and Bad Schandau, downstream to Radebeul and Meißen. It runs year-round, including winter and Christmas sailings; bikes cost €4 extra, prams and wheelchairs travel free.