Bologna · With kids

A large food-and-agriculture theme park on the north-eastern edge of the city, in the Fiera district under ten kilometres from the centre, and free to walk into — which makes it the cheapest way to fill an afternoon when the centre has run out of patience.

The amusement park in the same Fiera district, listed by the city among its theme parks and marked as accessible. Under ten kilometres out and reachable on city buses, so it works as a half-day rather than an expedition.

A rope-and-treetop course up in the hills on the Bologna side, in the green belt above the city. Good for older children with energy to burn, and a straightforward bus-and-walk from the centre on a cool morning.

A life-size dinosaur park under ten kilometres from the city, listed by the tourist board among Bologna's theme parks. Entirely outdoors, which makes it a spring or autumn outing rather than an August one.

Bologna in July is hot, inland and airless. The city's sports listings are largely municipal swimming pools — Sterlino, Valverde, Paolo Gori at Pianoro — and there is a river lido at Casalecchio di Reno, ten kilometres out and flagged as accessible.