Family days out across Greater Manchester, town by town

Greater Manchester splits neatly into two economies. The free one is genuinely good: the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester Museum's dinosaurs and vivarium, Imperial War Museum North, and Heaton Park, which is vast enough to swallow a whole afternoon. The paid one clusters around the Trafford Centre, where Legoland Discovery Centre, Sea Life and Play Factore sit within a few minutes of each other and will happily empty a wallet before lunch.

That Trafford cluster is the rainy-day insurance, and rain is a consideration here, but book online because walk-up prices are worse and school holidays get busy. If the weather holds, the East Lancashire Railway from Bury is the day we recommend most to visitors, and Hollingworth Lake or Burrs Country Park cost nothing. Days out in Greater Manchester rarely need a long drive; the tram does half of them.

Areas in Greater Manchester

What’s on in Greater Manchester

99 dated events coming up across the county.

The pick of Greater Manchester

Twelve to start with. Each area above has the full list.

Alexandra Park

Oldham

★★★★★4.6(3,484)

Oldham's Victorian showpiece, 72 acres built by out-of-work cotton spinners. Lake, duck pond, cafe on the water, seven free tennis courts and a playground with a proper accessible section.

Free, free car parksAges 1-11

Blackleach Country Park

Salford~25 min

★★★★☆4.4(961)

A Green Flag nature reserve wrapped round an old reservoir at Walkden, with a permanent orienteering course that turns a lap of the lake into a treasure hunt. No playground, no cafe, nothing to pay.

FreeAges 4-11

Bolton Museum

Bolton~40 min

★★★★★4.5(1,752)

A free town museum hiding one of Britain's best Egyptian collections, including a full recreation of Thutmose III's tomb, plus an aquarium in the basement. Genuinely free, genuinely good.

FreeIndoorsAges 3-12

Bramall Hall & Park

Stockport~30 min

★★★★★4.7(927)

A black and white Tudor manor house sitting in around 60 acres of parkland with woods, brooks and lakes. The park costs nothing, under 16s go into the hall free, and all-day parking is £3.

Park free - hall charges adultsAges 3-11

Burrs Country Park

Bury~40 min

★★★★★4.7(1,249)

Riverside country park on the Irwell with a playground, old mill remains and its own East Lancashire Railway station, so a heritage steam train can be part of the day rather than the whole of it.

Free entry and parkingAges 3-11

Chadderton Hall Park

Oldham

★★★★★4.6(1,886)

The Chadderton park with the cafe, and therefore the toilets. Play area with a sand pit and accessible swings, free tennis, a river walk and ornamental gardens, all on a flat site with parking.

Free, free parkingAges 1-10

Chorlton Water Park

Manchester~25 min

★★★★★4.6(3,690)

A flat mile around a lake, swans included, plus a genuinely good playground with a zip line, sand play and sensory equipment. Free entry, free parking, and south Manchester knows it, so go early on sunny days.

Free, free parkingAges 2-11

Clarence Park

Bury

★★★★☆4.3(1,294)

Twenty hectares, the biggest park in the borough, and the one Bury has actually spent money on: a concrete skate park went in for 180,000 pounds, and there is a playground, tennis, a cafe and a boating lido.

Free, car park at the LidoAges 2-11

Clifton Country Park

Salford~25 min

★★★★★4.6(2,439)

48 hectares on the River Irwell with a lake, a play area, a climbing boulder and a cafe open every day. Trails are marked for distance and for accessibility, so you know before you set off with a buggy.

FreeAges 2-11

Denzell Gardens

Altrincham

★★★★★4.5(362)

A walled Victorian garden on Dunham Road with a sunken garden, an orchid meadow and an ornamental pond. Green Flag, and quiet. There is no playground here, so know that before you drive over.

FreeOrchids in the meadow from late springAges 4-11

Dunwood Park

Oldham

★★★★★4.5(598)

Small, tidy and 300 metres from a tram stop, which makes Dunwood the one you can do without a car. Playground, three tennis courts, a bowling green and free parking if you do drive.

Free, free car parkAges 2-10

Etherow Country Park

Stockport~45 min

★★★★★4.6(3,275)

A big lake crowded with waterfowl, a flat path alongside it and a cafe where you left the car: the easiest small-child walk in the Stockport area. Entry is free, the car park is not.

Free - pay and display parkingAges 2-11