The half-hour city cruise is the one to do with children: out from The Groves, under the suspension bridge, past Grosvenor Park and the Earl's Eye, along the sweep of the Meadows and back. Thirty minutes is precisely as long as a boat holds a six-year-old's attention, and under 5s travel free, so nobody has paid much if it does not land.
Boats sail daily from February half term to mid-December, weather permitting, at least hourly from 11am (until 4pm in winter, 5pm in summer). Just turn up, though booking online shaves a bit off: £9.50 adults, £4.50 kids, £26 for a family of five. There is a bar onboard for a hot chocolate, and toilets, which matter more than the commentary. The Groves is Chester's riverside promenade, so the cruise slots neatly into a city day rather than being the whole outing.
What it costs: Online: adults £9.50, children 5 to 15 £4.50, under 5s free, family of five £26. Slightly more if you pay on the quayside. A two-hour Iron Bridge cruise also runs for older crews.
An hour on the Dee aboard the Lady Diana with Santa and the elves, a gingerbread man for the children, mince pies for the adults and a book chosen to each child's reading age. There are only six sailings. No baby change on board (the nearest is by the Bandstand, 100m away) and pushchairs must be folded.
Seasonal: Feb to mid-Dec. Check before travelling.
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Excellent, but it is a lot of walking. Reviews rate 5 to 10 as the ideal age and still recommend a pushchair at four. Climbing frames, water play and sand pits break up the distance.
A small entry fee, then £4.50 a go for most attractions: sand and water play, mini golf, bouncy pillows, a racing track and soft play, all funded by what the farm calls the world's biggest ice cream shop. Cheap to get in, easy to spend in.
More than a kilometre of muddy obstacles, rope swings, wobbly bridges and big slides through a Cheshire valley. Children come off it filthy, soaked and asking to go round again. This is the point; dress accordingly.
A ruined castle on a crag with views from the Pennines to the Welsh mountains, a reconstructed Bronze Age roundhouse and woodland paths below the walls. Castles do not need roofs to work for this age group.
Chester's Roman story done properly: real tombstones from the fortress walls, a hands-on natural history gallery, and a walk-through period house at the back. Free, central, and the right size.
Chester's Victorian park above the river, with a miniature railway looping the lawns, a good playground and open-air theatre in summer. Pair with a boat trip from the Groves below.
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