Reykjavik for The Family Explorers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

The city's biggest pool: outdoor lanes, a children's slide and shallow warm pots at 38 to 42 degrees; shower without swimwear first, which the lifeguards enforce.

Dinner at six: cheeseburgers and chips at the harbour, quick service and plenty of tables, with the old harbour five minutes' walk away for running about.

A short flat walk along the shore to the steel ship sculpture; children climb on the base while you take the photo, and the bay is lit up behind.

Life-size models of 23 whale species in one hangar, with an audio guide; children walk under a blue whale and the café does hot chocolate.

Icelandic farm animals, seals and a small fairground in one park, open all year; allow a couple of hours and bring warm clothes whatever the month.

Dinner at six at the food hall: stalls for burgers, soup, fish and pizza mean everyone gets what they want, plus tables for a big party.

A three-hour boat trip with warm overalls provided; minke, humpback and dolphins are likely April to October and rare in winter, so check the season.

Trawler rooms and a ship to tour, a gentler afternoon after the boat; there are hands-on rooms and a café, a ten-minute walk from the harbour.

Dinner at six: fish arrives in bubbling pans for the table to share, with potatoes and butter, and nobody minds the noise of children.

The park beside the pond has a playground and duck-feeding spots, flat enough for pushchairs; wrap up, as the wind off the water can be raw.

A warm, free children's floor of picture books and play corners at the harbour, a good wet-weather stop and a place to sit before the airport.

A relaxed lunch of soup, sandwiches and cake in a room full of mismatched furniture, a short walk from the church and the bus to the airport.