As the summer holidays creep up on us, the same thought crosses every parent’s mind: “Just how will I keep them entertained for six whole weeks?”
If you’re not heading off on holiday abroad but fancy a few day trips out, why not travel to one of the best UK cities to visit with kids?
The team at Monsoon analysed the UK’s 20 top city destinations for tourists against a range of criteria – things to do with kids; places to eat with children; accessibility; and weather. They then combined these factors to give an overall “child-friendly” score for each destination.
And it’s good news for families in the north and Scotland, who won’t have to travel far for a great getaway – eight out of the top 10 cities in the ranking are north of Birmingham.
Edinburgh came out on top, with an overall child-friendly score of 79/100. It was closely followed by Manchester (68/100) and Nottingham (66/100).
Edinburgh had 163 things to do with kids, which includes 69 outdoor attractions and sights, as well as 14 educational days out.
Manchester ranked highly thanks to its large number of car parking spaces (20,151, the most out of the list), and 1,209 child-friendly restaurants. And Nottingham came second for things to do, with 105 family activities.
Due to its sheer size, London wasn’t included in the final rankings – although the team did note there are 538 things to do with kids in the capital, as well as 6,679 child-friendly restaurants.
Leeds was found to be the cheapest to travel around, with a family day pass costing just £5.50. Glasgow was the third best city for fussy eaters, with over 800 child-friendly restaurants to choose from.
Cities in the south scored highly in the weather categories, with Brighton, Reading and Oxford taking the top three spots for average dry days across the summer holidays – but they had less “things to do” with kids.
See the top 10 cities to visit with kids below, according to the research. Or, view the full list here.