Farm-to-table plates in a restored 1927 ice plant, and the vintage building holds a kid's interest.
Burgers and milkshakes, with mac and cheese, hot dogs and tenders for the picky ones.
A big fenced wooden playground with a toddler sandbox and play trolley, and forts, a lighthouse and a space shuttle for older kids.
Dinner at grass-hut tables out over the marina water.
Quick counter-service pizza and pasta, so it fits before or after the fort without a long sit.
A playground with open grass, courts and a ballfield around it.
The 1905 salad is tossed at your table, and kids like watching it get made. Tile-lined rooms for a proper sit-down meal.
Oceanfront suites with a made-to-order breakfast and a pool with a box of toys and floaties that can go to the beach too.
Crispy fried shrimp, with twelve-and-under plates of shrimp, tenders or clam strips.
Small street tacos you build the way you like, so a kid can keep theirs plain. Covered seating outside.
A two-level 1920s-style gastropub with live music, known for its pretzels and milkshakes.
A nicer dinner out with its own menu for kids, tweens and teens, so a 14-year-old isn't stuck with the chicken tenders.
Pizza by the slice, so each kid picks their own topping. Garlic knots and simple pasta for anyone who won't do pizza.
Changing local-history exhibits, restrooms and water fountains, a first stop before walking the old town.
An accessible playground, short nature trails and a beginner skate area set apart for new skaters, so a first-timer can try it away from the big kids.
A beach with a playground, plus the short Ancient Dunes trail for a wildlife hunt (it has stairs and hills). Swim where the lifeguard is: rip currents.
A playground under big oaks, then a paved one-mile loop to look for birds, an easy walk at a kid's pace.
A reconstructed fort and the story of the people who escaped slavery to reach it, told through exhibits and a guided tour. Best for kids about seven and up.
A proper sit-down Italian dinner that still works with kids, with personal cheese pizzas, pasta and mozzarella bites on their own menu.
Breakfast or lunch at tables beside the marina, and kids get a smaller avocado toast or a PB&J with a juice box.
A working cathedral you can walk into quietly. Give kids a mission: find a favorite stained-glass window or spot the Spanish coat of arms.
A quiet courtyard tucked away from the street for lunch, with pasta and chicken parmesan most kids will happily eat.
A compact history gallery where a timeline walks from Spanish and British colonial rule to today. Short enough for a school-age kid's attention span.
A beginner skate area next to a playground, so an older kid can practice while a younger sibling climbs. Skaters under 17 need a signed waiver.
Sweet crepes made to order, and a quiet back garden (shared with a soft-pretzel counter) to eat them in.
Student art from local schools hangs here at times, so a budding artist sees work by kids their age. Classes and camps come up too.
A colorful tea house with themed rooms, for a kid who loves a tea party.
Watch adoptable cats from the café, or book the lounge to sit and play with them.
Kids join the pirate crew for sword lessons, face painting, sea shanties and a battle for the treasure, and every child goes home with their own treasure chest.
A turf patio where kids can play while you sit close by, with board games, shuffleboard and tacos from the truck parked on site.
Blacksmithing, a cannon demonstration and a watchtower to climb.
A fenced play area with slides and climbing bars built to be accessible to every kid.
Watch rescued cats from the café side, or sit in the lounge with them. The kitten lounge is for ages eight and up.
A guide made for kids at the desk turns the collection into an I Spy hunt for odd objects.
Photographs, art and neighborhood stories of Black life through the civil-rights era, in a former Black school. Some exhibits cover violence and suit older kids.
A short daytime tour with a costumed deputy: kids step inside the old cells and hear the inmates' stories. The crime history suits older kids.
A recreated 1908 general store where costumed guides demonstrate odd old gadgets, so kids get to see early-1900s inventions actually working.
A shady square with old cannons to look at, trees to run around and a gazebo to dance in, while you sit with a snack.
Peacocks wandering the grounds, a taste of the spring water, a planetarium, cannon firing and a re-created Timucuan village.
More than 160 wax figures, from historical people to pop-culture characters, that kids can pose beside for photos. A studio shows how they're made.
A padded toddler zone plus bigger indoor structures for kids up to 49 inches.
Odd objects and hands-on displays inside an 1887 building built like a castle.
A playscape with four-square and hopscotch painted on the courts, so kids can start a game without any gear.
Grilled cheese and 35-plus arcade games that take quarters. Kids are welcome early; later in the evening it's adults only.
A guided tour of colonial surgery, antique tools and a mock amputation included. Best for older kids into gross history; sensitive ones may not enjoy it.
Alligators and crocodiles side by side, so kids can see the difference, plus lemurs, birds and wildlife shows. The zipline starts at age 8.
Staff lead you around a shaded, open-air aquarium and hand over starfish and horseshoe crabs to touch. Toddlers get as much out of it as older kids.
The stone gate from 1808, with pieces of the old town wall on either side. A quick walk-through and a photo, then on to the next thing.
Older kids can walk the self-guided route past the stills, barrels and bottling line in an old ice plant. The tasting is for adults only.
Kids under 44 inches can't climb the tower and nobody can be carried, so the shipyard playground and puppet theater are their part of the visit.
Real pirate artifacts and hands-on displays pitched at about four to eight, and it's indoors and air-conditioned for a hot afternoon.
Real shipwreck artifacts and treasure, hands-on displays and a small theater. Some of it covers the Titanic.
A guided walk of over an hour past rescued big cats, bears and wolves, with the story of how each one got there.
A dedicated kids' area with routes for small climbers, and higher walls and bouldering once they outgrow it.
A big PB&J on the menu, and colorful art in the gallery next door to look at while you wait.
Brush and feed shaggy Highland cows and other farm animals on a guided outdoor visit. Wear closed-toe shoes, it's a real farm.
A hands-on colonial workshop: rope-making, candle-dipping and weaving, pitched at about ages 3 to 10. Everyone goes home with a beeswax candle.
A playscape, then a nature trail out to a dock over the water. Enough for a play and a short walk with a view.
An ornate Alhambra-style house full of strange rooms and objects, with an audio tour. It can win over a tween.
Watch the chocolate machines at work, then taste white, milk and dark. Everyone wears a hairnet in the production room.
A 19th-century boarding house with its rooms still furnished. Kids can compare the tiny shared sleeping room with their own and ask the guide who stayed.
Pinball, classic video games and skee-ball, set to unlimited play.
Lightweight balls and bumpers for kids ten and under, then the arcade for the break between games.
A small, staff-guided capybara encounter, and kids can feed or pet them when the capybaras choose to come over.
The original stone fort, with a Junior Ranger booklet to work through, a kid-sized passage to the cannonball room and a grassy hill to roll down.
Soft serve in a baby-bird cone or a small cup, with toppings to build yourself and patio benches outside.
A student-led tour of a grand old hotel, with discovery drawers and a stained-glass design station kids can get their hands on. Fountains in the courtyard, too.
Small-batch ice cream in house-made waffle cones, with dairy-free choices.
Hop on and off a narrated trolley and let the kids pick the stops. Collapsible strollers can ride along.
A guided tour through an old coquina house showing how different households lived in it, then the gardens and a small surf museum.
A talking professor greets you, and your kid leaves with a small diploma after seeing the old classroom, kitchen and gardens.
A retro indoor roller rink with skates down to toddler sizes, so even small kids get out on the floor.
Eighteen holes right on the bay beside the Bridge of Lions, a good way to burn off energy between history stops.
A two-hour tall-ship sail where the crew gets kids helping to raise the sails. Better for older kids and teens than toddlers.
A small boat out looking for wild dolphins and birds, and the guide drops an underwater microphone so kids can hear what's below.
Old toys and dolls, a Spanish galleon replica and a sunken-treasure room: a good first pass at the town's history.
Gourmet ice pops from a rotating case, with fruit and dairy-free choices. Some flavors are spicy.
Gourmet ice pops picked one at a time from the case, including fruit, dairy-free and a few spicy flavors.
Oversized sundaes with a cookie rim and piles of toppings, big enough to share. Plain cones too, if that's more your kid's speed.
