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Down by the waterfront, the “Pier of the Caravels” is a great treat for kids. They’ll love the chance to climb aboard full-size replicas of Columbus’s ships Niña, Pinta and Santa María and imagine themselves setting sail to discover the New World. There’s also a re-creation of a 15th-century European village (see Sevilla and Huelva Provinces).

Primarily, this is a care station for the rehabilitation of injured animals, in particular indigenous endangered species. As a result, it can give children a close-up encounter with the wonderful Iberian lynx, which is extremely rare in the wild. There are also white tigers, red pandas and ibis.

This amusement park occupies part of what was Expo ’92. One of its themes is to recreate the exploits of the explorers who set out from Seville on voyages of discovery in the 16th century – rides have names such as Jaguar, Anaconda and Orinoco.

Claiming to be a compendium of the world’s smallest curiosities, this is certainly an oddball collection. There’s a fine copy of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper , executed on a grain of rice, fleas in full suits of clothing and a bust of Churchill’s head sculpted from a stick of chalk.

Attractions at this theme park include a flamenco extravaganza and a Wild West show, but it’s really all about rides. None of them will particularly appeal to adrenaline addicts, but what it lacks in speed it makes up for in old-fashioned fun.

Viewing rescued sharks, seahorses, seals, turtles and other sea creatures is a wonderful experience for kids. They will also love the Lost City of Atlantis, the Mediterranean Tunnel and the Touchpool.

Only discovered in 1959, these caves go back some five million years. The chambers will stimulate children’s imagination – with a little help from fanciful names and evocative lighting. The central column in Cataclysm Hall is the tallest in the world, the product of waterdrops falling over countless aeons.

Hours of fun with rides called Kamikazee, Waterfall Lake, Wavebreaker, Ring Rapids, Blackhole Rapids, Soft Runs and a special Children’s Lake for the littlest ones.

The Wild West rides again at this old “spaghetti western” movie set. At show time the kids can see Jesse James reach his ignominious end (see Almería City & Around).

This place will save the day when what your children need most is to cool off. Five pools of various sizes, loads of undulating slides and tubes, as well as shaded areas.