Berlin is an excellent choice for family travel with indoor and outdoor family attractions galore. They actually created a concept called Kindercafé, a restaurant that caters to children. The city has tons of green space, ice-skating rinks, puppet theatres, and indoor pools! The city is rich in history, culture, fine cuisine, and fun. Your children will love their Berlin, Germany excursion.
5 Reasons Why to Take the Kids with You to Berlin:
- Wide walkways and plenty of parks
- Indoor and outdoor affordable family fun
- A Berlin Welcome card which can give you up to a 25% discount on venues and attractions
- Family friendly restaurants and cafes
- Affordable and free attractions
Things You Need to Know When Getting Ready to Travel to Berlin
- The city loves children and provides courtesy accommodations for them such as stroller rentals, stroller storage areas, and restaurants (kindercafé) geared just for children.
- The people of Berlin expect children to behave. They are not above giving a stern look or frown if baby gets out of hand. But they genuinely love children; they just believe strong discipline is imperative.
- Get a Berlin Welcome card to take advantage of discounts to attractions. To get it go to www.regiondo.com/Berlin_WelcomeCard.
- No matter what time you travel, you will need sweaters and warm clothing. The summer months are the warmest reaching the high 70˚, but the nights are still brisk. The coldest months are in the winter (especially January) and the temperatures can drop as far low as the teens.
Our 9 Top Recommendations:
Glass Dome at the Top of Reichstag Building
The views from the top of the building are amazing. Your family will get a 360˚ of where they have visited so far and where they plan to visit. Your children will love this excursion. Play a guessing game with them to see which buildings they can identify. This is also a great way for your family to get a lay of the land.
Important to Know When You are Taking the Kids
- The tour is free
- It lasts twenty minutes and there is a guided and unguided option
- You must pre-register to tour at www.visitbundestag.de before touring
- Make sure you receive confirmation of your time and date
- There is also a rooftop family friendly restaurant
- At times, the early morning tours can have a wait, so go in the afternoon
http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kupp.html
Zoo Berlin
Zoo Berlin is completely family friendly. It is the oldest zoo in Germany and the kids will love the entrances; you can enter either through a giant elephant or lion gate. There are stroller rentals (5.50 daily plus a 14.00 security), hands-on animal exhibits, and a cage-free concept. The zoo is located at 10787 Berlin and you can also purchase a ticket that includes entry into the adjacent aquarium if you wish.
Important to Know When You are Taking the Kids
- Under age five are free
- Ages 5-15 entry cost for just the zoo is 8.00, plus the aquarium is 12.00
- Adults cost for just the zoo is 16.50 and the zoo/aquarium combo is 25.00
- There are over 15,000 animals and even the big cats are in a cage-free setting
- The zoo is large, wear comfortable shoes
- The hours vary in the different seasons; check at http://www.zoo-berlin.de for the times
GroBer Tiergarten Park
This former hunting ground of the German aristocrats is a great free excursion. Located in the middle of Berlin it is the ideal spot for a picnic, game of hide and seek, throwing Frisbees, watching boats go by the River Spree, or people watching. Let the kids run free and enjoy the real Berlin.
Important to Know When You are Taking the Kids
- The park is large, 525 acres, so keep an eye on the kiddies
- The gardens in the summer are gorgeous and perfect for outdoor family fun
- Bring a sweater, it is a bit breezy even in the summer
- The river Spree borders the park, so you can also enjoy the boats and water sights
- You can literally spend a whole day of down time in this huge public park
https://www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/tiergarten/index.en.php
Café Balloon
Berlin started the kindercafé craze. A kindercafé has a play area, seating for grown-ups, changing and stroller areas, playrooms, and a restaurant all in the same area. The concept is big in Berlin because the city and locals love children. Café Balloon is one of the more popular kindercafes and it is located at 10407 Berlin.
Important to Know When You are Taking the Kids
- The hours are 9:30-6:00 seven days a week
- The young room has trains, costumes, and books for fun
- he middle area has a ball pond with a slide
- In the back room are climbing features for older kids
- Nearby Volkspark Friedrichshain offers a Sunday brunch
- Nearby (10405 Berlin) is the famous Die Schatzinsel toy store
http://www.cafe-ballon-berlin.de/
Berlin Wall Memorial
The tweens and teens in particular will love the memorial in honor of the wall once situated in the German capital. The family can tour the grounds, observe open air exhibits, check out the border stations, and then view the ghost stations on the property. The memorial includes the Window of Remembrance and the Monument in Memory of the Divided City and the Victims of Communist Tyranny
Important to Know When You are Taking the Kids
- This is an emotional and often life-altering memorial.
- Wear sturdy shoes and loose clothes for the walking and climbing.
- There is a neat viewing platform.
- The hours vary, so check the website
http://www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/en/
Charlottenburg Gardens
Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) in Berlin Germany
Schloss Charlottenburg is a 17th century palace, built as a summer residence for the first queen of Prussia (who gave the name to the place), surrounded by wonderful gardens, which make a perfect place for an outdoor visit with your children.
The gardens include a formal, French-style flower and trees arrangements, a mausoleum, a theatre, a pavilion, an artificial lake and a large forested area, all ready to welcome your kids’ energy and mood for play.
This is the place where you and the kids can all make some compromises: they will let you visit the Palace, with impressive baroque arrangements, ornate furnishings and shiny collections, reflecting Queen’s Sophie Charlotte passion for parties and opulence, while they will spend another few hours playing in the open charming garden.
Things you need to know when taking the kids:
- Let the children experience the two large playgrounds, with well-structured, safe climbing structures;
- Have lunch or an afternoon snack in the Berliner way – a picnic in the forest;
- There is an admission fee if you want to visit the Palace, but the access in the gardens is free of charge.
Legoland
I believe we have all been Lego fans in our childhood. So, why don’t make a big surprise for the whole family and visit Legoland Discovery Centre in Berlin? Situated in Potsdamer Platz, this is a must-see attraction for kids. You can start your visit with a tour of the factory and take home a souvenir with your own, personalized, Lego piece and then play around with over 5 million colored bricks. Then live a 4D movie experience and walk along the miniature Berlin attractions built, of course, from Lego bricks.
A world of pirates, dragons, jungle animals, princesses will boost your children imagination and they can then move to the Builders Workshop to create their own models and spaces.
Things you need to know when taking the kids:
- This is definitely a children-dedicated spot, as it clearly announces “Adults must be accompanied by a child to visit the Centre” and not the other way around;
- Legoland is a highly visited place, so purchasing online tickets is advance is highly recommended; otherwise you might end up spending hours at the line;
- If your children are old enough, you can leave them explore the Legoland Center and have a coffee or go shopping in Sony Center.
http://www.legolanddiscoverycentre.de/berlin
Museum Island
Comprising five museums (Old Museum, New Museum, Old National Gallery, Bode Museum and Pergamon Museum), the Museum Island occupies (as the name suggests) the northern half of an island on Spree River, in the center of Berlin. Part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the place is worth a visit with your children.
Maybe they will not be so impressed by the collections inside, but the Island Museum itself is a work of art. Still you should visit at least one of the exhibits here, function of your interests: German sculptures and paintings, Greek and Roman and Egyptian artifacts, numismatics, Babylonian antiquities.
Things you need to know when taking the kids:
- Show the kids the 2nd Century B.C. altar from the Greek city of Pergamon and the 3,400-year-old bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti – these are real masterpieces and hold a great historical significance;
- Due to the great value of the collections, there are strict rules to be observed inside;
- Take one of the boat tours available for another special experience in Berlin;
- Walk along the island streets, to admire the Berliner Dom, the Royal Palace and the stables at Marstall.
Labyrinth Children’s Museum
One of the largest museums dedicated to children in the entire Germany, the Labyrinth Children’s Museum in the Osloer Factory Street offers your little ones a few hours of learning by playing, a concept very much used by the similar locations worldwide for its great results.
Children’s native curiosity is well rewarded, involving them in fairy tales, workshops about surrounding nature, health, cultures around the world, even human rights – all presented in an easy to understand manner.
Labyrinth Children’s Museum also hosts numerous workshops for kids, where they can get familiar with food and spices from most exotic places, wear and feel different clothing and fabrics, build eco-friendly day-to-day articles. If visiting Berlin, this Museum really deserves a stop by with your children!
Things you need to know when taking the kids:
- Exhibits and activities are designed for children between three and twelve years of age;
- Themes of the interactive exhibitions are changed periodically, but you can check their website to see the calendar;
- For individual visits, the Museum is usually opened only Friday to Sunday;
- Most exhibitions are available both in English and German languages.
http://www.labyrinth-kindermuseum.de/
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