I never thought of Berlin as a particularly family-friendly city. That is until last month I decided to explore Berlin with kids. Germany’s capital has a reputation of being free-spirited, bold, edgy, but also unkempt, graffiti-covered, and overall rough around the edges.
I always saw Berlin as a fun playground for adults. From the first time I visited it with my husband after moving to Germany 8 years ago (gosh, how is it almost a decade already?) to the latest trips all alone because this mom of two needed a little getaway. I took guided historical tours, listened to opera, dined at trendy restaurants, and shopped at vintage markets.
But what if there was a whole other side to Berlin I never knew about? I always dreamed of doing a little mama-son trip with my 6-year old. Berlin, being only two hours away from Hamburg where we live, was a perfect destination.
This trip turned out to be really special. I got to spend lots of quality time with my son. We read books before going to sleep at the hotel, walked 15 k steps every day (not without some complaining, but that’s part of the deal), shared great food and created memories for a lifetime.
I have personally been to every attraction I mention below with my son, so I write from personal experience. Just so we are on the same page, he is currently 6 years old.
Under every attraction for kids in Berlin I added a note on things to do for parents nearby. Because it’s all about balance, right?
I worked with Visit Berlin to arrange this trip. They provided me with a Berlin Welcome Card. I paid myself for all expenses (train tickets, hotel, attractions, meals). Special thanks to Caroline for giving me lots of tips on things to do in Berlin with kids!
I spend lots of time researching and writing my guides, so if you use my tips, do leave a comment below. I love hearing from readers!
And if you would like to support my work (even writers need to eat from time to time), you can do so by booking your hotel (in Berlin or anywhere else in the world) using my affiliate link. You can also book attraction tickets through this link. I will get paid a small commission at absolutely NO extra cost to you. This is how I keep this blog running for 10 years and counting.
I find that getting a centrally-located hotel helps a lot. If you arrive to Berlin by train, Motel One Berlin Hauptbahnhof is my favorite option. I’ve stayed there 4 times by now. It’s easy to drop off the bags right upon arrival (the hotel is a 5-minute walk from the station) and go explore the city. On the last day, I usually leave the bags at the hotel and pick them up right before heading to the train station. The rooms are standard, clean, and the prices are adequate.
Like most European cities, Berlin is walkable and public transport is convenient and fast. We averaged 13 k steps a day, but still relied on metro and buses heavily. Berlin’s neighborhoods are well connected and you barely ever have to wait for a train or a bus for more than a few minutes.
If you are visiting Berlin, Berlin Welcome card makes a lot of sense. You pay a set amount in advance and it covers all of public transport in Berlin, plus gives you up to 50% discount at some of the major attractions in the city. Up to 3 children under 14 years old are included free of charge.
Simple math: if you get a 48 hours Welcome Card, it costs €28.5. A day ticket for public transport alone will cost you €11.20 (€22.40 for 48 hours). So for an extra €6, you get discounts at Berlin Cathedral, the TV tower, GDR museum, and many more places.
I find it convenient to not have to worry about buying public transport tickets every time you need to use it. Just don’t forget to validate your ticket the first time you take a bus or metro.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links which means if you buy something by clicking the link I will earn a small commission at absolutely no extra cost to you.
Hands down, Anoha is one of the coolest attractions I’ve ever seen in 6 years of being a parent. This huge space in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood is part of the Jewish Museum, albeit located in a building of its own. Inside, the attractions are tied by a central theme — the story of Noah’s Ark.
While I was a bit hesitant about introducing my son to a Biblical story (mostly because I didn’t know it well myself), I can confidently say that you and your kid will enjoy this space whether you are religious or not.
The major part of Anoha is an actual wooden arc filled with all kinds of animals made of everyday objects. Despite the animals looking like museum pieces, the kids are encouraged to touch them, climb on them, and to run around. As a mom of two boys, I do appreciate when kids are allowed to be kids.
Another cool thing kids can do at Anoha is build a ship out of plastic bottles, caps, and wine corks, then test whether the ship will swim in the “river”, a man-made elevated pool right in the middle of the play space. We spent about 2 hours here. While my son was running around, I took approximately 700 pictures — so fascinating this place was for me as an adult.
You need to book a slot in advance on the official website. The tickets are often sold out. Technically, you could come in without a reserved ticket and try to get in (there’s a line outside for walk-ins), but you never know how long you’ll have to wait.
The kids are only allowed to come wearing non-slip socks, so bring a pair with you (you can also buy a pair at the counter inside the museum).
There’s a little cafe inside where you are allowed to eat food you brought with you.
Frühstück 3000 is a great place for a meal before or after a visit to Anoha, it’s only a few minutes away and makes delicious chicken and waffles. The Jewish Museum of Berlin is just across the road. Checkpoint Charlie is a 9-minute walk away. Kreuzberg in itself is a fun neighborhood to explore.
Anoha — Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz
Science Centre Spectrum is a hands-on science museum for children. It is part of Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Technology Museum), but occupies a building of its own. First of all, it is huge. Spread over 4 floors, there are exhibits covering all kinds of topics from magnetism, to mechanics, to light and sound.
The best part is that children are encouraged to touch, press, pull, and push every knob and lever they can find. As a parent, you will have to read the info boards and figure out what the experiment is about and what exactly needs to be done. Some experiments are pretty intuitive, while others need to be explained.
I would say, my 6-year-old was more interested in making things happen than learning the science behind why it happens. The museum is recommended for children from 4 years old. Smaller kids will enjoy the magic of it all, while older kids can actually learn something.
There’s a separate part of the museum dedicated to the history of transport, with exhibits showing the development from horse-drawn carts to automobiles. In the same section, you will find a moving robot, a huge hit with my son who ran behind it, giddy with excitement.
You can easily spend half a day here, but for us 2 hours was enough before we started feeling fatigued.
Every first Friday of the month starting at 13.00, you can visit the museum free of charge. Book your tickets online.
Deutsches Technikmuseum is right nearby (you can use your Science Centre Spectrum ticket to visit it). Liquidroom, one of the most unusual spas (both inside and out) in Germany is steps away. Anoha (not for parents, but might be useful to know) is 15 minutes away on foot.
Science Centre Spectrum — Trebbiner Straße 9
Let’s start with the fact that MachMit! museum is located inside a former church built back in 1910. That alone was reason enough for me to get excited. Inside, the space is rather big and divided into zones.
One zone is dedicated to arts and crafts workshops that change frequently. When we were there, there was a station to make your own spider out of wire, a station where one could shape a face out of clay (and take it home), another station to make a traditional German Schultüte (a gift bag every first-grader gets on the first day of school).
There’s a big slide, an old-school phone booth, a space to climb and run around. My favorite room was the little library on the top floor with books in different languages (we found books in Swedish, Chinese, and French, to name a few).
While the upstairs space is more about creating, running and touching, the downstairs is used for exhibitions that are also quite hands-on, which is fitting given that MachMit! translates to “join in” or “take part” from German.
You can buy tickets online or at the door. MachMit! is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
MachMit! is located in Prenzlauerberg, one of the most family-friendly neighborhoods in Berlin. There are plenty of cool restaurants and cafes nearby. Some of my favorites are Ewig Freunde for breakfast, Pasternak any time of the day, and Minoa, a combination of a coffee shop and a bookstore.
There are also two family cafes in the neighborhood that offer play space for children: Kiezkind Berlin and Kindercafe Spielzimmer. I have never been in either, so cannot vouch for the food or ambience, but they seem like good options for families with smaller children.
MACHmit! Museum — Senefelderstraße 5
Before I get into all the details of how cool this place is if you explore Berlin with kids, can I just say that it’s refreshing to see tickets to a major museum in a big city go for €11 for adults and €5 for kids?
For comparison, when we visited the Natural History Museum in New York a few years ago, we paid over a hundred dollars for our family of 4. Currently, admission for adults is $37 and $22 for kids. When did museums become a privilege available only to the rich?
In Berlin, my son got free admission as a pre-schooler and I got a €3 discount with Berlin welcome card. So €8 total for two! How cool is that?
Now, to the museum! The major attraction for the kids is of course the Dinosaur Hall. The first thing you see upon entering the building is the thirteen-meter-high Giraffatitan, the world’s tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton. Needless to say, a lot of time was spent here.
Next, you will walk through the Cosmos and the Solar System exhibition. The coolest part here is lying down on a big round cushion (along with other visitors) to watch a short video about the history of the cosmos from the Big Bang to the present day projected on the screen above.
One of the most unusual (and slightly disturbing) exhibits is the Wet Collection, a room that contains thousands of glass jars with snakes, fish, and other sea creatures. We were also able to see a Tyrannosaurus rex that was on loan in the museum. All in all, an excellent thing to do in Berlin with kids.
Hamburger Bahnhof, a contemporary art gallery is steps away. If you are looking for a casual place to eat, Daily Dumpling is a good choice within 10 minutes walk. Berlin Wall Memorial is 15 minutes away. Berlin Central Station is nearby.
Natural History Museum — Invalidenstraße 43
Usually, I would be the first to tell you going to art museums with kids is not worth it. It heavily depends on their age, of course. Babies are usually fine. Teenagers, perhaps? I am not there yet to tell if they’d be bored, but at least they won’t touch the paintings. Anyone in the 1.5 to 8 years gap — questionable, in my books.
However, visiting the current exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof “We Make Years Out of Hours” by Lina Lapelytė is one of the best things you can do in Berlin with kids. Let’s start with the fact that the art gallery is housed in a former train station. The trains used to depart to Hamburg from here, hence the name.
For the exhibition, 400,000 bricks made of spruce and pine were brought into the Historic Hall. Visitors are encouraged to build structures with the cubes and take apart existing ones.
At the same time, 12 performers sing live while building side-by-side with visitors. I won’t lie if I say the whole experience was otherworldly. The sound of live singing, the click-clack of the wooden blocks, watching people create something together transported me to a different place for a second. Needless to say, my 6-year-old was beyond excited to take part in this major construction.
On their official website, the exhibition is described in the following words:
“Structures emerge and disappear. Each new form requires another to give way. The work raises questions about what remains and what passes away. It also asks who decides what is built and what must be removed, and whose lives carry the weight of these changes.”
The exhibition is temporary and will close on 10.01.2027. I do hope you get to see it with your own eyes!
If you find this post later, I still think Hamburger Bahnhof is the kind of art museum that is possible to explore with kids. The building itself is fascinating, there’s lots of space. Some exhibits are interactive and can be touched (ask beforehand).
Natural History Museum is right next door. If you are looking for a casual place to eat, Daily Dumpling makes great momos and is 10 minutes away. Berlin Wall Memorial is 15 minutes away. Berlin Central Station is a short walk away.
Hamburger Bahnhof — Invalidenstraße 50
Dussmann is often referred to as a bookshop, but the name KulturKaufhaus actually means cultural department store. It offers 5 stories filled with books, music, and knick-knacks and is great whether you are exploring Berlin with kids or all on your own.
With kids, specifically, you want to explore two spaces. There’s a kids book section on the second floor. The books are in German, but this is also where you’ll find puzzles, Tonie figurines, coloring books, and other cool stuff that might interest kids. For some reason, there are absolutely no chairs or cushions in this section, an unfortunate oversight. We found ourselves sitting on the floor with the books. But!
Head down to the first floor, which is where you will find a section for children’s books in English (and a few other languages). It occupies a room of its own (slightly hidden — ask for directions from staff) that has some armchairs and stools.
Lastly (but really, these are the coolest parts), there’s a Sphynx on permanent loan from the Egyptian museum on the ground floor and an enormous vertical garden, stretching several floors up. It was designed by a French landscape artist Patrick Blanc and features over 6000 live plants.
Possibly, the best part still is that Dussman is open until midnight on weekdays (till 23.30 on Saturdays). Not that you’d be out and about exploring Berlin with kids at midnight, but still pretty cool.
Dussmann — Friedrichstrasse 90
A zoo is one of the most obvious things to do in Berlin with children. Berlin Zoological Garden is the oldest zoo in Germany with over 150 years of history.
I don’t have much to say here, other than that it was spacious, green, and beautiful. We spent a Sunday morning on a hot summer day here, wandering around and watching animals. Probably, the most popular ones are the pandas, Meng Meng and Jiao Qing, and their twin cubs.
One of our favorite parts of the zoo was the gorgeous playground in the center of it, made fully of wood.
There are two zoos in Berlin, and it’s important you understand which one is which, because there’s lots of confusion with the names.
Berlin Zoological Garden (Zoologischer Garten Berlin) is located inside Tiergarten, a massive park in Berlin’s city center. It is the most convenient option if you only have a few days in Berlin because of its central location. You can easily combine it with other major attractions.
Tierpark Berlin is another zoo, located in East Berlin. It is even bigger than the zoological garden and must be a great place (I haven’t been yet), but is quite far away.
If you book tickets online, make sure to choose the correct website.
Tiergarten, where Berlin Zoological Garden is located, is an enormous green park where the whole family can take a break from the city life. KaDeWe, a luxury department store, is 8 minutes away (they have a whole floor dedicated to food, with great restaurants, bakeries, and bars). Café am Neuen See (more about it below) is within walking distance. Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag are 25 minutes away by bus (45 minutes walk through Tiergarten).
Berlin Zoological Garden — Hardenbergpl. 8
This place is really cool, if you are ok with the German way of raising kids, meaning: being a bit hands-off and allowing them lots of freedom.
Abenteuerlicher Bauspielplatz roughly translates to adventurous construction playground. A mouthful, I know. This is a space for children between 6 and 16 years old where they learn how to build things. In fact, a big part of the playground is makeshift houses built entirely by children (with minimal supervision of adults). They use real hammers, saws, nails, the whole nine yards.
Another part of the playground is a big ramp where kids can ride skateboards and bicycles, which are available for all, no need to bring your own. Helmets are also there, piled up in a supermarket cart, and must be worn.
Here’s the catch (or the best part, depends on your parenting style): the kids must stay here without parents. There are “teachers” at the playground. That doesn’t mean, however, that they are responsible for your child. I asked one of the teachers how it works and he explained it like this. The teachers are there to make sure no one hurts themselves. If your kid doesn’t hold a hammer correctly, someone will show him how to do it right. But if he (or she) decides to go to a supermarket to buy a snack — no-one will stop him or go with him.
There’s one exception: Saturday is family day and parents can come with kids, which is exactly when my son and I stopped here. My son absolutely loved the space: running around and climbing on the structures. During our visit the kids were learning to chop wood with an axe and saw a log.
It is free of charge and you don’t need to book a slot. The playground is open in the afternoons (check exact opening hours online). Saturday is family day (parents can come with).
The playground is located in Prenzlauerberg neighborhood, so MachMit! Museum is within walking distance.
Abenteuerlicher Spielplatz Kolle 37 — Kollwitzstraße 35
This is not a kid-centered activity per se, but I do find that exploring flea markets with kids is rather easy. You will probably have to be careful around the stalls that sell china (depending on the age of your kids), but otherwise it’s always a breeze with my boys.
There will always be someone selling second-hand toys — usually huge boxes on the floor the kids can rummage through while you look for a vintage ring or a tea cup.
So far, I’ve been to Berlin Trödelmarkt and Bode Museum market. I visited them alone on previous trips, but I do go to flea markets with my kids in Hamburg often.
You can find a full list of flea markets in Berlin in this post by Claire, a Berlin local. Not a flea market, but also a cool idea is Berlin Art Market by the Zeughaus. Centrally located, right by the Museum Island, it’s easy to add to your itinerary if you are in Berlin on the weekend.
I usually tell my boys beforehand that they can buy something and we discuss a budget. Usually 5 to 10 euros is more than enough, occasionally you can find toys for as little as 50 cents. But I do find that flea markets in Berlin (and slowly in Hamburg, too) are becoming commercial and unreasonably expensive.
Depends on the market you visit.
While we are on the topic of markets, may I suggest going to a farmer’s market if you are in Berlin with kids? I love love love German Wochenmärkte! Sure, you can buy fresh seasonal vegetables straight from farmers, but the markets are so much more than that.
My son and I stopped at Kollwitzplatz market (Samstagsmarkt Kollwitzplatz) that takes place every Saturday in Prenzlauerberg neighborhood. It was recommended to me by a fellow writer Yasmin who lives in Berlin. You can read her essays on motherhood on her Substack The Unhinged Mom Edit. By the way, I am also on Substack, in case you want to read my more personal essays. Subscribe here.
You can have a nice meal here, a cup of good coffee, dessert (I tried incredible brownies from Only Fudge and New-Zealand-style ice cream from Serve), and — get this — you can have a glass of Aperol Spritz or sparkling wine! I meeeaaaannnn!
One vendor sold vintage Legos, so we spent quite a bit of time at his table. There’s a playground two steps away from the market and when the weather is good families organize their own little flea market just outside the playground, selling old toys and books for pennies.
Here’s a list of all weekly farmer’s markets in Berlin.
Depends on the market you are visiting. If you are at Kollwitzplatz market, MachMit! Museum and Abenteuerlicher Bauspielplatz Kolle 37 are nearby. Saint George’s English Bookstore is steps away. Minoa is a great coffee shop that doubles as a book shop.
This section is rather short, but I hope it’s useful anyway. I’ve only tried a handful of restaurants and here are a few that are particularly convenient if you explore Berlin with kids.
Café am Neuen See is a Berlin institution, located in Tiergarten right by a lake. An important thing to understand is that Café am Neuen See is actually two restaurants in one place that have different menus and different hours. I was thoroughly confused when I was planning my trip. So here’s the breakdown.
Café am Neuen See has a restaurant: indoor dining and a terrace to eat al fresco. Here, you can make a reservation. For breakfast, they offer avocado toast, eggs, and pancakes. For lunch and dinner, it’s salads, pizza, and pasta. The feel is more upscale.
The beer garden at Café am Neuen See is its own thing with a separate entrance (to the right of the restaurant entrance). No reservations, self-service, traditional German food. You choose your food at the counter, pay, and find a spot at one of the tables by the lake.
The beer garden is where you want to be with the kids. It’s surrounded by trees and provides the much needed respite from the hustle and bustle of the city. There’s a sandpit, lots of space for kids to run around, and the atmosphere is relaxed.
We tried the traditional German baked chicken with potato salad and cabbage salad — all excellent. Followed by a coffee with a slice of blueberry cake with perfect blueberry (a whole bunch) to batter (just a thin layer) ratio.
The beer garden is open when the weather is good. It opens at noon from Monday to Friday, at 11.00 on the weekend and stays open until after sunset.
Café am Neuen See is located by a lake where you can rent a boat. Spend some quiet time at Tiergarten or visit the zoological garden. Schöneberg neighborhood is about 20 minutes away. While there, check out KaDeWe, the second biggest department store in Europe (after Harrods in London).
Café am Neuen See — Lichtensteinallee 2
Zeit für Brot is a chain of bakeries that was born in Berlin. This is a perfect place to have breakfast or a snack. They use mostly organic ingredients and the baked goods are truly exceptional. The most popular item is, without a doubt, the Schnecke, a roll that comes in different flavors like maple syrup and walnuts, cinnamon, white chocolate and raspberries, to name a few.
The reason it is a great place for families is because every bakery has a huge window and behind the window are the bakers doing their magic. There’s usually a step for kids to stand on and watch the process. We have Zeit für Brot in Hamburg, too, and my boys can easily spend 20 minutes in front of the window munching on a bun.
Depends on the location you choose.
Zeit für Brot — six different locations. Check Google Maps to find one close to you.
I write stories about food, travel, and my life as a mom of two boys. Home is Russia, but somehow also Sri Lanka and Hamburg, Germany. Go figure.
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