Explore Berlin with children! – Family-friendly hotels and highlights for all ages

Is a family weekend getaway to Berlin expensive?It doesn’t have to be! In this section, we’ll give you five tips to help you explore Berlin with children for free or at least on the cheap.

Forget the expensive guided city tours and just buy a Berlin WelcomeCard, which lets you use all public transport in the Berlin city area. For a weekend, the 48-hour version in the Berlin AB tariff zone for €19.50 is enough. With it, up to three children between the ages of 6 and 14 years can travel with you for free. Best of all, with the Berlin WelcomeCard you also receive up to 50 percent off on over 200 tourist and cultural highlights.

Alternatively, you can also buy a day ticket for €7 per person. For children from 6 to 14 years of age, there is a reduced ticket for €4.70.

The 100 bus is ideal for getting an overview of Berlin. It takes you to the city’s most famous sights such as the Victory Column, the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Unter den Linden boulevard, the Friedrichstraße shopping street, the German Opera and of course Alexanderplatz with the TV tower.

Have you already visited all the sights in the city centre? Then just hop on the Ringbahn (S-Bahn). It travels 37 km around the city centre and takes you to places that both you and your little ones will love, such as

Children will love the colourful walls in Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain. There are just so many great graffiti to discover here! It’s best to just walk around and have a little competition: who’ll spot the best graffiti? A good starting point is the famous 1.3 km-long East Side Gallery with over 100 paintings.

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Eating in Berlin is cheap, too –you just have to know where to go. In addition to the famous currywurst (for example, at Curry 36 on Mehringdamm or Konnopke’s Imbiss at the Eberswalder Straße underground station), there are also super delicious burgers, vegetarian food and all sorts of international dishes.

Berlin visitors love the cafés and restaurants on Simon-Dach-Straße, the oriental food in Schlesische Straße and T’s Kumpir baked potato and pizza bar in Prenzlauer Allee.

Every weekend, there are exciting flea markets all over Berlin. You’re sure to find everything from antiques to kitsch there. And your little ones will most definitely want to snag one or the other curious toy!  One of the biggest markets takes place every Saturday and Sunday near the Tiergarten S-Bahn stop on the Straße des 17. Juni. An overview of all flea markets in Berlin is available here.

It’s no secret: Berlin doesn’t always show itself from its prettiest side. Especially when it rains, it can get rather dull and grey here. But that’s no problem, because in this section we have some great tips for rainy days for you, so that your Berlin family holiday with children will be a success even in the rain.

In this research museum, there are plenty of things for old and young visitors to discover – from the world of dinosaurs through the evolution of living things on Earth to the cosmos and the solar system.

A special experience:take an exciting flashlight tour (minimum age 8) after the gates of the museum have already closed to all other guests (Fridays, price: €15 per person; concessions: €12).

The main attraction in the museum, however, is the huge Brachiosaurus skeleton, which is more than 13 metres tall and 150 million years old. You can admire it, among other things, during a guided family tour of the exhibition highlights (several times every Saturday and Sunday, price: €3; concessions: €2).

The famous landmark of the German Museum of Technology – the “Raisin Bomber”, which towers over the rooftop terrace – can already be seen from some distance away. In the museum you can discover various historical means of transport and communication as well as other technical devices from thepast. Best to take grandpa along to your family outing! He’ll surely be able to recount some vivid anecdotes about the original rail vehicles in the two semicircular sheds of the popular railway exhibition.

The LEGOLAND Discovery Centreis the ideal place for budding architects and engineers from 3 to 10 years of age. But dads who once used toplay with the famous building blocks themselves will also get their money’s worth here and be thrilled about visiting.

There are many great attractions, such as a 4D cinema, a climbing frame, a Ninja training camp and model building workshops where you can design your own LEGO models with the help of model making experts.

Of course, Berlin is at its most beautiful in bright sunshine. Little ones just love to romp around in the many parks, cool down in the outdoor pools or at the city beach, and of course taste the delicious ice cream in the countless ice cream parlours.In this section, we’ll tell you what else you should do when the weather is great.

Berlin Zoo is the world’s most species-rich zoo and one of Berlin’s most visited attractions. The imposing Elephant Gate zoo entrance is the perfect spot for a selfie with your little ones. Our tip: You should definitely visit the various animal enclosures when it’s feeding time, because that’s the best time to see the animals in action.

What if it suddenly starts to rain? That’s no problem at all! In that case, simply head over to the no less impressive, largest show aquarium in Europe, which is located on the zoo grounds and can also be visited separately.

By the way: the zoo is within walking distance of many of the selected family-friendly accommodations mentioned in this article.

Although Europe’s largest non-profit recreational centre also boasts an aviation museum, a cinema and an indoor pool, it is best to stroll through the park in bright sunshine and to slide, jump and run around the playgrounds. On Eco Island, children can experience nature close-up, for example in the “Green Classroom”, the miniature rainforest or the eco garden with its summer house and unique bee yard.Or you take part in one of the many exciting events and programmes: there’s no way anyone could ever complain of boredom here!

Berlin – with its three rivers, eight canals, 50 lakes and 1,000 bridges – is a water city. At the Hafen Treptow jetty, right next to the Treptower Park S-Bahn stop, you can set off on a boat trip with your little pirates, or just lie on the grass and watch the hustle and bustle on the Spree.