Berlin with Kids: Things to Do as a Family (2026 Guide)

Planning a family trip to Berlin

Transport: free for under-6s

On Berlin's U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses, children under 6 travel free and pushchairs are carried at no extra cost. From 6 to 14, children pay the reduced fare: €2.50 for a single journey in zone AB (€4 for an adult) and €7.40 for a 24-hour ticket. Two tips for families: the full-fare 24-hour ticket for zone AB (€11.20) lets you take up to three children aged 6 to 14 with you, and the 24-hour small group ticket (€35.30 in zone AB) covers up to five people. The Berlin WelcomeCard, from €28.50, also includes up to three children aged 6 to 14. Our guide to Berlin public transport explains the zones and tickets.

Museums: often free for under-18s

Berlin's national museums (Staatliche Museen, including those on Museum Island) are free up to age 18; so is the Technikmuseum. The Futurium is free for everyone. However, most museums close on Mondays, and the Futurium on Tuesdays: save those days for the zoo, the Tierpark or a park.

School holidays and crowds

The zoos, the natural history museum and the Technikmuseum are packed at weekends and during Berlin school holidays: from 19 to 31 October 2026 for autumn, and from 23 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 for Christmas. At those times, book a ticket online and arrive at opening time. To choose a convenient place to stay with children, see where to stay in Berlin.

Seeing animals

The zoo and aquarium

Berlin Zoo, next to Zoologischer Garten station, is the oldest in Germany and the only one in the country with giant pandas. The neighbouring aquarium fully reopened in August 2026 after renovation. The zoo is open every day, from 9am to 6pm until 25 October 2026, then from 9am to 4.30pm until 31 December. Zoo-only ticket: from €7.50 online for ages 4 to 15 (€12.50 at the ticket office) and from €16 for adults (€25 at the ticket office); free for under-4s. With the aquarium: from €11 per child and €24 per adult online. There is no family day ticket: buy online, it is much cheaper.

Tierpark Berlin

In the east of the city, the Tierpark in Friedrichsfelde, Am Tierpark 125, is Berlin's other zoo, run by the same company. Covering 160 hectares, it is considered the largest landscape zoo in Europe: elephants, giraffes, petting enclosures, the "fairy-tale forest" playground (Fabelwald) and Friedrichsfelde Palace, built in 1695, in the middle of the park. Open every day, from 9am to 6pm until 25 October 2026, then from 9am to 4.30pm until 31 December; last entry one hour before closing. Tickets from €7 online for ages 4 to 15 (€11 at the ticket office) and from €14.50 for adults (€22.50 at the ticket office), free for under-4s. There is no combined day ticket with the zoo. Getting there: U5, Tierpark station. Wear comfortable shoes: the distances are long.

A children's farm in Kreuzberg

Berlin has several children's farms (Kinderbauernhof) where little ones can get close to goats, sheep and rabbits. The most central is the one in Görlitzer Park, Wiener Straße 59, in Kreuzberg (U1 and U3, Görlitzer Bahnhof): entry is free, it is closed on Wednesdays and its hours are shorter in winter. The neighbourhood is covered in our guide to Kreuzberg.

Note: SEA LIFE Berlin closed permanently in December 2024. A new aquarium, "Ocean Berlin", has been announced near Ostkreuz for spring 2027.

Museums children love

The natural history museum and its dinosaurs

At the Natural History Museum, Invalidenstraße 43 (U6, Naturkundemuseum), children look up at Giraffatitan, the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world, then discover the collection of animals preserved in alcohol and Knut the polar bear, once the star of the zoo. The family ticket (two adults and up to three children under 14) costs €18, the "mini family" ticket (one adult and up to two children) €12; otherwise €11 per adult and €5 per child from age 6, free for under-6s. Closed on Mondays; last entry at 5.30pm. Book a time slot online at weekends.

The Technikmuseum and the Science Center Spectrum

The German Museum of Technology, Trebbiner Straße 9 in Kreuzberg, lines up steam locomotives in roundhouses from 1874, dozens of aircraft and, in a neighbouring building, the Science Center Spectrum with more than 150 hands-on experiments. Entry is free for under-18s (a free ticket is still required); adults pay €15 online (€17 on site), and entry is free for everyone on the first Friday of the month from 1pm. Open Tuesday to Friday from 9am to 5.30pm, weekends and public holidays from 10am to 6pm, closed on Mondays.

The Futurium, free

Near the main station, Alexanderufer 2, the Futurium invites visitors to imagine the world of tomorrow, in three areas devoted to people, nature and technology, with many interactive installations. In the basement, the Futurium Lab offers 3D printers and workshops. Entry is free; only some workshops and guided tours are charged. Open from 10am to 6pm, until 8pm on Thursdays, closed on Tuesdays.

Labyrinth Kindermuseum, for ages 3 to 11

In a former factory in the Wedding district, Osloer Straße 12 (U8 and U9, Osloer Straße), the Labyrinth Kindermuseum is a museum for playing: its "TALENTOPIA" exhibition, opened in May 2025, is aimed at ages 3 to 11. It welcomes families on Fridays from 1pm to 6pm and at weekends from 11am to 6pm (last entry at 5pm). Entry costs €7 per person from age 2, €23 for a family of four, and €5 on Fridays outside the holidays; tickets are sold on site only. Non-slip socks are compulsory; there is no lift, so leave the pushchair behind.

The Spy Museum

The Spy Museum, Leipziger Platz 9, appeals from age 8: invisible ink, Morse code messages, spy gadgets and, above all, a laser maze to cross without touching the beams. Open every day from 10am to 8pm. Prices vary by time slot, from €8 to €18.50 for an adult and from €6 to €13.50 at the reduced rate, granted up to age 17; every visitor, even those entering free, must have a timed ticket.

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre

At the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz, Potsdamer Straße 4, the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre brings together indoor rides, a 4D cinema and building areas. Open from 10am to 6pm, last entry at 4pm; tickets from €19.50 online (€25 on site), free for under-2s. Adults are only admitted with at least one child, except on adults-only evenings.

The DDR Museum, where you can climb into a Trabant and open the cupboards of an East Berlin flat, is open every day from 9am to 9pm: a solution for Mondays.

Letting off steam outdoors

Tempelhofer Feld

The former Tempelhof airport has become a park of more than 300 hectares where children cycle, ride scooters or fly kites on the old runways, with no cars. It opens in October from 7am to 7pm and in November from 7am to 6pm; entry is free. Bring a snack and a windbreaker: the site is very exposed.

Gärten der Welt and its cable car

In Marzahn, at the end of the U5 (Kienberg (Gärten der Welt) station), the "Gardens of the World" feature Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Oriental gardens, and a cable car flies over the park to the top of the Kienberg. Until 31 October, entry costs €9 per adult and €4 per child from age 6 (free up to age 5), or €12.90 and €7.50 with a return cable car ride; from 1 November to 28 February, entry drops to €4 and €2, but some themed gardens are closed. The park opens every day at 9am and closes at dusk; the cable car starts at 10am.

Playgrounds and parks

Berlin has hundreds of playgrounds, often made of wood, even in the centre. The one in Mauerpark, with its large climbing frame, can be combined on Sundays with the Mauerpark flea market. The Tiergarten, between the Brandenburg Gate and the zoo, is ideal for picnics and bike rides.

A boat trip on the Spree

A one-hour cruise on the Spree shows you the cathedral, Museum Island and the government quarter without tiring little legs. The "Historische Citytour" by Stern und Kreis departs from Am Weidendamm among other piers, near Friedrichstraße station, from €22.50 per adult; in October, departures run between 11am and 4pm. The Am Weidendamm pier is only accessible by stairs.

With teenagers

Teens enjoy history told where it happened. The Wall makes for a half-day on foot or by bike: our route following the Berlin Wall links the Bernauer Straße memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and the East Side Gallery. The bunker tours run by Berliner Unterwelten are not open to children under 7 and are recommended from age 14. The observation deck of the TV Tower, at 203 metres, and the glass dome of the Reichstag, free with advance registration and an identity document, offer the best views over the city.

Family outings at a glance

Prices checked in October 2026; recommended ages are a guide only, except for Berliner Unterwelten.

Further reading

When the weather turns, dip into our ideas for Berlin when it rains. To keep costs down, read free Berlin, and to plan a first day, see our itinerary what to do in Berlin in one day.