Berlin: what not to miss + where to go with kids
So bye Berlin, see you again! You were exactly how I imagined you - lively, vibrant, full of culture, history, interesting places and good food... especially because you don't only have schnitzel and wurst on the menu :)
Berlin became our 3 day stop to dilute our trip to Rügen, and although I wasn't sure if we could all enjoy and not survive in such a big city (Nina almost 4 yrs, Jony almost 1 yr), my fears quickly dissipated. After all, little ones don't exactly appreciate museums about the war do they. However, it turned out that there is certainly no shortage of children's entertainment either. That's why at the end of this article I'll give you some tips on places you shouldn't miss if you come here with children.
Accommodation
If you arrive by car, you'll have to deal with extra parking. In that case, be very careful whether your chosen accommodation offers parking and at what price. In fact, most hotels do not include parking in the price! Of course, you can stay in a suburb where parking is not charged, but as I mentioned, you will then spend a lot of time on the way to the centre.
So how did we end up doing it? We spent three nights downtown, specifically at the Riu Hotel Plaza, which we can recommend with all ten! We paid €440 for a Junior Suite with parking and a luxurious breakfast with a huge choice. The stay here was definitely worth it and we would happily stay here again. Of course, they also have classic double rooms for, I would say, pretty good prices (about €100/night). When we came back from Rügen, we didn't want to go to the city center, so I chose a place to stay in the outskirts of Berlin - B&B Hotel Berlin-Süd Genshagen (€92 with parking). These are mini Ibis rooms = ideal if you just sleep there and move on :)
Other accommodation tips for me like this:
- cheaper: Motel One Berlin-Bellevue or INNSiDE by Meliá Berlin Mitte - very good ratings at a reasonable price (under €120/night), with good access to all attractions
- more expensive: Scandic Berlin Potsdamer Platz or Grand Hyatt Berlin - super-rated, and right in the centre, with prices to match
Transport around the city
On-street parking in central Berlin is virtually non-existent, and when it is, it's quite expensive. More about parking, parking zones, parking houses and P+R on this website. But Berlin has a very dense public transport network including buses, trams, metro and trains. The price of an individual ticket is €3.50 or €2.20 for a short journey, be sure to check out the details here. Children under 5 don't pay. However, I didn't feel like going around the ticket machines or counting how many stops we'd make + in which zones, and instead got a day pass. It cost us €11.40/day through booking and included all modes of transportation including trains. For me, the perfect solution to not having to deal with anything :)
The other way to accommodate a visit to the city could be a hop on hop off bus. Especially if you are limited by time, this is quite a nice option, and there are plenty of companies offering this service.
12 tips on what to see in Berlin
2. Berlin TV Tower - the second very distinctive building when looking at the city skyline is certainly the Fernsehturm Berlin, which you can see from everywhere (in the photo, for example, from Alexanderplatz). At 368 m it is even the tallest free-standing tower in the EU (4th in Europe). In the middle of the sphere there is a viewing platform and even a revolving restaurant above it. However, the €22.50 entry to the observation deck seems quite a lot to me. More info on the official website here.
+ another possible prospect might be Panoramapunkt Berlin, which you can take the fastest elevator in Europe to, but generally I wasn't that interested. Admission comes to €9 for an adult and more info can be found here.
3. The Reichstag building - first of all, an explanation of what the Reichstag actually is would be useful. Originally the parliament of the German Reich, today the building is the seat of the German Bundestag (= lower house) and every five years it hosts the Bundestag, which elects the president. But what will interest you the most is probably the giant glass dome on the roof that serves as a lookout. You take an elevator up to the top and then move around the dome in spirals like a treetop trail.
A visit to the Reichstag is FREE, so ideal for those who don't want to spend money on the Berlin TV Tower or the Panoramapunkt or the Humboldt Forum. Just be careful and book ahead on the official website, where you choose a specific time slot. Handy info:
- don't forget your documents (passport or ID), you will have to present them for checking
- Expect to go through security like at the airport
- it is possible to visit with a stroller, but you will have to empty it at the checkpoint
- it's really hot in the glass dome in summer - bring water!
- there is a possibility to rent an audio guide on site (not in Czech)
- if you miss the online registration, don't despair and try to arrive in the morning at the information kiosk outside the entrance (across the road). They often have tickets available on site that way too.
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4. Museum Island - as the name suggests, a very high concentration of museums awaits you in this part of Berlin in the middle of the river Spree. Berlin is generally full of museums (more than 150 of them!), but on this island alone you will find five: the Old National Gallery, the Pergamon Museum (closed until 2027), the Old Museum, the New Museum and the Bode Museum.
Together they form the largest museum complex in the world, which has even earned a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you'd like to go in for a tour, be sure to check the official website and check opening times + prices. There are also discounted admissions to all the museums, so do the math to see if it's worth it.
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Plus, there's another building on Museuminsel that you definitely don't want to miss - the famous Berlin Cathedral, or perhaps more commonly, the Berlin Cathedral. There are various events taking place inside, but you can also come here for a tour - info on prices and opening times on the website here.
5. Humboldt Forum - a royal palace and now also a brand new multifunctional space with a museum, gallery, bistro, restaurant, shops + rooftop observation deck. Most of the spaces are free to get into, and which ones you have to pay to enter, you can find out here. For example, for the busiest part - the rooftop observation deck - be prepared to pay €5 per person.
6. The Jewish Memorial - a large area with blocks of varying heights, which as a whole form quite a maze. The memorial commemorates the more than 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. An incredible number... and place... so follow at least the basic rules of decorum when visiting. Maybe don't jump on the concrete blocks like some of the people we visited. Beneath the surface, there is still an information centre dedicated to the victims of the Nazi regime, where you can learn more specific information about this horrific time in 4 modern themed rooms. Both the memorial and the underground exibition are free of charge, you can find out more here.
7. East side gallery - there are several remnants of the Berlin Wall in the city, but this part represents its longest continuous section. Originally the wall was an incredible 165 km long, but after the fall of the regime in 1989 it began to be destroyed and dismantled very quickly. Once the initial euphoria of a reunified Germany had passed, very little of it remained. From 1990 onwards, local and foreign artists began to paint pictures on it with political or historical themes, giving rise to the East Side Gallery as we know it today. It stretches along the River Spree and currently measures about 1.3 km. You can find out more info e.g. here.
Maybe you've seen a picture of two guys kissing somewhere and you don't know where to put it? It's of the General Secretary of the Socialist Party of the GDR, Erich Honecker, with the leader of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, and also one of the most popular works there, meaning the one you queue up for a photo of... which I don't have... but I do have a picture of the other side of the Wall :)
8. Oberbaumbrucke - at one end of the East side gallery you can still see this two-storey bridge that connected the eastern and western parts of Berlin. It was closed after the Wall was built in 1961 and only saw its restoration with the fall of communism. Now, one floor is for cars and pedestrians, and the other is used by the underground.
9. Alexanderplatz - one of the most important squares in Berlin, named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I after his visit in 1805. Originally a cattle market, it's now a bit of a different cup of tea... not my cup of tea, because everywhere you look it's all shopping malls, cinemas and all sorts of fast food joints and cafes. Crowds of people, of course. What I found most interesting here was the World Clock, which tells the time in different cities.
10. Nikolaiviertel - a nice district near the Island of Museums, the centre of which is the Church of St. Nicholas (from which it takes its name). Unfortunately, it was completely destroyed during the war and was only rebuilt in the 1980s. Apart from the church, you will find many restaurants and small businesses here, in short, it's definitely worth a walk :)
11. Checkpoint Charlie - the official border crossing between West and East Berlin, where American and Soviet tanks faced each other. Charlie means "C" crossing, so there were still checkpoints Alpha and Bravo. After reunification the checkpoint was destroyed, and it was only rebuilt in 2000, so it is not an original piece of the Wall like the East side gallery. Anyway, you won't see any soldiers here today, but you can take a photo with the props.
There are also two themed museums just across the street, which I'm including links to for opening times and ticket prices - the BlackBox and the Wall Museum.
12. Alte Munze + Holzmarkt 25 - I'll add my two personal picks at the end, because if you enjoy industry spaces as much as I do, I guarantee you'll love it here. Alte Munze is a former state mint and now serves as a cultural event space, you can see the programme here. You'll also find a restaurant and a stylish cafe.
Holzmarkt 25 is something similar, but with a larger selection of businesses. There are several bars, cafes, street food stalls and even a bakery. Another advantage is the location of the courtyard right on the river, where you can find plenty of seating options and even a playground. For more info check out the official website here.
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Tips on where to go with kids... and without them :)
1. Harry Potter spielplatz - I admit that I have a decent amount of Harry Potter experience, I've read and seen all the episodes XX times, but I really didn't think I'd ever melt in a playground with this theme. Frankly, it's one of the most beautiful playgrounds I've ever seen. Lots of different rides, swings, slides, water features for kids of all ages. And such amazing details! So those will probably be appreciated mostly by adult fans, but still :) The castle (with paintings)is of course the dominant feature, there is a pumpkin in front of Hagrid's hut... and Klofan, the Hogwarts Express, the flying car or even the maze from the fourth episode with the fire cup in the middle of it. In short, wow.
Practical - you can park nearby for €2/h + there is a bistro in front of the entrance where you can get something to eat or drink. There is no entrance fee for the playground. If you can't make it here, I had the lovely playground no. 2 - Fairy-Tale playground - in my sights.
2. Ritter Sport Colorful Chocolate World - who doesn't know this chocolate? And here you can even make your own version! You choose the chocolate variant, size, add any filling + you can even create a wrapper with a photo. A classic little rittersport customized one costs about €7.
Among other things, they organize various workshops here, more info here. There is also a shop where they have dozens of flavours on offer, like vegan versions or complete novelties that you can't get anywhere else yet. You can also taste chocolate straight from the chocopontana, and if you still can't get enough, there's a bistro on the lower floor that offers other chocolate specialties like ice cream and cupcakes.
3. Museum ANOHA - don't be fooled by the name here, although it falls under the Jewish Museum, it is an incredibly beautiful indoor children's playroom with various elements. The theme is Noah's Ark and the flood of the world, so the space depicts a giant ship that houses animals. Not just any animals, of course... they are all made from a variety of commonly used materials (rags, brushes, hoses, carpets and lots more). Of course, children can touch, move, feed, etc. all the animals. There is also a workshop to make their own little ark, which they can then send out on the water and see if they successfully reach land.
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Practical - Anoha is accessible for FREE, but I recommend booking a place . This is because once you arrive, you would either have to wait for a spot to open up, or it might not open up at all, only a limited number of people are allowed in. And an important thing - non-slip socks to take with you! If you forget, they have them at the reception for I think €3. And if you couldn't get here for some reason, I still had a second children's museum in mind - MACHmit in another part of town, which we unfortunately didn't make this time.
4. Garten der Welt - or perhaps better in English Gardens of the World, anyway it is a huge park specific in that you will find gardens of different countries with their typical plants, fountains and other decorations. You can walk through Italian Renaissance gardens, English countryside or my favourite Japanese section. But there are also less traditional examples such as Korea or the garden of the Islamic countries. All in all, a really nice show.
Moreover, you can even take a cable car ride in the Garten der Welt (a good attraction for children), as there is an observation tower at the top. Or you can take it all the way to the other side of the hill, where there is a great playground... of course, there are several of them in the area as well + a bobsleigh track from 2024.
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Practical - free parking. Admission costs €7 for an adult, €9.90 with the cable car. Children pay up to 6 years of age, more info incl. plan on the official website here.
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