What kids can do for free in Berlin
How families have a lot of fun for free in Berlin
A stay in Berlin can also be affordable and exciting with adventurous children - with the right tips!
City festivals especially for young visitors, birthday specials, activities in the nature or refreshing water fun, you can experience all of this with your children in Berlin for free.
Whether you want to visit the capital with your children for an inexpensive, eventful visit or stay at home during the holidays and still want to be active - activities with children in Berlin are easily possible even on a small budget with the right recommendations. Water playgrounds, children's farms and much more await you in the middle of the diverse metropolis.
Celebrate a free children's birthday party in Berlin
It's one of the real insider tips: Numerous adventure facilities grant birthday children free entry on their big day.
This includes the legendary wax museum Madame Tussauds, which invites birthday children to meet their favourite stars for free.
Larger children can scare themselves for free at the Berlin Dungeon with spooky city history or have fun at the Jungfernheide forest high ropes course or daringly shimmy from tree to tree.
A great way to discover the city on your birthday is to take one of the Riedel shipping company's free cruises, which are valid on all of the company's lines and take birthday boys and girls on a bridge trip, for example. A very special experience instead of a party at home is also a trip to Tropical Islands, where your child can enjoy free bathing fun.
Activities and things to do in summer
Families looking for an unusual activity in Berlin for free will find it at the CABUWAZI circus for children and young people, which offers free afternoon training with artists.
The Tempelhofer Feld is ideal for all active people - pack your picnic basket, ball, frisbee and kite and mingle with like-minded people in the lively hustle and bustle.
If you want to make your little animal friends happy, you don't have to go to the zoo or animal park, there are also numerous children's farms where you can meet cute farmyard residents free of charge. Visit the Charlottenburg goat farm, bake stick bread with your children at the Kinderbauernhof Pinke-Panke with over 70 animals or introduce your children to classic country life at the Alten Fasanerie in Lübars.
On warm days, it's also worth taking a trip to one of the many Berlin lakes. Whether you want to plash around, play on the shore or take a little break in the greenery - admission is free and you can cool off in the middle of the city without a ticket.
Active and free in Berlin with children in bad weather or snow
The many parks and green spaces in the metropolis of millions make it easy to be active in summer. But even when the sun isn't shining or there is snow everywhere, there are activities that cost nothing.
Combine shopping with playing. For example, why not relax on your shopping trip through the Mall of Berlin with a few laps on the giant slide. The rapid ride starts on the 2nd floor and ends on the ground floor. Another tip for entertaining shopping is to visit a Berlin children's flea market, which can also be found indoors around the city in winter. You can find play opportunities while shopping for smaller children in the children's book department of Hugendubel in Wilmersdorfer Straße.
Playhouses and cozy reading corners invite you to spend relaxing afternoons in numerous Berlin libraries - a great way to keep the kids entertained for free in Berlin. Most libraries also encourage an interest in books with reading sessions. The picture book cinema in the Heinrich Schulz Library is particularly popular, where pictures are projected onto a screen as the children are read to.
Those with a sweet tooth will love the candy shop. Attached to the speciality shop is a show kitchen where the secrets behind the colourful lollipops are revealed.
And if there really is snow in Berlin, even the flat capital has plenty of places where you can whizz downhill on sledges with your children. The most popular place for this is the Teufelsberg with fantastic views over the Grunewald.
Extraordinary playgrounds and water playgrounds
You and your loved ones can immerse themselves in ever new adventures at the lovingly designed playgrounds, which are spread across the entire city. The little ones can feel like Robin Hood at Savignyplatz in Sherwood Forest, where tree houses, a zip wire and a large knight's castle provide entertainment.
You can even build your own hut at the Kuhfuß adventure and construction playground in Treptow and fight sea battles at the Piratenschiff-Spielplatz near Schloss Charlottenburg.
Brave kids battle giant monsters at the dragon playground in Friedrichshain, while teenagers will find their area in Mellowpark. For fun sports such as skating or BMX biking, there are challenging courses here on 60,000 square metres.
The numerous water playgrounds ensure you can cool off. Visit Räuberland with a view of the Havel or the famous paddling pool in Plänterwald.
More about children's playgrounds
Learning through play: edutainment in the capital
With the right conditions, imparting knowledge can also be fun. Inquisitive researchers can feel like students at the Children's University, which takes place in real lecture theatres, for example in the Audimax at Humboldt University.
You can also quench your thirst for knowledge with children in Berlin today at the state museums, which are all free of charge up to the age of 18. Show your little ones the bust of Nefertiti on Museum Island.
The workshops and guided tours especially for families are not all free of charge, but some special programmes in Berlin are free for children. These include the Family Sundays at the Bröhan Museum - tricky detective tasks and puzzles as well as a creative and artistic part provide an introduction to the art of Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
The Futurium - House of Futures offers an exciting glimpse into the future. Admission is free and your children can playfully discover in interactive exhibitions how we could live, work and shape our world in the future. Special family tours with kids' audio guide and children's rally as well as the "Family Open Lab" invite you to tinker and try things out together.
Also free of charge is a visit to the Humboldt Forum, which brings together exciting exhibitions on nature, culture and history under one roof. For families, there are creative workshops, special guided tours and open workrooms. Thanks to regular drop-in offers, you can also take part spontaneously and without registration with your children and go on a journey of discovery together.
Celebrate in an age-appropriate way: Children's parties in Berlin
Celebrate with your children for free in Berlin at exuberant festivals such as the Children's Carnival of Cultures, where a colourful costume parade parades through Kreuzberg on Whitsun Saturday. Afterwards, the afternoon ends with music, dancing and games.
Bookworms can look for new reading material at the Picture Book Festival on Helmholtzplatz and there are events for families all over the city on International Children's Day.
In addition, the annual Long Day of City Nature is free for children in Berlin when accompanied by a paying adult. The programme focuses on the almost unknown wealth of species in the capital.
More about annual highlights for children
Stay overnight in Berlin with children
Numerous guesthouses are designed to offer affordable accommodation for families in Berlin. In these family hotels, children up to the age of nine sleep for free and breakfast is also free if the adults have booked one themselves. Other amenities and extras at these family hotels include baby cots and high chairs, as well as information on playgrounds, paediatricians and much more. Young guests also receive a delicious packed lunch on departure.
