Berlin is a great place for family travel. There are many things that will appeal to both the young and old in the city.

Berlin Bears

All around town are the Berlin Bears. They are statues painted with colorful designs and kids are welcome to climb all over them, if they desire. It is easy to get around to find all the bears in the city by taking he subway, called the U-bahn, and an above ground train called the S-bahn. These modes of transportation permit families to purchase “small group” tickets for groups of up to 5 people per day.  Another option is to purchase an individual welcome card day pass to go anywhere within the city.

Downtown Area

There are all kinds of things to keep a family interested in the downtown area. Go to the top of the Reichstag Building where the German Parliament is housed. The large dome at the top gives you a unique view of the city and you will see yourself in the reflections in multiplicity. At night the view is very spectacular.

Bebelplatz

Bebelplatz is a plaza where the Nazis burned books in 1933. In the middle of the plaza there is a window in the floor that looks into a subterranean room. Kids love looking down into this area because of the uniqueness of the situation. When looking down into the room, a person can see bookshelves but there are no books on the shelves. The empty bookshelves symbolize the book burning. Often times this area is a place for book fairs.

Museum Island

Museum Island is a great place to go to learn about the history of the area. Pergamon Museum houses a large collection of large antiquities found in the 19th century. They include city gates, like the gate of Babylon, and large sculptures. There are many different friezes with battle scenes and depictions of gods and goddesses, too.  A house formerly owned by a Syrian merchant is also on display. At the Neue Museum visitors can see Egyptian artifacts galore. Greek and Roman antiques are featured at the Altes Museum.

Tiergarten Park

Tiergarten Park is a great place to visit with kids. Bikes can be rented and you can have a picnic here. The Berlin Zoo and Aquarium is at the southeast corner where you can find fountains and life sized sculptures of animals along with the real animals. All over the park are fantasy animal sculptures made by children from paper mache and chicken wire. Animals are in open enclosures and are easy to see. Knut, a polar bear born in the zoo and a subject of a children's book, resides in the zoo.