Kids do better with room to run, and every plan here happens outside: festivals, markets, farm days, street music and guided walks. The list is sorted by date, so the next one is always at the top. It changes with the seasons, so check back. Pack layers and look at the forecast before you go.
Under the motto "Pumpkin goes to Hollywood", more than 100,000 pumpkins dress up giant figures of Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter, Marilyn Monroe and Yoda. Kids hunt through 500 varieties from around the world, from a 9-gram mini to a bottle gourd over a meter long, and pose at a pumpkin pyramid. It all sits on the farm's playground grounds.
A Christmas funfair on Landsberger Allee with 26 rides, from a 45-meter Ferris wheel with enclosed gondolas to the 85-meter Lion Tower drop and the new Crazy Roulette. Twelve are family and kids' rides, including a mini roller coaster, carousels and a fire-fighter fun house. Younger kids will be happiest there and on the Ferris wheel; the big thrill rides suit older kids and teens.
A neighborhood lantern walk run by the Heinrich-Böll-Bibliothek, a Pankow public library. Families meet at the library, then kids carry their lit lanterns through the Mühlenkiez streets with music along the way.
It's a local library parade, not a staged show, so it suits kids who can manage an evening walk in the dark.
Children from the State and Cathedral Choir Berlin and a girls' choir of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin act out the legend of St. Martin, the soldier who shared his cloak, set to German songs from the 1500s.
The play is led in German and suits young kids who enjoy a story told in song. It ends with a lantern procession, so the evening finishes outdoors.
A lantern evening at the neighborhood library in Prenzlauer Berg. Kids start by making their own colorful paper lantern with Nadine, who brings all the materials.
Then Rumpelmärchen, a Berlin fairy-tale theater ensemble, tell the story of a phoenix reborn from its ashes and turn it into a real fire show out in the courtyard. A good pick for kids who like crafts and a bit of drama.
A lantern parade through the dark park, led by St. Martin on horseback. Kids without a lantern can make one on site, hear the story of St. Martin in a warm yurt, and bake bread on a stick over the campfire. Hot drinks and food from the grill keep the November evening easy.
Winterquartier Berlin is a Christmas market at the Napoleon Komplex in Friedrichshain, with market huts, an ice rink and curling. Kids can skate, have a go at curling and catch the Christmas show for children in the cultural program.
It's a come-and-go outing. The market, rink and curling need no German; only the kids' show is spoken.
A St. Martin's Day evening on a working farm in Dahlem. It opens with a short service where the story of St. Martin is told and families sing Martin and lantern songs with the parish brass ensemble.
Then everyone walks their lanterns across the estate, and the evening ends with food and drinks in the farmyard.
Christmas Garden Berlin turns the Botanical Garden in Dahlem into an evening walking trail lit by millions of lights, with light installations set to music. This winter is its 10th season, on a newly redesigned path.
Kids walk the loop at their own pace, with dining options along the way. It suits kids happy to be on their feet outdoors on a winter evening.
A one-way loop of about two kilometers through Tierpark Berlin after dark, lined with light installations set to music. Kids walk through glowing tunnels and past lit-up trees, and there is an ice rink to skate on. Food stands along the route serve mulled wine, hot drinks and snacks. Best for children who can manage a long evening walk in the cold.
A Christmas market running through Spandau's old town, with stalls selling roasted almonds, bratwurst and mulled wine. Kids can meet Santa Claus and pick up cotton candy. Families can try the two ice stock lanes on Reformationsplatz.
A white tent city on one of Berlin's most historic squares, lit by thousands of Christmas lights. Kids can wander past glass blowers and candle makers in the heated crafts tent, watch musicians, acrobats and fire performers on the stage, and warm up over Kaiserschmarren, sweet pancake strips. It gets busy, so it suits kids who enjoy a lively evening crowd.
A Christmas market in front of Charlottenburg Palace, with craft stalls, food stands and street musicians among fir trees and lit decorations. Once it gets dark, a light-mapping show plays across the palace facade.
Kids ride the carousels and watch the palace light up, while parents browse handmade gifts and grab mulled wine or gingerbread. It suits younger kids who like lights and rides.
A Christmas market in the courtyards of a 19th-century brewery, now the Kulturbrauerei arts complex. Kids ride a small chain carousel, balance on a rope-ladder game and take aim at a miniature knight's castle with crossbows. Santa has his own throne and a mailbox for wish letters. Swedish fires and a coat-heater art piece keep everyone warm.
The Advent Market fills the grounds of Domäne Dahlem, a working estate around a 16th-century manor house. Kids paint Christmas tree baubles and make decorations to take home, ride a tractor and watch a small fire show by Pyrofessor Logo Lard. Handmade gifts, organic mulled wine and kale from the estate's own fields fill the stalls, with brass music from midday.
Over 200 nonprofit organizations, associations, and clubs offer handmade items, wooden toys, candles, honey, jams, and crafted gifts across Richardplatz. Food vendors serve mulled wine, waffles, bratwurst, and international vegetarian and vegan specialties. Only charitable organizations participate; commercial vendors are excluded.
Berlin's big New Year's Eve party turns the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate into an open-air dance floor, with DJ sets, drinks and snacks. This year's motto is "Yeah 27". It is a crowd at a famous landmark, so it suits older kids who are fine with loud music and a late night.
Potsdam's Dutch Quarter turns into a little Amsterdam for a spring weekend. Street bands march past brick houses and tulip beds, while Dutch craftspeople and flower sellers fill the lanes in traditional dress. It is a loose wander more than a program, best for kids who like music, crowds and watching things being made by hand.
Staatsoper für alle is a free open-air concert by the Staatskapelle Berlin on Bebelplatz, right beside the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. This edition marks the series' 20th anniversary, with general music director Christian Thielemann conducting Mendelssohn and Liszt.
It suits school-age kids who already enjoy orchestral music and can handle a big crowd.
For one day, free concerts take place across the whole of Berlin. Amateur and professional musicians of every style play in venues from cafes to opera houses.
There's no single site to get to, so families can drift between sets, stop for a song and move on when the kids do. It suits a relaxed day of wandering more than a planned outing.
The Pyronale is the unofficial world championship of fireworks. Six national teams fire music-timed shows over the Maifeld next to Berlin's Olympic Stadium, each night ending with a closing display. Gold, silver and bronze trophies, designed by Jette Joop, go to the best teams overall.
Marathon weekend in Berlin has a race for kids too. The Bambini Run gives the youngest a short course to try a real start line. The mini-MARATHON takes school pupils over the classic 4.2195 km, a tenth of the full marathon. Teens with a taste for racing can aim for the R5K Tour Final, which finishes at the Brandenburg Gate.
Kids do better with room to run, and every plan here happens outside: festivals, markets, farm days, street music and guided walks. The list is sorted by date, so the next one is always at the top. It changes with the seasons, so check back. Pack layers and look at the forecast before you go.
Under the motto "Pumpkin goes to Hollywood", more than 100,000 pumpkins dress up giant figures of Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter, Marilyn Monroe and Yoda. Kids hunt through 500 varieties from around the world, from a 9-gram mini to a bottle gourd over a meter long, and pose at a pumpkin pyramid. It all sits on the farm's playground grounds.
A Christmas funfair on Landsberger Allee with 26 rides, from a 45-meter Ferris wheel with enclosed gondolas to the 85-meter Lion Tower drop and the new Crazy Roulette. Twelve are family and kids' rides, including a mini roller coaster, carousels and a fire-fighter fun house. Younger kids will be happiest there and on the Ferris wheel; the big thrill rides suit older kids and teens.
A neighborhood lantern walk run by the Heinrich-Böll-Bibliothek, a Pankow public library. Families meet at the library, then kids carry their lit lanterns through the Mühlenkiez streets with music along the way.
It's a local library parade, not a staged show, so it suits kids who can manage an evening walk in the dark.
Children from the State and Cathedral Choir Berlin and a girls' choir of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin act out the legend of St. Martin, the soldier who shared his cloak, set to German songs from the 1500s.
The play is led in German and suits young kids who enjoy a story told in song. It ends with a lantern procession, so the evening finishes outdoors.
A lantern evening at the neighborhood library in Prenzlauer Berg. Kids start by making their own colorful paper lantern with Nadine, who brings all the materials.
Then Rumpelmärchen, a Berlin fairy-tale theater ensemble, tell the story of a phoenix reborn from its ashes and turn it into a real fire show out in the courtyard. A good pick for kids who like crafts and a bit of drama.
A lantern parade through the dark park, led by St. Martin on horseback. Kids without a lantern can make one on site, hear the story of St. Martin in a warm yurt, and bake bread on a stick over the campfire. Hot drinks and food from the grill keep the November evening easy.
Winterquartier Berlin is a Christmas market at the Napoleon Komplex in Friedrichshain, with market huts, an ice rink and curling. Kids can skate, have a go at curling and catch the Christmas show for children in the cultural program.
It's a come-and-go outing. The market, rink and curling need no German; only the kids' show is spoken.
A St. Martin's Day evening on a working farm in Dahlem. It opens with a short service where the story of St. Martin is told and families sing Martin and lantern songs with the parish brass ensemble.
Then everyone walks their lanterns across the estate, and the evening ends with food and drinks in the farmyard.
Christmas Garden Berlin turns the Botanical Garden in Dahlem into an evening walking trail lit by millions of lights, with light installations set to music. This winter is its 10th season, on a newly redesigned path.
Kids walk the loop at their own pace, with dining options along the way. It suits kids happy to be on their feet outdoors on a winter evening.
A one-way loop of about two kilometers through Tierpark Berlin after dark, lined with light installations set to music. Kids walk through glowing tunnels and past lit-up trees, and there is an ice rink to skate on. Food stands along the route serve mulled wine, hot drinks and snacks. Best for children who can manage a long evening walk in the cold.
A Christmas market running through Spandau's old town, with stalls selling roasted almonds, bratwurst and mulled wine. Kids can meet Santa Claus and pick up cotton candy. Families can try the two ice stock lanes on Reformationsplatz.
A white tent city on one of Berlin's most historic squares, lit by thousands of Christmas lights. Kids can wander past glass blowers and candle makers in the heated crafts tent, watch musicians, acrobats and fire performers on the stage, and warm up over Kaiserschmarren, sweet pancake strips. It gets busy, so it suits kids who enjoy a lively evening crowd.
A Christmas market in front of Charlottenburg Palace, with craft stalls, food stands and street musicians among fir trees and lit decorations. Once it gets dark, a light-mapping show plays across the palace facade.
Kids ride the carousels and watch the palace light up, while parents browse handmade gifts and grab mulled wine or gingerbread. It suits younger kids who like lights and rides.
A Christmas market in the courtyards of a 19th-century brewery, now the Kulturbrauerei arts complex. Kids ride a small chain carousel, balance on a rope-ladder game and take aim at a miniature knight's castle with crossbows. Santa has his own throne and a mailbox for wish letters. Swedish fires and a coat-heater art piece keep everyone warm.
The Advent Market fills the grounds of Domäne Dahlem, a working estate around a 16th-century manor house. Kids paint Christmas tree baubles and make decorations to take home, ride a tractor and watch a small fire show by Pyrofessor Logo Lard. Handmade gifts, organic mulled wine and kale from the estate's own fields fill the stalls, with brass music from midday.
Over 200 nonprofit organizations, associations, and clubs offer handmade items, wooden toys, candles, honey, jams, and crafted gifts across Richardplatz. Food vendors serve mulled wine, waffles, bratwurst, and international vegetarian and vegan specialties. Only charitable organizations participate; commercial vendors are excluded.
Berlin's big New Year's Eve party turns the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate into an open-air dance floor, with DJ sets, drinks and snacks. This year's motto is "Yeah 27". It is a crowd at a famous landmark, so it suits older kids who are fine with loud music and a late night.
Potsdam's Dutch Quarter turns into a little Amsterdam for a spring weekend. Street bands march past brick houses and tulip beds, while Dutch craftspeople and flower sellers fill the lanes in traditional dress. It is a loose wander more than a program, best for kids who like music, crowds and watching things being made by hand.
Staatsoper für alle is a free open-air concert by the Staatskapelle Berlin on Bebelplatz, right beside the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. This edition marks the series' 20th anniversary, with general music director Christian Thielemann conducting Mendelssohn and Liszt.
It suits school-age kids who already enjoy orchestral music and can handle a big crowd.
For one day, free concerts take place across the whole of Berlin. Amateur and professional musicians of every style play in venues from cafes to opera houses.
There's no single site to get to, so families can drift between sets, stop for a song and move on when the kids do. It suits a relaxed day of wandering more than a planned outing.
The Pyronale is the unofficial world championship of fireworks. Six national teams fire music-timed shows over the Maifeld next to Berlin's Olympic Stadium, each night ending with a closing display. Gold, silver and bronze trophies, designed by Jette Joop, go to the best teams overall.
Marathon weekend in Berlin has a race for kids too. The Bambini Run gives the youngest a short course to try a real start line. The mini-MARATHON takes school pupils over the classic 4.2195 km, a tenth of the full marathon. Teens with a taste for racing can aim for the R5K Tour Final, which finishes at the Brandenburg Gate.
