Treptow-Köpenick is the city's southeast corner and the part with the most water: big lakes, two rivers, sandy swimming spots and large stretches of forest. This list gathers the family plans we've checked in the district, from puppet shows to beaches, parks and outdoor places worth the S-Bahn ride out. It updates on its own, so check it before a weekend out east.
Tur Tur Theater's modern take on the musical classic. Dorothy lands in the land beyond the rainbow and sets off to find the Wizard of Oz, picking up a scarecrow who wants more brains, a tin man who lost his heart and a lion afraid of everything.
Sophie Ammann and Alexander Altomirianos play it as a story about friendship, made for laughing, crying and thinking.
Pappelapapp is a material theater show by Amai-Figurentheater Berlin, played entirely without words. It starts with plain cardboard boxes and, with a little imagination, turns them into paper tigers, fire-breathing dragons, small cardboard people and a cardboard home.
It is made for the youngest theatergoers. There is no dialogue to follow, so it needs no German, and kids can simply watch one ordinary thing become another.
Honigkuchenpferde are Germany's first pop band made for parents and kids to enjoy together. Their songs are about friendship, diversity and courage, and they are made for singing, dancing and joining in. The band also speaks up for children's rights, so the party comes with a message. Expect a cheerful hour of joining in rather than a quiet sit-down show.
Three musicians, Emma Grünfeld, Marceese and Robert Metcalf, turn a kids' concert into a sound experiment. Alongside sing-along songs, they bring mysterious gadgets that distort, change and flip sounds upside down.
Kids click their tongues, tap and experiment, finding out what odd noises a mouth can make and how a simple "plop" grows into a whole rhythm. It suits curious kids who like to join in.
Theater Marotte turns the much-loved picture book into a puppet show. A little mouse crosses a big forest full of dangers and scares off everyone who wants to eat her by threatening them with the terrible Gruffalo, a monster she made up. Or did she?
It is told in German, so it suits kids who follow spoken German or already know the story well.
Christmas is coming, but nothing goes to plan for Pettersson and Findus: no tree, no festive meal, no firewood, and then Pettersson sprains his foot. A Christmas elf called Kirsi has an idea that could change everything.
Theater des Lachens plays it as a warm, funny story about friendship and helping each other out. It is performed in German, so it suits kids who follow spoken German.
A German-language musical comedy about Albertina, a big-hearted schoolgirl who heads to the junkyard to visit her friends Henriette the hen and Marvin the mole. When she learns her mom wants no tree this year, she wishes one up in the wishing tub, and it comes true. This is no ordinary tree, and chaos follows.
Best for kids who follow German well enough to enjoy the jokes.
Milchsalon puts on a run of family concerts through autumn and the run-up to Christmas. Corinna Bilke and her Skeleton Band open with Grusical, spooky songs and funny interludes for Halloween, and she returns with jazzy winter songs from her album Wunschuniversum.
Unter meinem Bett brings singer-songwriters from the compilation series to one stage, and Pauken & Planeten meet Nevio Passaro for a German-Italian Christmas show.
FEZ-Berlin is a non-profit children's, youth and family center in the Wuhlheide woods. Inside are the Alice children's museum with hands-on exhibitions, the Astrid-Lindgren-Bühne children's theater, orbitall (a space center modeled on the ISS), and an indoor pool with a teaching pool and diving towers.
Outside, the park has a giant rocket playground, a dragon playground, a wooden climbing playground, an eco garden, and boats and pedal cars to rent.
Waslala is a staffed adventure playground and children's farm in Altglienicke. Kids build their own wooden huts with real tools, light fires and climb, with educators keeping watch. The animal yard has ponies, sheep, a goat, rabbits and bees, and kids help feed and care for them.
It is a parent-free zone: parents don't stay, so it suits kids who are happy to play on their own.
Treptower Park runs 88 hectares along the Spree, with wide lawns for ball games and picnics and a riverside promenade where tour boats leave from the pier. An arched bridge crosses to Insel der Jugend, a small island with boat hire.
It also holds the Soviet War Memorial, a solemn war grave with a 30-meter soldier statue, and the Archenhold Observatory, home to a 21-meter telescope and a small planetarium.
Figurentheater Grashüpfer is a small puppet theater in the middle of Treptower Park, open since 1997. Professional touring companies from Berlin and across Germany fill the program: hand puppets on a peep-box stage, marionettes, shadow puppets, object theater and shows kids can join in.
Beyond the plays, the theater runs family craft afternoons, fairy-tale evenings and kids' birthday parties.
Zenner is a beer garden on the bank of the Spree inside Treptower Park, serving guests since 1822. Its 1,500 outdoor seats sit under old linden trees or out in the sun. An organic ice cream counter in the tower house arcades scoops 24 flavors from Rosa Canina, and a sandbox beside its terrace keeps younger kids digging while adults eat.
The Müggelturm is a 30-meter observation tower on the Kleiner Müggelberg, in the forested Müggelberge hills. Kids climb 126 steps to a viewing platform where, on a clear day, the view runs about 60 kilometers, from the Müggelsee to Alexanderplatz and BER Airport.
A restaurant with a sun terrace sits at the base, and hiking trails, cycle routes, a downhill trail and a nature trail loop through the forest.
STERN+KREIS runs Berlin's passenger boats from piers across the city. From Treptow harbor by Treptower Park, the bridge trip loops the Landwehrkanal and the Spree through river locks, past the Technikmuseum, the Reichstag, Museum Island and the East Side Gallery.
Other boats head southeast past Köpenick's old town to the open water of the Müggelsee. Snacks and drinks are sold on board; outside food is not allowed.
A narrow-gauge railway that winds through Volkspark Wuhlheide, linking stations at the FEZ, the Badesee lake, the Parkbühne open-air stage and the train depot. Diesel locos pull the regular trains, with a steam engine on some afternoons.
Much of the crew is local kids and teens, trained from fifth grade as conductors, crossing keepers and station chiefs. Toddlers who love trains get a long ride; older kids watch peers at work.
Germany's oldest and largest public observatory, open since 1896 in the middle of Treptower Park. Its centerpiece is the Great Refractor, nicknamed the "sky cannon": at 21 meters and 130 tons, the longest movable refracting telescope in the world, and still working.
Inside are a museum of astronomy from Stonehenge to space telescopes, a giant iron meteorite, a 31-seat planetarium and the hall where Einstein lectured on relativity in 1915.
An 830-meter sandy beach on the northeast shore of the Großer Müggelsee, the city's largest lake, backed by forest. Wooden jetties lead into the water, a buoy line keeps boats out of the swimming area, and there are toilets, a snack bar and sports facilities. A separate section is a nudist (FKK) beach.
The historic bath buildings are being restored, so expect some fenced-off works.
Treptow-Köpenick is the city's southeast corner and the part with the most water: big lakes, two rivers, sandy swimming spots and large stretches of forest. This list gathers the family plans we've checked in the district, from puppet shows to beaches, parks and outdoor places worth the S-Bahn ride out. It updates on its own, so check it before a weekend out east.
Tur Tur Theater's modern take on the musical classic. Dorothy lands in the land beyond the rainbow and sets off to find the Wizard of Oz, picking up a scarecrow who wants more brains, a tin man who lost his heart and a lion afraid of everything.
Sophie Ammann and Alexander Altomirianos play it as a story about friendship, made for laughing, crying and thinking.
Pappelapapp is a material theater show by Amai-Figurentheater Berlin, played entirely without words. It starts with plain cardboard boxes and, with a little imagination, turns them into paper tigers, fire-breathing dragons, small cardboard people and a cardboard home.
It is made for the youngest theatergoers. There is no dialogue to follow, so it needs no German, and kids can simply watch one ordinary thing become another.
Honigkuchenpferde are Germany's first pop band made for parents and kids to enjoy together. Their songs are about friendship, diversity and courage, and they are made for singing, dancing and joining in. The band also speaks up for children's rights, so the party comes with a message. Expect a cheerful hour of joining in rather than a quiet sit-down show.
Three musicians, Emma Grünfeld, Marceese and Robert Metcalf, turn a kids' concert into a sound experiment. Alongside sing-along songs, they bring mysterious gadgets that distort, change and flip sounds upside down.
Kids click their tongues, tap and experiment, finding out what odd noises a mouth can make and how a simple "plop" grows into a whole rhythm. It suits curious kids who like to join in.
Theater Marotte turns the much-loved picture book into a puppet show. A little mouse crosses a big forest full of dangers and scares off everyone who wants to eat her by threatening them with the terrible Gruffalo, a monster she made up. Or did she?
It is told in German, so it suits kids who follow spoken German or already know the story well.
Christmas is coming, but nothing goes to plan for Pettersson and Findus: no tree, no festive meal, no firewood, and then Pettersson sprains his foot. A Christmas elf called Kirsi has an idea that could change everything.
Theater des Lachens plays it as a warm, funny story about friendship and helping each other out. It is performed in German, so it suits kids who follow spoken German.
A German-language musical comedy about Albertina, a big-hearted schoolgirl who heads to the junkyard to visit her friends Henriette the hen and Marvin the mole. When she learns her mom wants no tree this year, she wishes one up in the wishing tub, and it comes true. This is no ordinary tree, and chaos follows.
Best for kids who follow German well enough to enjoy the jokes.
Milchsalon puts on a run of family concerts through autumn and the run-up to Christmas. Corinna Bilke and her Skeleton Band open with Grusical, spooky songs and funny interludes for Halloween, and she returns with jazzy winter songs from her album Wunschuniversum.
Unter meinem Bett brings singer-songwriters from the compilation series to one stage, and Pauken & Planeten meet Nevio Passaro for a German-Italian Christmas show.
FEZ-Berlin is a non-profit children's, youth and family center in the Wuhlheide woods. Inside are the Alice children's museum with hands-on exhibitions, the Astrid-Lindgren-Bühne children's theater, orbitall (a space center modeled on the ISS), and an indoor pool with a teaching pool and diving towers.
Outside, the park has a giant rocket playground, a dragon playground, a wooden climbing playground, an eco garden, and boats and pedal cars to rent.
Waslala is a staffed adventure playground and children's farm in Altglienicke. Kids build their own wooden huts with real tools, light fires and climb, with educators keeping watch. The animal yard has ponies, sheep, a goat, rabbits and bees, and kids help feed and care for them.
It is a parent-free zone: parents don't stay, so it suits kids who are happy to play on their own.
Treptower Park runs 88 hectares along the Spree, with wide lawns for ball games and picnics and a riverside promenade where tour boats leave from the pier. An arched bridge crosses to Insel der Jugend, a small island with boat hire.
It also holds the Soviet War Memorial, a solemn war grave with a 30-meter soldier statue, and the Archenhold Observatory, home to a 21-meter telescope and a small planetarium.
Figurentheater Grashüpfer is a small puppet theater in the middle of Treptower Park, open since 1997. Professional touring companies from Berlin and across Germany fill the program: hand puppets on a peep-box stage, marionettes, shadow puppets, object theater and shows kids can join in.
Beyond the plays, the theater runs family craft afternoons, fairy-tale evenings and kids' birthday parties.
Zenner is a beer garden on the bank of the Spree inside Treptower Park, serving guests since 1822. Its 1,500 outdoor seats sit under old linden trees or out in the sun. An organic ice cream counter in the tower house arcades scoops 24 flavors from Rosa Canina, and a sandbox beside its terrace keeps younger kids digging while adults eat.
The Müggelturm is a 30-meter observation tower on the Kleiner Müggelberg, in the forested Müggelberge hills. Kids climb 126 steps to a viewing platform where, on a clear day, the view runs about 60 kilometers, from the Müggelsee to Alexanderplatz and BER Airport.
A restaurant with a sun terrace sits at the base, and hiking trails, cycle routes, a downhill trail and a nature trail loop through the forest.
STERN+KREIS runs Berlin's passenger boats from piers across the city. From Treptow harbor by Treptower Park, the bridge trip loops the Landwehrkanal and the Spree through river locks, past the Technikmuseum, the Reichstag, Museum Island and the East Side Gallery.
Other boats head southeast past Köpenick's old town to the open water of the Müggelsee. Snacks and drinks are sold on board; outside food is not allowed.
A narrow-gauge railway that winds through Volkspark Wuhlheide, linking stations at the FEZ, the Badesee lake, the Parkbühne open-air stage and the train depot. Diesel locos pull the regular trains, with a steam engine on some afternoons.
Much of the crew is local kids and teens, trained from fifth grade as conductors, crossing keepers and station chiefs. Toddlers who love trains get a long ride; older kids watch peers at work.
Germany's oldest and largest public observatory, open since 1896 in the middle of Treptower Park. Its centerpiece is the Great Refractor, nicknamed the "sky cannon": at 21 meters and 130 tons, the longest movable refracting telescope in the world, and still working.
Inside are a museum of astronomy from Stonehenge to space telescopes, a giant iron meteorite, a 31-seat planetarium and the hall where Einstein lectured on relativity in 1915.
An 830-meter sandy beach on the northeast shore of the Großer Müggelsee, the city's largest lake, backed by forest. Wooden jetties lead into the water, a buoy line keeps boats out of the swimming area, and there are toilets, a snack bar and sports facilities. A separate section is a nudist (FKK) beach.
The historic bath buildings are being restored, so expect some fenced-off works.
