Ask a small kid what they want to do and the answer is often "ride something." The city and the lakes around it make that easy: a little train through the woods, public ferries across the water, boats through river locks and a cable car over the park. Here's what we checked, from a park railway run by teenagers to a lift that raises whole ships 36 meters.
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.
The F10 is a regular BVG ferry and one of the city's longest ferry lines at 4.4 kilometers. It crosses the Wannsee lake and the Havel river, passing Schwanenwerder island, with open water views most of the way. Bikes ride along, with 60 spaces on board.
At Alt-Kladow, the pier opens onto a promenade with restaurants, a children's playground and a bathing area, and village lanes for walks and bike rides.
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 large park of themed gardens from around the world: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Balinese, Oriental, Italian Renaissance, English and Jewish gardens, plus a hedge maze and a labyrinth to run through.
A cable car glides up to 35 meters above the Wuhletal valley to the Kienberg hill. The playgrounds follow Erich Kästner's book "The 35th of May", with a climbing whale, a water forest and giant wooden ants.
A large technology museum with a locomotive shed full of historic trains, a shipping hall where kids hoist sails and steer a boat into harbor, and an aviation wing with the "Candy Bomber" plane up on the roof terrace.
The Science Center Spectrum, on the same ticket, has more than 150 hands-on experiments. Outside, the museum park has a playground and picnic areas.
Punts are flat-bottomed boats up to 9 meters long, with benches for about 20 people. The ferryman pushes off the riverbed with a four-meter ash pole, no motor, telling stories as the boat passes potato and cucumber fields.
Routes lead to Lehde, a village whose main street is a canal, with a stop for the open-air museum or lunch. Ducks follow the boats; watch for storks and dragonflies.
Two boat lifts stand side by side in Niederfinow: Germany's oldest working one, a steel giant from 1934, and Europe's newest, opened in 2022. Each raises whole ships 36 meters in a water-filled trough.
Kids can walk the old lift's viewing paths and watch ships rise, join a guided tour of the new one, or ride a tour boat through. The information center explains how it all works.
Ask a small kid what they want to do and the answer is often "ride something." The city and the lakes around it make that easy: a little train through the woods, public ferries across the water, boats through river locks and a cable car over the park. Here's what we checked, from a park railway run by teenagers to a lift that raises whole ships 36 meters.
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.
The F10 is a regular BVG ferry and one of the city's longest ferry lines at 4.4 kilometers. It crosses the Wannsee lake and the Havel river, passing Schwanenwerder island, with open water views most of the way. Bikes ride along, with 60 spaces on board.
At Alt-Kladow, the pier opens onto a promenade with restaurants, a children's playground and a bathing area, and village lanes for walks and bike rides.
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 large park of themed gardens from around the world: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Balinese, Oriental, Italian Renaissance, English and Jewish gardens, plus a hedge maze and a labyrinth to run through.
A cable car glides up to 35 meters above the Wuhletal valley to the Kienberg hill. The playgrounds follow Erich Kästner's book "The 35th of May", with a climbing whale, a water forest and giant wooden ants.
A large technology museum with a locomotive shed full of historic trains, a shipping hall where kids hoist sails and steer a boat into harbor, and an aviation wing with the "Candy Bomber" plane up on the roof terrace.
The Science Center Spectrum, on the same ticket, has more than 150 hands-on experiments. Outside, the museum park has a playground and picnic areas.
Punts are flat-bottomed boats up to 9 meters long, with benches for about 20 people. The ferryman pushes off the riverbed with a four-meter ash pole, no motor, telling stories as the boat passes potato and cucumber fields.
Routes lead to Lehde, a village whose main street is a canal, with a stop for the open-air museum or lunch. Ducks follow the boats; watch for storks and dragonflies.
Two boat lifts stand side by side in Niederfinow: Germany's oldest working one, a steel giant from 1934, and Europe's newest, opened in 2022. Each raises whole ships 36 meters in a water-filled trough.
Kids can walk the old lift's viewing paths and watch ships rise, join a guided tour of the new one, or ride a tour boat through. The information center explains how it all works.
