Fastnacht with Kids in Frankfurt and Mainz 2027

The Grosser Rat, the umbrella group of Frankfurt's carnival clubs, puts on a Fastnacht afternoon made for kids. On stage, children host and dance in costume, and the city's Kinderprinzenpaar and Prinzenpaar make an appearance.

Around the hall there's face painting, a balloon artist, game stations and a Bobby Car race. It suits kids who like dressing up and noise. Costumes for kids and adults are welcome.

Fastnacht weekend brings two parades into Frankfurt's old town. Saturday's children's parade is short and made for kids, followed by the carnival prince and princess storming the Römer, the city hall, for its keys.

Sunday's big parade is the main event: floats, carnival guards in uniform, marching bands and dance troupes, with sweets thrown into the crowd. It suits families who can handle crowds and noise.

Mainz's Rosenmontagszug is the biggest day of the city's Fastnacht: a long parade of decorated floats, marching carnival guards in uniform, brass bands and the Schwellköpp, the oversized papier-mâché heads that star in the 2027 motto.

Kids line the curb in costume, shout "Helau" and catch sweets thrown from the wagons. It suits families happy in big crowds; with a stroller, pick a spot early or see little.

Klaa Paris, the local nickname for Heddernheim, has held a carnival parade through its narrow village lanes since 1839, making it the oldest in Frankfurt. Around 1,500 carnival club members, marching bands and floats wind through the old center, throwing sweets (Kamelle) into the crowd.

Expect big crowds, with around 100,000 people along the route, so it suits kids who don't mind noise and being packed in.

Frankfurt's Fastnacht clubs bring their youngest dance troupes to one stage for a day of Gardetanz (guard dance) and show dance. Kids in matching uniforms march, kick and do splits in tight formation while judges score each routine.

It suits children who like costumes and music, and anyone curious to see the local carnival from the inside. Toddlers may tire of a long run of similar routines.

Römerberg is Frankfurt's historic main square. On one side stands the Römer, city hall since the 15th century, with stepped Gothic gables; facing it is the Ostzeile, a row of half-timbered houses, each with its own name.

Kids can spot Justitia on the Justice Fountain, holding scales and a sword without a blindfold. Most buildings are reconstructions: the old town was largely destroyed in 1944.