7 Things to Do with Your Family in Munich

As one of the best ranked zoological parks in Europe, Hellabrunn Zoo is a great place to take your children for a lovely day out. Covering 40 hectares, 5 km south of Munich downtown, it’s home to over 18,000 animals of over 750 species. Founded in 1911, it introduced the Geo-zoo concept: animals living together in large, open-air spaces designed to resemble their native habitats. With 3 restaurants, 6 ice cream kiosks and 1 crepe kiosk, you can comfortably spend the day at Hellabrunn Zoo.

Munich Town Hall Glockenspiel is a very popular attraction on Marienplatz. Built in 1908, the 2-level mechanical theatre involving 32 life-sized figures re-enact events from the 16th century on a daily basis. The Duke Wilhelm V’s wedding happens in the top part and the Coopers’ dance is in the lower part. The daily show lasts about 12 minutes and ends right after the rooster crows 3 times. You can watch the show from the terrace of one of the many cafés that line the square.

The Englischer Garten (English Garden) is a 3.7 sq km public park near the centre of Munich. A 78 km network of paths meanders through large patches of lawn and wooden areas, giving cyclists, joggers and strollers plenty of room to enjoy themselves. You’ll find a large kids’ playground just next to the Japanese Teahouse Kanshoan. If you’re into surfing, you can have a go at riding the artificial wave at the southern end of the Eisbach stream. The park also hosts restaurants, a couple of beer gardens and ice cream kiosks.

The Bavaria Film Studios is a 300,000 sq m complex 8 km south of Munich city centre. Used both for television and films production, it’s one of the largest film studios in Europe. A guided tour takes you through a range of movie sets including those for Asterix & Obelix, The Neverending Story and Das Boot, just to name a few. With a green screen and 4D Motion Simulation Cinema, you’ll learn a lot about how movies are made during this captivating tour.

Known as the Spielzeugmuseum in German, Munich Toy Museum is settled in the old Town Hall on Marienplatz. Embark for a tour of a small exhibition that takes you through a short history of toys. Housed on 4 floors, you’ll see the evolution of the Teddy Bear through the year, as well as many vintage toy cars, animals, ships, military figures and more. Mind the spiral staircase to reach the ticket desk as it’s pretty steep, but you can then take the lift to get to the other floors.

The Deutsches Museum is the place to go if you and your children are interested in science and technology. Established on an island in the middle of the River Isar, a walk away from the city centre, this museum takes you for a fascinating ride through the history of humanity through its great inventions. From natural sciences to energy and from mechanics to physics, you’ll learn a lot in this huge, interactive museum. You can easily spend the whole day at the Deutsches Museum, especially as it has an excellent cafeteria.

Sea Life Munich is an aquarium in the Olympia Park, 5 km north of the city centre. Showcasing ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Danube river fish species, the highlights of the tour are the interactive sessions held all day in the rock pool and the fish feeding sessions scheduled between 11.15am and 3.30pm. The feeding of the rays, sharks, sturgeons and sea turtles is really fun for children, especially when a diver joins the nurse and black tip reef sharks in their tank. Dining options and other attractions such as the Olympic Tower can be found in the park.