Munich for kids

Munich is a great place to take your kids to. How do I know? Because it was one of the first cities I’ve visited as a kid. Even as an adult I can’t find fault with anything the capital of Bavaria has to offer: one of the greatest zoos, museum of technology to entertain you for hours, aquarium, Olympic stadium… Don’t forget the other little thing this part of Germany is known for – awesome beer and plenty of beer gardens through out the city. Sounds much better now and you can take your kids along, because they’ll love all the delicious food there; such as sausages, pretzels and apple strudels.

Top places to visit with kids in Munich:

The zoo, Hellabrunn – situated on the banks of river Isar, in the southern part of Munich, it is one of the best zoos you’ll ever visit. Be impressed by its size, number of different animals and really nice looking enclosures. I remember the bears, with their own little stream and plenty of greenery. While I know no zoo can match the reality of animals being in the wild but this one comes close to.

More info: http://www.hellabrunn.de/en/.

The museum of technology, Deutsches Museum – if you have to visit only one thing in Munich, make it this museum. It is incredible yet it can get overwhelming. Pace yourself and maybe only pick a few things to visit. Definitely don’t miss the first floor with all the aviation: planes, helicopters, cars and rockets. This is every kid’s (and kids at heart) dream. But every floor holds many interesting artifacts that will keep you hooked and eager to explore further. It is a museum you can visit with younger kids, but some parts will be more interesting to older ones.

The Kid’s Kingdom however is a great hands on part of the museum you can only visit accompanied by a child, where 1000 fun activities await you: the powered machine, the wave-bouncing weir, building blocks, the fire department, the House of Light and even a giant guitar.

More info: http://www.deutsches-museum.de.

The aquarium, Sea Life Munich – we don’t have an aquarium in Ljubljana, two tanks filled with fish would work for us. But since this was not our first visit to the aquarium (the ones in Barcelona and Vienna were far better), we expected more. Especially due to the steep admission price. If you still decide to visit, as the aquarium does have some nice displays and animals such as: black tip reef shark, sea turtles, interactive rockpool to touch a starfish or hold a crab, be sure to buy the tickets on-line.

More info: www.visitsealife.com/munchen/en/.

BMW World – I don’t know how interesting this would be for the girls, especially if you have two wanna be princesses like we do (and we skipped it when we were visiting with them), but I enjoyed checking out the latest and greatest from the BMW – German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company. It’s fun, admission free and hey, how many times does someone get a chance to sit in all those posh cars.

More info: www.bmw-welt.com/en/.

Olympic park – constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics, it is now ideal for leisurely walks, kids freely running around or resting by the pond after a day full of adventures. You could also get to the top of the huge tower Olympiaturm, which has an overall height of 291m and an observation deck that offers breathtaking views of the city.

Glockenspiel at Marienplatz – while the whole city center is very inviting kids’ favorite will definitely be the new City Hall, built in the Gothic style and despite its name still pretty old. In the main tower there are 32 life sized figures that re-enact two stories from the 16th century. The play takes place every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer). And just around the corner there is a beer garden on the Viktualienmarkt. This is a popular market for fresh food and delicatessen: 140 stalls and shops covering an area 22,000 square meters. The beer garden has about 600 seats in the self-serviced area and 200 seats in the serviced area, all well shaded by large chestnut trees.