How to spend one day in Berlin with a toddler and see Berlin main attractions as a young family.
Can you visit Berlin in one day and with a toddler in tow? And can you visit Berlin with a toddler in just a day?
If I were to give tips about the best way to visit a city as rich in culture and history as Berlin, I would say you should take you time and devote to it at the very least a good few days.
This is particularly true if you are in the company of a little person, with little person needs and wishes, often incompatible with a plan of pure and simple sight seeing.
But if 24 hours is all you have in Berlin, you should definitely embrace the opportunity and make the most of it.
We did this a couple of years ago.
At the time, my son was only one and a half and I was 6 months pregnant: this meant that we had to take frequent breaks to give little and no so little legs a bit of rest, but we had a wonderful time and saw more than we expected.
Seeing Berlin with a toddler is definitely possible and surprisingly easy.
The city’s beauty is sure to keep the whole family busy and happy.
While I believe it would be even better to visit Berlin with school age kids (find our guide to Berlin with kids here), visiting with a toddler is also fun.
Have a look here for a photo story of this wonderful city.
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Table of Contents
Berlin with a toddler: when to go
We went to Berlin in late October and we got a beautiful sunny day, with clear sky and mild temperatures.
We were lucky, but the weather in Berlin is not always as mild, that time of the year: if you go in autumn, you will be rewarded with beautiful foliage, but you should definitely pack warm clothes.
We had winter shoes and coats and we used the stroller sleeping bag to keep The Bear warm: especially not walking much, he would have definitely gotten cold, even in the sun.
With only 24 hours in Berlin, we thought a bus tour was our best option.
I had been to Berlin before, but it was my husband’s first time and he really wanted to cover as much terrain as possible to get an idea of different areas and different city vibes.
What to do in Berlin with a toddler
A tour on public bus n. 100
Berlin has many hop on hop off bus tours to choose from, but the most budget friendly way to see the city, a part from walking, is to take public bus n. 100.
This bus is very special: its route was created after the reunification of Germany as the first route connecting East and West Berlin.
It links very many (if not all) the main attractions that Berlin has to offer and it does it at a price that is kind on the pockets: all you need is a public transport day ticket or a Berlin Card and you can hop on and off all day!
If you have a child, but even if you don’t, the best seat is the one at the top front: number 100 is a double decker yellow bus and the view from the front seat is guaranteed.
We were staying near the Tiergarten so we first headed East with the idea of working our way back during the course of the day.
This, I believe, was a good idea: thanks to that wonderful bus, we were able to see many sights including:
Checkpoint Charlie
he main crossing point between West and East Berlin during the cold war, checkpoint Charlie is disturbing and fascinating, even now that is surrounded by tacky restaurants and souvenir shops.
You can even get a curry, under a sign in the shape of a sausage – not something previous generations would have expected, I am sure!
The significance of the place was lost on our son, but the area is full of coffee houses and the pavements are buggy friendly, which meant it was possible for us to visit the checkpoint site without making the visit frustrating for the Bear.
We stopped for a sandwich and while he munched away in his stroller, we were able to read the informative panels leading up to the checkpoint.
Berlin wall
The wall, reminiscent of Berlin past but also a memento of how current the horror of war, all wars, still are.
You do not need a special tour to see the wall. However, it can be an invaluable experience to get some insider knowledge from a local.
Since the tours are outside, they are reasonably easy to enjoy even with a small child in tow. You can see here what a tour entails.
The museum island
Berlin’s famous museum island is now listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is indeed a truly impressive place.
It hosts five museums, built between 1824 and 1930.
Their collections trace the development of civilizations throughout the ages and their architecture wants to show the evolution of approaches to museum design over the course of the 20th century.
The island is impressive in itself but the real treasures are of course inside its museum buildings.
My personal favourite, and one that also is easily enjoyable by a child, is the Pergamon museum: the impressive altar and the incredible gates to Babylon are a sight to behold and will impress all ages.
The Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag
After a long walk along Unter den Linden and a detour to the beautiful Gendarmenmarkt, we got to The Brandenburger Tor and the Reichstag.
This turned out to be one of our son’s favourite stops: one of the local cafes’ had a chalk board menu outside and the Bear made it into a very exciting tunnel.
He spent 20 minutes running in and out of it: he had the best time and I was even able to sit down and enjoy a hot chocolate!
This just goes to shows: entertaining toddlers in a city is sometimes easier than expected.
After this long tour, we hopped again on the bus and got all the way back to the terminus.
There, we spotted one more of Berlin’s landmarks: the zoo. The zoo is the oldest in Germany and hosts an impressive number of animal species.
I have very mixed feelings about zoos, but really wanted to see its famous entrance: it is, indeed, very impressive and right inside the zoo you will find a cute petting farm with goats and donkeys kids are sure to love.
Practical info for visiting Berlin with a toddler
Taxis and toddlers: in Berlin car seats for children are compulsory in taxis, so if you flag a cab you might have to wait for one equipped with a car seat.
We didn’t have problems finding them, but sometimes it did mean a slightly longer wait.
Berlin with a buggy or stroller: we found Berlin to be overall accessible with buggies. Nearly all of the buses have ramps and so do many metro station – accessibility maps are available and can be downloaded before arrival. Find info here
Food: You will not starve in Berlin!
The city is full of cafes, take outs and restaurants to suit absolutely all taste. We found all places really welcoming to families with children and from pizza to sausages to Japanese food, we were absolutely spoilt for choice.
Just one word of warning, about food in Berlin: the portions are VERY generous so don’t get carried away when ordering unless you are really hungry!
Child-friendly cafes: we were very lucky with the weather, but Berlin in winter can be cold and rainy and in that case addresses of child-friendly cafes can come in handy. Find some good addresses here.
Have you been to Berlin with a toddler? I hope our experience inspired you to visit!
I think it’s great you travel so much with your baby and show those that worry about it that it’s completely doable!
Toddler or not, I agree with you, if you only have 1 day somewhere the bus tour is a good way to see a lot, and get the highlights. It might make you decide to come back.
What a great idea to take a local bus – sounds like you squeezed in so much with just a day. I remember what A wonderfully easy city it was to navigate with bikes (though not something I’d attempt to try 6 months pregnant with a toddler!)
I love posts that cover a large center in 1 day, as for alot of traveling families, that’s a reality! Berlin is absolutely a city we want to see, so thanks for this!
We loved Berlin. It was one city where we left saying i dont think i scrtached the surface we should have seen more. The history is amazing, we headed out to Potsdam on a day trip wow wow and wow so many sites in and around this city
cheers
mark
What a great snapshot of Berlin. I really hope to get there one day. I love your practical approach to getting around with a toddler. Looks like it worked really well for you. And I love when cities provide affordable options like this bus that you caught. It’s a great way for people of all ages and physical abilities to be able to get around.
I love seeing posts on Germany, its such an under rated travel destination! Thanks for the tip about the public bus, what a great idea.
It’s a great bus! I used to go to Berlin once a year for work and every time, I would just have a tour on the 100: a lazy but great way to see the city
A hop on hop off bus is a great way to get quickly acclimated to a city whether it’s your first or only day in a city. We generally choose to do that and we are long past the days of having a toddler in tow. Berlin is a city we have yet to visit and I can’t believe I was unaware of the museum island with all the reading I have done about it over the years.
The museum island is amazing: the museums are so rich you can’t really see them all in one day but even just a stroll on the island is worth it. I hope you get to go to Berlin, it truly is a fantastic city
Berlin is a great city! And I can totally imagine a hop on hop off bus is a great way to explore the city when you have a toddler with you, when it’s cold and on top of that you only have limited time.
Berlin is great for food as well!
Hey, you really covered a lot of Berlin for a day. It is one of the most magnificent cities in Europe and it has a perfect public transportation.
One heads up – it is PergamoN museum – which is absolutely fabulous!
Noooo, I can’t believe I spelled that wrong! Thank you for letting me know. I have even visited the Pergamon site in Turkey… clearly, need to work on my typing skills!! But I agree that the museum is fabulous, it impresses me every time
You are an awesome traveler. Touring the city and see as much as you could in 24 hours with a baby is a bit challenging and looks like you made it. One of my target destination in Europe- Germany. Thanks for sharing this article. The way the museum was built was incredible 🙂
I did all the things you mentioned but certainly not with a toddler in tow. Good for you bringing him along and managing all the duties of mommy along with exploring your passions. Nice pictures. I loved Checkpoint Charlie. There was no one stamping passports when we went so we just helped ourselves. Were not going to miss that experience. 😉
Great pictures :)! I haven’t had the chance yet to visit Berlin but reading this is making me wanna go really bad! I don’t live that far from it so I should visit soon 🙂
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