Look no further for the best child-friendly cities to visit with your family this summer holiday
Berlin, Germany
It’s easy to overlook Germany’s capital of cool for family vacations, but this hotbed of history, culture and nightlife has plenty to offer the little ones too. Lure them there with the promise of Legoland (medieval castles in miniature), the Sea Life Centre (4,000 creatures of the deep) and the Loxx Railway (world’s largest model railway), then surprise them with numerous adventure playgrounds, city beaches and kid-friendly theatre shows. Try the views-tastic playground at Moritzhof (next to a brilliantly interactive urban farm), the legendary Strandbad Wannsee lakeside beach and the bilingual Galli Theatre. You could even be brave and sneak in some history too – the stunning glass dome of the Reichstag building is great fun to walk around and the East Side Gallery is a long stretch of the Berlin Wall now covered in artwork.
New York, USA
If you can drag them away from FAO Schwarz (Fifth Avenue’s giant toy shop), your kids will thank you for it. New York City is basically a gigantic playground for all ages and it’s packed with (free) iconic sights – yellow taxi cabs, soaring skyscrapers, Times Square, the subway. But there are also tonnes of child-targeted attractions. Visit the dinosaur halls and the hands-on Discovery Room at the Museum of Natural History, take an interactive kids’ tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or try the flight simulator at the Empire State Building. Then you’ve got speedboat tours of the harbour, Central Park Zoo, South Street Seaport’s Imagination Playground; the list goes on. You’re going to be busy.
Oaxaca, Mexico
This colourful Mexican city with its shaded plazas (aka unofficial playgrounds), welcoming locals, exciting cuisine and street art is the perfect place for kids to explore. Hang out in the Zocalo, the plant-filled main square where you might see dancers or mariachi bands performing, and you’ll definitely get to play with huge balloons or eat multi-coloured cotton candy. The Santo Domingo cathedral is a must-see, especially if the kids can stay up late enough to see it lit up at night; they will love the buzzing atmosphere at Benito Juarez Market. Oaxaca is well-known for its fabulous food – fresh juice bars abound, as do chocolate shops. And after all, taquitos are the perfect finger food for kids. What’s not to love?
