Germany is an excellent travel destination for the whole family. Visitors of all ages will fall in love with the many theme- and water parks, castles, museums, national parks and zoos as well as activities like cycling, swimming and walking. Here are some interesting attractions:

Europa-Park

The Europa-Park, located in the city of Rust in Southwest Germany, is the country’s most popular theme park with over 4 million visitors annually. There are, for example, 14 areas dedicated to different European countries as well as the Children´s World for the kids. One of the new attractions is a copy of Ireland with a little fishing village in the middle of hills. Old Mac Donald´s Tractor Fun offers a pleasant ride in, you guessed it, a tractor! The large, covered play area of Limerick Castle offers experiences for children all year round. The new restaurant The O´ Mackay´s Café and Pub is a place of culinary enjoyments. The new shop Shamrock Gifts and Treats is also worth of visiting.

The 4D Magic Cinema displays a new adventure entitled Happy Family. The film tells a story about the extremely ordinary Wünschmann family, who are spending an extremely ordinary day in the park. The film is shown in rotation with another 4D adventure The Time Carousel.

The visitors can also enjoy of digital worlds. In the area dedicated to Austria it is possible to travel in the Alpenexpress Coastality ride guided by Ed Euromaus, while the Pegasus Coastality can take you through the astonishingly beautiful world of the Happy Family film, enjoyed through your virtual reality glasses.

Formula 1 cars are displayed in the new Won World exhibition in the Mercedes-Benz Hall. Different tastes from all over the world can be tested in the new Spices restaurant.

There are several European airports near the park. These are, for example, Karslruhe/Baden-Baden (64 km), Stuttgart (175 km), Basel (90 km), Strasbourg (64 km), Frankfurt (240 km) and Zurich (186 km).

The nearest railway station is Ringsheim, which is located 4 kilometers from the park. From there, the main entrance of the park can be reached directly with the bus number 7231.

Children under 4 years old have free entrance. In summer, the ticket costs 38.50 € for children between 4 and 11 years and in winter, 32.50 €. The tickets for adults and children over 12 costs 44.50 € in summer and 38.50 € in winter. As a specialty the park offers free entrance for children on their birthday until the 12^th year. Seniors over 60 years old and visitors with disabilities only have to pay the price of children´s ticket.

•  More information: www.europapark.de/en

The Buchheim Museum of Imagination

The collections of Lothar-Günther Buchheim, which are displayed in Bernried am Stanberger See in Bavaria, amaze and entertain with their variety and uniqueness. Besides the works of German Expressionists and great modern artists such as Picasso, Chagall and Brague, the area also features carousel animals, fairground attractions, paperweights, individualistic works of amateur artists and crafts from Africa, Asia, the South Pacific and South America.

The museum can be reached by the S-Bahn-train number 6 to Tützing and RVO Bus number 9614 to Penzberg (from Tuesday to Friday). Deutsche Bahn operates a train to Bernried, only at a 20 minute walking distance from the museum. With the S6 trainit is possible to travel to Starnberg, where you can take the Museum Ship “Phantasie” or a Bavarian Ferry to Bernried. If you plan on arriving by car, you should drive on highway A 95 from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and exit at Seeshaupt, in the direction of the Benried Busses through the underpasses.

The entrance fee is 8.50 € for adults and 3.50 € for children, students and disabled people.

• More information: http://www.buchheimmuseum.de/international/english.php

Heide-Park

Heide-Park is a large amusement park in Soltau, in the state of Lower Saxony. The park has an area of 85 hectares and was opened in 1978. It has over 40 fairground attractions, among them a copy of the Statue of Liberty. There are several ticket alternatives. For example, a day ticket costs 32 euros. The tickets can be ordered directly on the Internet.

• More information can also be found on: https://www.heide-park.de/en.html

The Thuringian Forest

In the state of Thuringia there is medium high mountain range, the Thuringian Forest. It is 130 kilometers long and 35 kilometers wide and a fascinating mixture of nature, culture and leisure time fun. The area has lots of spas, ski slopes and zoos. The Thuringian Forest is the largest coherent forest area in Germany.

It is an excellent vacation spot regardless of the time of year. The area features the highest slopes in Germany, and it is known as a popular winter sport resort. There are for example international competitions in Oberhof. Besides hotels, families can rent cottages and vacation residences as well. The area has a lot of riding stables and over 6000 kilometers of hiking trails. The most popular spas are the Thüringen-Therme and the sanatorium and family spa TABBS. Nature and culture enthusiasts can find several animal species from the uncontaminated nature. Some of them can be admired in nature- and experience parks, for example in the bird park Tirica. A different experience is llama hiking in Sophienhof. Those seeking cultural experiences can go to Wartburg in Eisenach: Martin Luther, the founder of Lutheranism, was influential there

• More information (in German): https://www.clubfamily.de/thueringer-wald

Schwarzwald Badeparadies ( The Schwarzwald Spa Paradise)

The Schwarzwald Badeparadies in the state of Baden-Württemberg is a large and fascinating recreational center for the whole family. The establishment features several different sections. The Galaxy Schwarzwald is full of fun, activities and experiences. The Palmenoase (Palm oasis) allures with 25 attractions, 20 of which are slides. A great place for both children and adults. The spa features two highlights above all others: the worlds largest stainless steel halfpipe and Germany´s longest 4 mat slide.

Those who enjoy waves should absolutely try out the wave pool, while those who enjoy playing should head for the 25 meter sports pool. For families, there is a new Galaxy Relax section, where adults as well as children can relax. It is a 700 square meter area with a tropical atmosphere where one can find tranquillity in the shade of palm trees.

There are several ticket alternatives, but the cheapest ticket costs 12 euros for 1.5 hours. More information: https://www.badeparadies-schwarzwald.de/en/galaxy/prices/

• Other information: https://www.badeparadies-schwarzwald.de/en/footer/bautagebuch/

The Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park

The Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park in Northern Germany is one of the 16 national parks of the country. It is surrounded by a small group of islands on the North Sea coast off Cuxhaven beyond the Elbe estuary. The park protects around 12,000 hectares of coastal mudflats. The three islands of the area are the lush Neuwerk, the dune island of Scharhörn and the artificial island of Nigehörn. During the fascinating excursions through the mudflats, the visitors can look for amber and find large colonies of little, common, sandwich and Arctic terns. There are also many cultural attractions in the area.

• More information: http://www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/natural-landscapes/national-parks/hamburg-wadden-sea-national-park.html

Zoo Berlin

The Berlin zoo is the largest of its kind in Europe. It has over 6500 exotic animal species in varied environments. One of the many highlights is a historical castle. The zoo takes part in several international species conservation projects. Many of the zoo’s plant and animal species are added to the Red List of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) every year. Common threats to the survival of these species include poaching, habitat destruction and water pollution. The zoo openly opposes such exploitation and tries to release animals back into the wild when possible.

• Day tickets cost 14.50 € for adults and 7.50 € for children.
• More information about tickets can be found here: http://www.tierpark-berlin.de/en/tickets/day-tickets. Other information: http://www.tierpark-berlin.de/en

Kuvat: CC-lisenssillä / Boschfoto, Dirk Thierfelder, YanCoasterman, To!007, Mhaesen, Ralf Roletschek , Dieter Brügmann (Bruhaha)