Travelling with children

Travelling with children

There are plenty of playgrounds and recreational areas in Düsseldorf where children can romp around until their heart’s content. Be it adventure playgrounds, open air baths, petting zoos or puppet theatres – Düsseldorf offers its younger visitors a diverse programme to ensure that visiting the State capital is not just a great experience for the grown-ups.

Slide, swing, make sandcakes

In Düsseldorf, there are currently 451 public playgrounds, of which 21 are forest playgrounds. Around half of these are located in parks, surrounded by green areas. Rampaging around is thus definitely allowed! If, in addition to swinging, sliding and climbing, you want to have even more fun, then you should definitely visit one of the four adventure playgrounds in the city. In summer, the eight water playgrounds are extremely popular: water sprays out of the playground devices, which is particularly useful for cooling down on a hot day. The water slush facilities also provide great entertainment: a large water inlet allows water to flow into a sandy area via small canal system upon the touch of a button. If you prefer to play indoors, there are many indoor playgrounds in the city, where fun is guaranteed, even in bad weather. Recreational enjoyment for grown-ups and children alike is provided by the recreational parks in Niederheid, on Ulenbergstraße and in Heerdt. If you reserve in time, you can use one of their big barbecues.

Puppet theatre to children’s opera – culture for the young ones

Caspar and his friends await children in the puppet theatre on Helmholtzstraße and are ready to take them on big and small adventures. Older or more experienced theatre fans – by which of course we mean the parents, too – are in good hands at the marionette theatre in Palais Wittgenstein. The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) also has a programme for young ones on offer, from Ronia the Robber’s Daughter to Hansel and Gretel.

From the petting zoo to the rainforest

In the petting zoo in the Südpark (South Park), young visitors can stroke the animals: goats and sheep stick their heads through the fencing and wait for titbits. Little rabbits nibble on carrots and hens peck at grains. But the animals don’t just want to be fed, they also love being stroked. If you want to see wild boars, raccoons and foxes up close, the Wildpark (Game Park) is the place to be. The grounds of the game park the Grafenberg Wald are a paradise for lovers of nature, both young and old. It is home to almost all the indigenous animals, like red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, mouflons and wild boar. In the house of the forest school, children can learn about nature: there are various specimens, antlers, an ant colony and a couple of pond aquaria. The Niederheid adventure park is home to goats, poultry and pigs. Children can find out how animals are kept on a farmyard. Young riding fans can be guided through the Niederheid woodlands on horseback. More animals can be discovered at the Aquazoo, which is home to numerous animals, mainly reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. Visitors can view or walk through their habitats – such as a coral reef, a rainforest and a desert. At the same time, you can find out everything you could wish to know about the evolution and history of the earth. (The Aquazoo is currently closed for renovation works.)

Swimming and splashing around

Splashing around, swimming and sliding – indoors or outdoors: with six indoor swimming pools, four open air baths and a recreational pool, Düsseldorf has a wide range of offers for water rats. All indoor swimming pools offer a family day for families and swimming lessons for grown-ups, children and young people. Recreational programmes, such as infant swimming, aqua jogging, snorkelling and hydro-power, are also offered in some swimming pools.