AUGUST 2025

I have been to Hamburg several times and always knew I wanted to come back with my son. Hamburg is my favorite city in Germany and it has lots of kid-friendly activities. In Hamburg it is surprisingly easy to have a good time as a parent and as a kid. When I had a free long weekend coming up I booked train tickets to Hamburg for a three night stay for Hugo and myself. This was my first solo parenting trip with Hugo in quite a while and we had an absolute blast. In this blogpost I will give you all my recommendations for a stay in Hamburg with kids/a toddler.

Where we stayed

I decided to stay at the Moxy Hamburg City. I have stayed at Moxy hotels with Hugo several times before and it is a great hotel choice if you are traveling with kids. The Moxy has lots of kid-friendly decorations in the common areas and they offer games and books as well. I always love a hotel with an on-site restaurant. The Moxy offers affordable fast casual meals, which is ideal with kids. There is an extensive breakfast spread (with a nutella bar), which was free for small kids. Location was very good as well, lots of public transport available and only a short ride to the central station.

Hamburg with kids

Strand Pauli

Strand Pauli is a “beach bar” in Hamburg’s harbor. It is very popular with bachelor parties, but a good spot with kids as well. Hugo and I went on Saturday morning on a super sunshiny day and were able to pick nice seats at 10AM when it opened. Definitely a good location for a lunch as well. Hugo loved playing in the sand while I enjoyed the atmosphere and the colorful decorations. You can check the opening hours and make reservations for weekend brunch here.

Miniatur Wunderland

The ultimate recommendation with kids is Miniatur Wunderland. It is a miniature world, in which you can admire little versions of Hamburg itself, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria and even Rio de Janeiro! There are lots of trains and vehicles driving around and there even is an airport where planes actually take off. This was definitely the highlight for Hugo and we spent over 3 hours here, make sure you have plenty of time for this activity. It always sells out though, so make sure you book tickets a week in advance. I personally love this activity as well and I saw lots of adults without kids enjoying themselves.

Hop on hop off bus

Not a very original activity, but a lovely thing to do on a nice day is taking the hop on hop off bus. There are several companies offering these busrides in Hamburg, we went for the original red double decker buses. This double decker also does a small loop of a suburban area with beautiful houses and gardens, which you normally wouldn’t visit as a tourist, this was a nice surprise. Our tour also stopped at Miniatur Wunderland, which was very convenient.

Speicherstadt

Lots of fun activities are located in Speicherstadt, the old warehouse district of Hamburg. But just a walk around Speicherstadt and climbing the bridges and stairs is a fun activity itself. We had a kid-friendly lunch at Mama Trattoria HafenCity which is just around the corner of Speicherstadt.

Elbphilharmonie

I bought a ticket so we could access the terraces of the Elbphilharmonie, one of Hamburg’s most iconic buildings. You access it via escalators, which make it a fun activity for kids as well. Views over the town are gorgeous! A ticket to the terraces only costs a few euros and you can easily book online.

Planten un Bomen

Planten un Bomen is Hamburg’s botanical garden & park. When we visited at the end of June the rose garden was in bloom, which was heavenly! The park also features a lovely playground and it is free to enter.

U-Boot Museum

The U-Boot museum is kind of a hidden gem. The visit to the museum is a visit to an old Russian submarine. We visited on a weekend and it wasn’t busy at all, no queue or anything. It is located close to Strand Pauli, so you can combine these activities. Hugo loved crawling through all the small openings and exploring the U-Boot.

Floschanze

Floschanze is Schanzenviertel’s flea market. It takes place on Saturdays, check actual hours here. There is vintage, antiques and lots of toys. I gave Hugo the opportunity to buy one small dinky toy and this occupied him for over 30 minutes. Next to the Floschanze is the Feldstrassebunker, you can climb this old bunker. On top there is a terrace serving ice cream.

Schanzenviertel

Schanzenviertel is my favorite borough in Hamburg, it is lively, colorful, leftist and activist. It can be a little rough around the edges, so definitely pay attention to where you walk and play. The Florapark has a lovely climbing playground, just make sure there is no glass scattered. The Schanzenpark had a nice big playground, which was full of kids enjoying the weekend. This area is really nice for restaurants and shopping as well. Hugo and I had lunch at Jim’s Burrito’s as he loves Mexican food. I personally find brunch a lovely kid friendly activity as well, Cafe Unter den Linden is perfect for this.

Sushi belt

If your kid loves sushi as well there is nothing more fun than a sushi belt. Near our hotel we found JamJam Running Sushi, who had an amazing sushi belt. They have more locations in Hamburg. The sushi buffet costs € 28,5 for adults in the evening, and is cheaper for lunch. As Hugo was only four I only had to pay € 5 for sushi, which was a steal and not a good deal for the restaurant. They even had blue sushi… bejing duck, icecream buffet, overall great value!

Daytrips from Hamburg

If you are in the area anyway, why not do a daytrip? You can even get to a really nice beach from Hamburg. I have done several daytrips in the area and you can find my recommendations here.