Berlin · With kids

Right beside Zoologischer Garten station at Hardenbergplatz 8, so no long trek with a pushchair. Online day tickets start at 16 € for adults and 7.50 € for children aged 4–15, with under-4s free; a combined zoo and aquarium ticket starts at 24 € and 11 € and must be used the same day.

The dinosaur hall is the draw and it holds children who have no interest in the rest, alongside a wet collection of about a million specimens in alcohol. Invalidenstraße 43, near U6 Naturkundemuseum; 11 € adults, 5 € concessions.

Trains, aircraft, ships and computers in a huge hall at Trebbiner Straße 9, with more than 150 hands-on experiments in the Spectrum building next door. Under-18s get in free, which makes this the best-value wet-afternoon plan in Berlin; open from 09:00 on weekdays.

Built for ages 3–11 and genuinely hands-on rather than a play area with signs. 7 € per person, 23 € for a family of up to four, and 5 € on Friday afternoons outside the school holidays. Shoes come off in the exhibition, so bring grip socks or slippers.

More than 300 hectares of former airport, free and open to everyone since 2010, with two runways that children can cycle, scoot or skate down without meeting a car. Kite flying, picnics and barbecue zones; there is almost no shade, so bring hats in summer.