Saxony – suggestions for a family trip

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Saxony recommends for a family trip! See how many interesting places are waiting for both little explorers and those a little older! You can sleep in the woods in tree houses, admire dinosaurs, jump into a lake or ride a vintage train. And these are just a handful of possibilities! :)

There has already been quite a bit about Saxony on our blog. We have written about the Elbe Valley, Dresden, Upper Lusatia, and most recently about Leipzig and its surroundings. Today we will show you the most interesting places in Saxony when it comes to traveling with children. This post will help you plan your trip so that there are places on your itinerary that your children will love. Caution, taking them to these places runs the risk of them not wanting to go home ;-)

The order of places is random – we have chosen ones among which there is something for everyone. This is no ranking or “must see,” it is a loose list of inspiration and ideas for both a weekend and a longer stay in Saxony.

At the bottom you will find a map with marked points and a “short” video of our family trip to Saxony :)

Table of contents

The Mysterious Land of Turisede

Just across the Polish border is a fantastic park for children. Tucked away in the woods, hiding many surprises, secret passages, riddles, hidden stories…. Forget about cell phones, navigation or internet! Instead, reach for a map, search for treasures, play in playgrounds, circle secret paths, whether underground or on rooftops.

Highly recommended especially with accommodation in tree houses! Fantastically arranged, each house in a different style, hiding a surprise for little adventurers.

Anyway, it’s a great adventure for adults, too – creaking doors and stairs, an outcropping and shower on high, moaning ghosts in the evenings, and much, much more (we won’t reveal everything now!).

Dinosaur park

Saurierpark near Bautzen is a large area among the trees where we will be able to come face to face with dinosaurs. Some are visible from a distance, and some are hidden somewhere between the trees, in the bushes. In addition to learning about these prehistoric creatures, little explorers can learn about the history of our planet and even play archaeologists and look for fossils in the sand.

Kids will not only learn about dinosaurs, but will have a great time here in a great monkey grove, climbing walls, numerous playgrounds and slides.

For the persistent and energetic, right next to the Dinosaur Park is Germany’s largest maze.

Ride on a vintage railroad

What child (and adult) wouldn’t want to take a ride on a train with a steam locomotive? :) In Saxony we have several opportunities not only to see the sizable steam locomotives, but to hop on board and almost go back to the days when railroads were the most important means of transportation.

We have had the opportunity to see three rounds so far:

Railroad to Muskau (Bad Muskau) – we started from Weißwasser
Zittau narrow-gauge railroad – on it you can get to Jonsdorf, for example
Train to Moritzburg Palace, accessible from the Dresden area.

Importantly, it is best to organize the trip in such a way that the focus is not only on the rides. As we listed above, the railroads we mentioned stop at interesting places worth visiting. So these are interesting suggestions for day trips, where we both have rides on historic railcars and discover German palaces and towns.

And if your kids are really into railroads then they will definitely like it Modellbaupark near Leipzig – a small park featuring real train cars and a locomotive, as well as small scale models of buildings and vehicles. There is also one tiny train ride around the park for anyone who buys a ticket.

>> We also recommend our entry: Dresden and its surroundings – attractions for kids!

Castles and palaces

One could write endlessly about castles and palaces in Saxony. There are many of them here, beautifully preserved or rebuilt. But are they worth including on our list of places to see if we are traveling with children? According to us, yes :)

For example, Prince Pückler Park and the New Castle located here – it looks fabulous, and inside, in addition to the traditional exhibitions, there are also interactive exhibits (for example, for tokens that you get at the ticket office) or a ride on stylish carriages. The surrounding park is also unique – you can ride a bicycle here, take a carriage ride, or admire it from the castle tower.

There are 3 castles in close proximity to the city of Chemnitz: Augustusburg, Scharfenstein and Lichtenwalde. We went to Augustusburg Castle – it is an example of one of the most beautiful Renaissance castles in Central Europe. It is worth coming during events, festivals, fairs. Inside the castle we can see not only historic rooms and furnishings, but also… motorcycles!

Because Augustusburg is a destination for fans of two wheels, and not only for the Motorcycle Museum located here, but also for the great winding roads along the way.

Other sites that will make you feel like princesses and knights in another era are Königstein Fortress and Moritzburg Palace, which we wrote about in our post about the Dresden area.

Active leisure

If you are going to Saxony for an extended period of time, bring your bikes with you! There are many bicycle paths that will make it easy to travel between the most interesting sites or provide an opportunity to spend an entire, active day riding among the lakes and forests.

Large areas within Saxony have been degraded by man for mines and power plants, but there are positive changes on the horizon – such as Neuseenland, a land of lakes being developed near Leipzig. It is here that sites left after open-pit mines are flooded, lakes are created, thousands of trees are planted around them, and great infrastructure is prepared. So if you are planning a vacation in Saxony be sure to bring a bathing suit with you.

Swimwear will also come in handy near Jonsdorf – there is a Trixie park with indoor and outdoor pools, spas, slides, and camping. An interesting place away from the big cities, among the trees.

Big machines

Bergbau Technik Park is a large area where we can see the huge machines that worked in open-pit mines. This is the place where we can see up close what they look like, learn how they worked and how much power they had :)

Elsewhere in the world (in Poland, too, by the way), we can view open-pit mines from terraces and vantage points, yet standing next to these machines is a completely different perspective.

Zoological gardens

We have three, completely different facilities to recommend to you.

The first is
Tierpark in Görlitz
– although not a typical zoo. It is home to exotic animals (such as camels and kangaroos) as well as familiar European and farm animals. Children can observe the animals up close, care for them, feed, comb, stroke them, and learn at the same time. There are playgrounds (including a super, multi-story indoor playground), and places to relax. And all in the trend of environmentalism and caring for animals.

The second place is the famous
Leipzig Zoo
. Although it doesn’t impress at first, as you move away from the ticket offices, you end up in different lands where the animals have large and clean enclosures, there is a lot of space, and you are completely undisturbed by the crowds of visitors (neither the animals nor other visitors).

Not a garden, but the Butterfly House is another place where the little ones can interact with animals. Located in Jonsdorf, the pavilion houses about 200 free-flying butterflies. In addition to these, the building next door has aquariums and terrariums with insects, fish, amphibians and reptiles.

Belantis amusement park

For those who want more adrenaline, we can suggest the Belantis Amusement Park. The surprisingly tranquil and expansive area offers many activities for young and old alike.

The area is divided into smaller lands, each with some kind of stronger ride, something softer for the younger ones, and refreshment facilities.

Museums and exhibitions

Who said museums have to be boring? In Saxony, you will find that the opposite is true. The best examples are the facilities in Dresden – the Museum of Hygiene and the Museum of Transportation, where special sections are set aside for children. We wrote about these two museums here.

On a recent trip to Saxony, we discovered several new places that, while they didn’t have as dedicated a children’s section, still managed to make them interesting and interesting.

Such as the exhibitions at the aforementioned Augustusburg Castle. In addition to the traditional museum, where we can see the halls, furniture, robes, history of hunting or people associated with the castle, here we can see the history of automobiles! The Motorcycle Museum is considered one of the largest single-track museums in Europe.

The castle also hosts temporary exhibitions, and we just happened to be at Duckomenta – or duck art. It shows evolution, history, art and culture from a duck’s point of view with a wink. It made us laugh to tears :)

Terra Mineralia in Freiberg is another place that will delight – it is considered the most beautiful place with mineral collections in the world! A visit to Terra Mineralia is a journey around the world, back to the beginning of its existence. The journey is full of beautiful shapes and colors, and it’s hard to believe that these small and large shiny things are the work of nature.

Here, a specially prepared section with experiments awaits children, where, for example, they can peep at stones and minerals through a microscope.

Image and sound

And finally, a little fun with image and sound.

If your children like light shows, mappings on buildings then we encourage you to visit the cultural center Kunstkraftwerk in Leipzig. They hold their own shows inside old buildings.

On the one hand, we have an artistic show, with animations, modern graphics, some using famous artwork, and on the other, everyday life, such as a train station or the bottom of the ocean. What’s great about the show is that it’s not just on one wall, but on all four, and even on the floor.

A place also worth visiting is the Panometer in Leipzig, where you can see a giant 360-degree panorama. So large, in fact, that a special multi-level platform was erected in the middle from which the entire graphic can be admired.

The Carolas Garten exhibition in question is not only a panorama, but also graphics, photos and drawings that served as the author’s inspiration for the panorama.

Map of family attractions in Saxony

Below you will find a map with all the places described above to make it easier for you to plan your trip.

Film family attractions in Saxony

If we haven’t convinced you yet, which is practically impossible ;)) then we encourage you to watch our report on our recent trip to Saxony on Youtube:

Summary

We have reached the end of the entry, although we know that this is not the end of attractions for children in Saxony. This is just the beginning, which we hope will inspire you to take a family vacation with our neighbors.

We ourselves are still in awe of how many attractions there are here for young and old, resulting in the perfect mix for a great family trip. Whether for a weekend or a longer vacation :)

We also recommend our other posts about Saxony:

The material was created in cooperation with the German Tourism Board, at whose invitation we toured Saxony.