Fun things for a young teen to do in cities of Central Europe??
January 17, 2024 6:02 AM Subscribe
My husband and our 13 yr old daughter and I are traveling in Central Europe (from Australia). We would love to get suggestions for fun things for us & our daughter to do in Vienna, Prague, Budapest & Berlin. Specifics within!
We may have vastly over-estimated our beloved teen’s interest in the beautiful historical wonders of Europe! She was clearly bored after one day in Rome (our first stop)!
She’s a great kid who never complains, but while husband and I could walk around endlessly in awe of old buildings, bridges, monuments & mythologically themed fountains and spend hours in museums & galleries, we want her to have fun too. We are still planning to go to Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Berlin. Wondering if we can find cool things for her in those places to keep her engaged.
The things she likes are: outdoor markets, op shops, crafty shops, novelties & nik-naks, cool weird cafes, interesting book shops where you can sit and read, K-pop, anime, manga, futuristic modern architecture…
Any recommendations for these kinds of places in Vienna, Prague, Budapest or Berlin??
I know I could spend hours scouring travel blogs but I’d love to hear any local knowledge from Central Europeans with teens, or travellers who’ve taken teens. Thanks in advance! - Beccy
We may have vastly over-estimated our beloved teen’s interest in the beautiful historical wonders of Europe! She was clearly bored after one day in Rome (our first stop)!
She’s a great kid who never complains, but while husband and I could walk around endlessly in awe of old buildings, bridges, monuments & mythologically themed fountains and spend hours in museums & galleries, we want her to have fun too. We are still planning to go to Vienna, Budapest, Prague, and Berlin. Wondering if we can find cool things for her in those places to keep her engaged.
The things she likes are: outdoor markets, op shops, crafty shops, novelties & nik-naks, cool weird cafes, interesting book shops where you can sit and read, K-pop, anime, manga, futuristic modern architecture…
Any recommendations for these kinds of places in Vienna, Prague, Budapest or Berlin??
I know I could spend hours scouring travel blogs but I’d love to hear any local knowledge from Central Europeans with teens, or travellers who’ve taken teens. Thanks in advance! - Beccy
She Said in Berlin is a cute feminist & queer bookstore with a little cafe and places to sit.
Sounds like a fun adventure -- hope your family has a great time!
posted by wicked_sassy at 6:11 AM on January 17 [1 favorite]
Sounds like a fun adventure -- hope your family has a great time!
posted by wicked_sassy at 6:11 AM on January 17 [1 favorite]
For Berlin:
outdoor markets
On Sundays the Flea market in Mauerpark is a fun place to be, it has gotten a bit touristy but it's huge and diverse
On Saturdays you can go to the farmers market near Kollwitzplatz, there are all kinds of food and knick knacks to be had. And it is smack in the middle of Prenzlauer Berg where you can find tons of cafes, restaurants and little shops.
Then there is the Markthalle 9 which is kind of an indoor permanent market in Kreuzberg, also with a ton of stuff to explore nearby.
Or you visit the food court in the KDW where you can eat and buy everything from oysters and champagne to pig hearts.
interesting book shops
Dussmanns near Friedrichstrasse, it's a huge bookstore and they have a very cool restaurant with a gigantic vertical garden.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 7:01 AM on January 17 [2 favorites]
outdoor markets
On Sundays the Flea market in Mauerpark is a fun place to be, it has gotten a bit touristy but it's huge and diverse
On Saturdays you can go to the farmers market near Kollwitzplatz, there are all kinds of food and knick knacks to be had. And it is smack in the middle of Prenzlauer Berg where you can find tons of cafes, restaurants and little shops.
Then there is the Markthalle 9 which is kind of an indoor permanent market in Kreuzberg, also with a ton of stuff to explore nearby.
Or you visit the food court in the KDW where you can eat and buy everything from oysters and champagne to pig hearts.
interesting book shops
Dussmanns near Friedrichstrasse, it's a huge bookstore and they have a very cool restaurant with a gigantic vertical garden.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 7:01 AM on January 17 [2 favorites]
Best answer: futuristic modern architecture
Futurium. If you arrive by train, you are already there, it's very near central station, has always has great exibitions and is free.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 7:07 AM on January 17 [2 favorites]
Futurium. If you arrive by train, you are already there, it's very near central station, has always has great exibitions and is free.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 7:07 AM on January 17 [2 favorites]
Oh, fun! My first recommendation would be to try out the Free Tours by Sandemann's New Europe. Those exist in all four cities, usually daily and in English as well as some other languages. I know a tour might not sound very fun to a teen, but these are different! The guides deliver their material almost exclusively via storytelling. The stories are often very funny, sometimes sad, and always gripping. Plus, you will have some new recommendations for what to do afterwards.
Because of the weather, you might want to lean in to museums otherwise. Berlin has a lot of great ones. Maybe your teen would enjoy the Spy Museum, the Magic Museum, or the Museum DejaVu about illusions? There's a Disgusting Food Museum and a Samurai Museum, as well.
For Vienna, try Café Phil for book lovers. Or Café Neko, if you like cats. Maybe go down the slide at the Donauturm?
In Prague, maybe visit the butterfly house Papilonia?
posted by toucan at 7:25 AM on January 17
Because of the weather, you might want to lean in to museums otherwise. Berlin has a lot of great ones. Maybe your teen would enjoy the Spy Museum, the Magic Museum, or the Museum DejaVu about illusions? There's a Disgusting Food Museum and a Samurai Museum, as well.
For Vienna, try Café Phil for book lovers. Or Café Neko, if you like cats. Maybe go down the slide at the Donauturm?
In Prague, maybe visit the butterfly house Papilonia?
posted by toucan at 7:25 AM on January 17
I would suggest looking into some days of relaxation in some spring-fed spas/thermal baths in Karlovy Vary (day trip from Prague). Budapest has at least one phenominal one as well.
posted by wats at 7:28 AM on January 17 [2 favorites]
posted by wats at 7:28 AM on January 17 [2 favorites]
Best answer: In Budapest - Szimpla Kert, on Sundays. Szimpla Kert is one of Budapest's "ruin bars" - these are DIY bars that people set up in abandoned Soviet factories and suchlike in the 1990s. The "hypercool" people would tell you that Szimpla is a little "touristy", but I doubt you'd give a damn; this is an eye-popping place, which comes across more like that student center in the Ghibli film "Up On Poppy Hill" - it's on the site of an old office building, and they took the doors off each office and turned each room into a unique bar/cafe and put a lot more seating in the middle courtyard, and decorated it with a whole lot of art made of thrift store finds and old junk.
Now, yes, I know you're looking at the word "bar" and saying "but my daughter is 13" - that's why I said to go on Sunday in particular. Because a) there's also a juice bar there anyway, and b) they have an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet there and c) there's a farmers/craft market on Sundays as well. Also - it's worth it just to go in the afternoon and look around at the place. There's also a whole row of food trucks parked in the alley next door for even more food.
Also, one of the thermal baths might be a fun visit if your daughter isn't shy about people seeing her in a bathing suit. Budapest is lousy with thermal spas - and one of the biggest, Szechenyi, even leaves some of its outdoor baths open in winter. I visited Szechenyi myself in January as well, in fact, and at night to boot; it was cold outside, but the pools were warm enough that you were very comfortable when you got in. (The irony is that the two pools that were open were at opposite ends of an olympic-sized swimming pool that was closed, and so you saw everyone bobbing around in the thermal pools neck-deep and every so often someone would take a deep breath, climb out, grab a towel and then scurry over to the other one as fast as they could before instantly shedding the towel and jumping in neck-deep into the other one.) Szechenyi also has 15 indoor pools, too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:39 AM on January 17 [1 favorite]
Now, yes, I know you're looking at the word "bar" and saying "but my daughter is 13" - that's why I said to go on Sunday in particular. Because a) there's also a juice bar there anyway, and b) they have an all-you-can-eat brunch buffet there and c) there's a farmers/craft market on Sundays as well. Also - it's worth it just to go in the afternoon and look around at the place. There's also a whole row of food trucks parked in the alley next door for even more food.
Also, one of the thermal baths might be a fun visit if your daughter isn't shy about people seeing her in a bathing suit. Budapest is lousy with thermal spas - and one of the biggest, Szechenyi, even leaves some of its outdoor baths open in winter. I visited Szechenyi myself in January as well, in fact, and at night to boot; it was cold outside, but the pools were warm enough that you were very comfortable when you got in. (The irony is that the two pools that were open were at opposite ends of an olympic-sized swimming pool that was closed, and so you saw everyone bobbing around in the thermal pools neck-deep and every so often someone would take a deep breath, climb out, grab a towel and then scurry over to the other one as fast as they could before instantly shedding the towel and jumping in neck-deep into the other one.) Szechenyi also has 15 indoor pools, too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:39 AM on January 17 [1 favorite]
Aeon Flux (2005) is a terrible movie, but it has some great locations and many were shot in Berlin, taking advantage of some cool architecture. See a list here.
Seconding Markthalle 9 as a nice indoor market with some cool stalls.
3 cat cafes around Berlin.
posted by biffa at 7:43 AM on January 17 [1 favorite]
Seconding Markthalle 9 as a nice indoor market with some cool stalls.
3 cat cafes around Berlin.
posted by biffa at 7:43 AM on January 17 [1 favorite]
I was in Berlin earlier this year and had a wonderful time. The DDR museum was quite interactive and fun; there were lots of school groups there (teenagers) who seemed to be enjoying themselves.
I also brought back an entire suitcase of Ritter Sport because it's my favorite chocolate. The Berlin location is the flagship and lets you make your own chocolate bars.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 7:44 AM on January 17 [3 favorites]
I also brought back an entire suitcase of Ritter Sport because it's my favorite chocolate. The Berlin location is the flagship and lets you make your own chocolate bars.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 7:44 AM on January 17 [3 favorites]
We had a wonderful time at the Flippermúzeum in Budapest, a huge playable collection of vintage pinball machines, perfect for both adults and teens.
posted by eschatfische at 8:39 AM on January 17
posted by eschatfische at 8:39 AM on January 17
For a lover of architecture Germany and Berlin in particular are where the Bauhaus school (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius) was begun, and the original school building was there when I visited years ago. The Bauhaus spearheaded the immensely popular International Style of architecture, focused on minimal decorative elements. Something that has stuck with me was that the Bauhaus building had the first successful glass corners, which is something I had never really thought about. Nearly all the people who taught at the Bauhaus emigrated because of the war, many to America, thus influencing American art and architecture to this day.
Also, Berlin was heavily bombed and had an enormous amount of post-war building. There are a number of architecture-focused walking tours she - and you - might enjoy.
posted by citygirl at 9:31 AM on January 17
Also, Berlin was heavily bombed and had an enormous amount of post-war building. There are a number of architecture-focused walking tours she - and you - might enjoy.
posted by citygirl at 9:31 AM on January 17
Not exactly what you asked, but Geocaching. There are hundreds and hundreds of caches in those cities.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:50 AM on January 17
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:50 AM on January 17
Honestly at that age I would have liked to post up with a book/wifi at a cafe near the hotel for a couple hours while my parents went off and did something else. Especially if they had helped me order and settle the bill ahead of time. If I had the hotel key and could do a little independent window shopping too, all the better.
I also like the carbonated apple juice at beer gardens. Looks just like beer, but actually tastes good!
posted by umwelt at 11:57 AM on January 17 [3 favorites]
I also like the carbonated apple juice at beer gardens. Looks just like beer, but actually tastes good!
posted by umwelt at 11:57 AM on January 17 [3 favorites]
The Lego museum in Prague is compact but a lot of fun, especially if you had Lego as a kid and will enjoy spotting all the old sets you had.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:00 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:00 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
There is a huge water park 45 minutes by train outside Berlin, Tropic Islands. Great for a break from the city, there are sand beaches, water slides, an outdoor portion (yes, year round), plus it is in the largest single-span building in the world. Or she is just getting old enough to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camps outside Berlin, obviously that depends on your own kid and how they tend to react to things. The spy museum was OK, lots of pop culture. One thing we wanted to do but couldn't was do one of the underground tours in Berlin, those looked really neat.
posted by wnissen at 2:10 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
posted by wnissen at 2:10 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
about a 2 hour drive from Budapest is an absolutely spectacular spa that is partly in caves.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:57 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:57 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
Best answer: For Vienna, Ice World opens on the 19th in front of the City Hall (Rathaus) in the 1st District. It’s a massive outdoor skating rink with curling, music, warm drinks and food.
posted by chrisulonic at 7:03 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
posted by chrisulonic at 7:03 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for excellent suggestions!!! I really appreciate all of them.
@umwelt - we’ve been leaving her at the hotel a bit, she is happy reading on her iPad. But we don’t wanna do that too much - leaving her at a cafe is a nice idea!
@Ms Vegetable - Ritter Sport - haha, can relate!!
posted by beccyjoe at 11:14 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
@umwelt - we’ve been leaving her at the hotel a bit, she is happy reading on her iPad. But we don’t wanna do that too much - leaving her at a cafe is a nice idea!
@Ms Vegetable - Ritter Sport - haha, can relate!!
posted by beccyjoe at 11:14 PM on January 17 [1 favorite]
I live in Budapest, but I'm old and don't get out much. This site has a lot of suggestions in English.
posted by trip and a half at 6:33 AM on January 18 [1 favorite]
posted by trip and a half at 6:33 AM on January 18 [1 favorite]
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posted by beccyjoe at 6:06 AM on January 17