Kid-friendly places in Dortmund
16 places in Dortmund, Germany, where children are actually welcome — what each one is, what it costs, and what to watch for. 14 carry a warning worth reading before you go.
Eat and play1
- Café KrümelCafe
Lovely neighbourhood café in Körne with good coffee, delicious homemade breakfast/bagels and cakes at reasonable prices, and a kids' section that makes it family-friendly, warm welcoming owners; ~3km east
Closed Mondays
Play cafés3
- Center Kids DortmundIndoor playground
Very central, warmly reviewed play centre inside the Thier-Galerie mall, great for small kids from age 2, friendly attentive staff, handy while shopping in the city centre
Gets very popular/busy; closed Sundays
- Funplex DortmundIndoor playground
Great, spacious indoor playground and jump hall with lots of play structures (ball pit, climbing, slides, obstacle course, cars and bumper cars), new clean equipment, plenty of clean toilets with loaner slippers, party rooms and food options, good prices; ~5km southeast
Some rides cost €1 extra; simple minimalist decor
- Miniplanet WunderlandIndoor playground
Nice, affordable, well-maintained indoor playground with a jungle gym and slides, a ball pit with an interactive game, a bouncy castle, trampolines and a medium arcade upstairs, run by a friendly team; ~8km west
Food is overpriced and mediocre; can be a bit loud/bare; closed weekday mornings
Sports6
- Boulderwelt DortmundClimbing
One of the best bouldering gyms in the country — creative, accessible routes with islands, balance walls, jumps, overhangs and cave-like areas, a separate well-designed kids' area (under-14s climb apart from adults), a café with food and a gear shop, friendly English-speaking staff; ~8km west
~14€ entry; gets busy
- Glücksgriff BoulderhalleClimbing
Friendly, welcoming bouldering gym in Brackel with a great atmosphere, a good warm-up/work-out area, well-graded routes changed every few weeks and lots for beginners and kids to try, helpful staff; ~9km east
Not too big
- Kletterhalle BergwerkClimbing
The best climbing hall in Dortmund with 18m walls, a huge boulder hall and a wide variety of top-rope and lead routes, plus a sauna and fitness classes, friendly staff and climbers, good-quality café; ~5km northwest
Slightly higher price (the sauna/classes make up for it); the same routes serve top-rope and lead, which can confuse newcomers
- Skateboardinitiative DortmundSkate / BMX / roller
Long-running indoor skate spot near the centre with a friendly community, a good place for kids and teens to skate whatever the weather
Afternoon/evening hours (Wed-Sat); closed Mon-Tue and Sun
- Superfly DortmundTrampoline park
Big trampoline park with lots of jumping activities and 3D/5D game spots, good for very active kids to burn off energy (they sleep well afterwards), party rooms; ~8km west
Gets extremely busy with long, slow check-in queues; the jump area isn't huge; pricey; hijab/hats not allowed on trampolines for safety
- Zirkus FritzantinoAcrobatics / aerial
A wonderful children's circus project by the city of Dortmund with weekly and open training sessions, performances and holiday programmes, always enjoyable and very popular
Long waiting list for regular spots — sign up early
Classes4
- Creative Café momentmalArt
Wonderful paint-your-own-ceramics café with super-friendly owners, a warm and professional intro to the techniques, a fantastic breakfast, waffles, coffee and drinks, all materials and firing included, a lovely relaxing place to unwind for all ages
Cash only; closed Mon and Wed
- Glasuri Keramik bemalenArt
Cozy paint-your-own-ceramics studio in Aplerbeck with fair prices, plenty of space to sit and move, a big selection of blanks and helpful, friendly guidance, good with kids (6-8+), easy to get an appointment; ~6km southeast
Limited to standard colours (no special glazes); a clearer technique intro would help; closed Mon-Tue
- Music School MUSEMusic
Reputable music school with professional teachers who teach even beginners the basics well and are friendly and accommodating about contracts, a supportive learning atmosphere and fair value, kids look forward to their lessons; ~5km southeast
- Musikschule Dortmund MUSIKBOXMusic
Warmly loved central music school with professional, empathetic teachers who awaken kids' love of music while fostering discipline and progress, addressing each child's strengths individually, open seven days
Adventure2
- Bauernhoferlebnis DortmundPetting farm
Wonderful farm-experience venue that runs brilliant children's birthday parties with lots of heart and creativity — a varied, individually tailored programme, close animal contact and helping with farm chores, kids are thrilled whatever the weather; ~10km west
Mainly birthday/event bookings — contact ahead
- Lernbauernhof Schulte-TiggesPetting farm
Beautiful, cozy learning-farm in Scharnhorst with friendly staff and lots to discover, great courses for children who love taking care of the animals and learning what farm life is like across the seasons; ~7km north
Contact ahead for course/visit times
Other cities
- Aarhus
- Alicante
- Amsterdam
- Antwerp
- Apeldoorn
- Barcelona
- Basel
- Bergen
- Berlin
- Bern
- Bilbao
- Bremen
- Brussels
- Copenhagen
- Cork
- Dresden
- Dublin
- Düsseldorf
- Enschede
- Essen
- Frankfurt
- Galway
- Geneva
- Gothenburg
- Graz
- Hamburg
- Handen
- Hannover
- Helsinki
- Innsbruck
- Klagenfurt
- Köln
- Lahti
- Lausanne
- Leipzig
- Liège
- Lille
- Limerick
- Linz
- Lyon
- Madrid
- Málaga
- Malmö
- Milan
- Munich
- Napoli
- Nuremberg
- Odense
- Oslo
- Oulu
- Palermo
- Paris
- Rome
- Rotterdam
- Salzburg
- Sevilla
- Stavanger
- Stockholm
- Stuttgart
- Tampere
- Torino
- Tromsø
- Trondheim
- Turku
- Uppsala
- Utrecht
- Valencia
- Vienna
- Waterford
- Zaandam
- Zürich
Every place here is in the Kindering app too, on one map with the rest of Dortmund, sorted by how far each one is from you.
Missing a place, or one has closed? Tell us.