Family friendly venues: what's on in the summer, spring, fall or winter
Places to Go
The Monaco Oceanographic Museum was opened on the basis of the Oceanographic Institute in 1910. It is located in a rock near the Princely Palace of Monaco. For a long time, Jacques-Yves Cousteau was the director of the museum. In addition to the museum's main exposition with stuffed animals and skeletons of marine animals, there is an aquarium with 6000 fish and invertebrates of the Mediterranean Sea and tropical waters. The most famous aquarium is the Lacuna Lagoon (Le Lagon aux requins), where visitors can see a real coral reef and its inhabitants. On the Turtle Island visitors can observe land and sea turtles in glazed and open enclosures.
The Blue Planet oceanarium opened in Kastrup, in two kilometers from the airport, in March of 2013.
There are more than 20 000 fish in the biggest oceanarium in Northern Europe. The oceanarium is divided in 10 thematic zones: the Ocean, the African Lakes, the Coral Reef, the Dibranchiates, the Horsefish, the Evolution and Adaptation, the Amazonia, the Cold Waters, the Sea Lions and the Faroe Islands.
The Junibacken is an interactive museum for kids, located on the Djurgården island in Stockholm. Junibacken is designed as a place where story-time characters come to life, and kids are invited to make noise, play, climb, discover and learn, go to the theatre and relax.
The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Center is located in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire (40 km from London). The exhibition is designed primarily for visitors 6-12 years. In two interactive galleries they can learn about the life and travels of the writer: the first - the Boy Gallery - tells about his childhood and love for chocolate, and in the second - the Solo Gallery - about his work in The Nest or The Hut - as he called his cabinet, which kept a collection of amazing items from around the world.
The ZSL (Zoological Society of London) Whipsnade Zoo was founded in 1931 and is a branch of the London Zoo. The Whipsnade park is located just 4 km to the south-east of Dunstable in Central England.
There are such water slides as Super Slalom, Tornado, Kamikadzes, Twister and other in the Aqualand Costa Adeje waterpark.
In the AHHAA interactive Science Centre guests can make their own experiments and check physical laws. In the Technologies Hall they can ride a bike on a slackline, raise themselves with the help of a hawser; in the Living Nature Hall it is possible to explore the ant hill from inside and watch chicken hatching. There are also exhibitions that change every half a year in the centre.
Guinness World Records Museum is located in the centre of Copenhagen.
There are more than 500 exhibits in the museum: the figures of the tallest and the fattest people in the world and of the man with the longest beard, the heighest buildings in the world gallery, Michael Jakson - the king of pop music and Merilyn Monroe - the queen of dresses exhibitions, the World of Toys gallery.
The Vasa Museum is the place where the only almost fully survived war-ship from the 17th century is exhibited. The Vasa Ship, named after the ruling dynasty, went down during the first departure to the Baltic see in 1628 and was raised in 1961. The ship was reconstructed and the museum was built around her. Excursions are held at the museum and films showing the history of the ship are shown. There is a restaurant at the museum. Visitors 19 or younger get into the museum for free.
The Centre of Science and Technologie, better known as the Energia educational centre, opened in the new building after the reconstrucion on the 13th of June 2014. There are more than 130 exhibits in the centre, each of them can be switched on and used. Also guests of the centre can visit science perfomances or virtual cosmic show in the planetarium, try 4D-modelling in workshops and explore temporary interactive exhibitions.
The Barcelona Aquarium includes 35 separate aquariums. The amount of water in the aquarium is 4 million litres. There are more than 10 000 fish and more than 450 different species of water inhabitants in the aquariums. Visitors can walk in the glass tunnel through the aquarium. The Barcelona Aquarium also has a penguins aquarium, a dolphinarium, an exhibition hall, an open terrace with a nice view of the city, a harbor, a childrens playground and a souvenir shop.
More than 600 animals live in the Safari Zoo. Guests can watch giraffes, rhinoceroses, zebras, gazelles, antelopes and other animals in their natural environment. The route is about 3 kilometers. Visitors can drive in an own car or use a special excursion train. The park is open all the year round. Please check the working hours on the official website.
The Barcelona Zoo is located on the territory of the Citadel park and it is a home to more than 2000 animals of 315 species. The living conditions are close to natural: animals are separated from the visitors by moats and glass aviaries. Visitors can observe elephants, crocodiles and giraffes from special trestles. Also little children can visit a farm with domestic animals.
The London Zoo was founded in 1826 and it is a home to over 750 species of animals. The London Zoo has a lot to offer: the Gorilla Kingdom, the Penguin Beach and the Tiger Territory exhibits, indoor pavilions of Rainforest Life, Butterfly Paradise, In With the Spiders and In with the Lemurs, the aquarium, the Animal Adventure children's zoo and more.
The National Gallery of Art opened in Copenhagen in 1896. A big collection of pictures and sculptures by Danish and foreign masters since the 14th century until modern days is exhibited at the museum.
The Holiday World adventure park offers entertainments for children and adults: 4D-cinema, parrots show, pony riding and different attractions.
The Loro Park is a zoo, an oceanarium and a dolphinarium. More than 3500 parrots of 340 species live here. Also there is a pavilion with more than 180 penguins in the park. Every day shows with animals take place here. Exotic plants grow in the park too.
The Dickens World England Theme Park near London closed in 2016.
The Güell park in Barcelona was created by Antonio Gaudi in 1900-1914. The park takes up 17 hectares of land. Visitors of the park can see the doorkeeper's house, the grand staircase with fountains, the Hundred Columns Hall, the long snaky bench, the staircase with a famous eft, the Dorian temple with a terrace and explore Gaudi's house museum.
The Marine Museum of Estonia is located in the Fat Margarita towel in the harbor.
The Zinoo Rīga Science Center is located at the Galleria Riga shopping center. The center welcomes school groups, families, and individual visitors. Birthday parties and other celebrations for kids can be organized at the center. Through special exhibits and activities kids can learn about rockets, robots, sounds, and other scientific topics.
The Port Aventura adventure park is divided into 6 theme zones with attractions: Mediterranean world, Mexico, China, Polynesia, the Wild West and the SezamoAventura. It is possible to walk between zones, or use boats or trains as a transport. There are souvenir shops and cafes in each zone, shows and perfomances take place according to the timetable. There are playgrounds for kids in the park.
The Railroad Museum is located in Odens (150 kilometers from Copenhagen). There is a collection of carriages, locomotives, steam trains, electromotives and omnibuses in the museum. Also the visitors can ride in the Thomas loco and become engine drivers of the orange locomotive.
The Palma Aquarium opened in 2007. There are 55 aquariums in the complex with more than 8000 inhabitants from the Mediterranean, Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. There is also a playground made as a pirate ship here. Visitors can dine in a quick service restaurant, pizzeria or in a cafe.
The Experimentarium interactive museum of science opened in 1991 in the north Copenhagen.
The Tom Tits is an interactive museum, in which children from 2 years can make their own science experiments. The museum is located on the Södertälje suburb of Stockholm. Some exhibits are located in the museum park, which is open only in the warm time of year. The museum itself is open all the year round.
The Post and Telegraph museum is located in the centre of Copenhagen. The exposition is divided in three galleries: the Royal Post 1624-1848; the Era of Inventions 1849-1920; the Age of Communications since 1920.