Planning a visit to Munich with the whole family? Great choice! Munich is not only about architecture and beer festivals for adults, but also a lot of fun for children. Pick up car hire at Munich Airport and you’ll get quick access to the most exciting destinations. 

There are many family-friendly sights in and around the city, and a hire car will be the easiest way to find them. Your little adventurers will get acquainted with the animal world, playfully learn historical facts, see unique inventions, and have fun. 

All this makes Munich a great destination for your trip - here are some of the best places you can go with your kids: 

Hellabrunn Zoo 

Address: Tierparkstraße 30, 81543. 

Hellabrunn Zoo is the second largest zoo in Europe. It’s located close to Munich city center, so you can quickly find it in your hire car. Its area is 39 hectares and it’s home to over 18,000 animals. 

The specialty of the zoo is the division of the territory by continents. 650 species are settled as they exist in nature. Therefore, there are caves with bats, a jungle with monkeys, huge aquariums with fish, and snow enclosures with polar bears. All landscape conditions are close to natural, and some animals freely walk with almost no fencing. Thus, even the smallest visitors can communicate with animals - feed goats, chickens, turkeys, cows, and other inhabitants of the zoo.

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday from 9 am till 6 pm. 

Entrance fee: kids up to 4 years old – free of charge, kids from 4 to 14 years old - 6 Euros, adults - 15 Euros, family tickets -from 19 Euros. 

Toy Museum

Address: Marienplatz 15. 

Your children will be amazed if you park your hire car next to this sight. Kids from 4 to 12 years old will like the Munich Toy Museum. It demonstrates exhibits that were actually used before in life - one of the oldest ones was created in 1580. 

There are dolls, cars, toy soldiers, soft animals, and accompanying items. Girls will like large dollhouses with furniture and a wardrobe with dozens of outfits, while boys will enjoy recreated battle scenes and railways. Antique toys with mechanisms are of particular value: they include carousels, moving figures, sewing machines, etc. Your children can get a closer look at some of the details and even touch them.

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday from 10 am till 5.30 pm. 

Entrance fee: kids up to 4 years old – free of charge, kids from 4 to 15 years old - 1 Euro, adults - 4 Euros.

Märchenwald Fairytale Forest

Address: Kräuterstraße 39, 82515 Wolfratshausen. 

Märchenwald Fairytale Forest is an amusement park for the whole family. It‘s located 40 km away from the city, so you need about 40 minutes to get there by hire car. The territory of the park is stylized in the form of fairy tales: "Aladdin", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Cinderella", etc. You can recognize the main characters as figures or whole attractions. Younger children will ride the train, ride on the back of unique animals, and walk through the maze. For older children, the park offers roller coasters, carousels, and hot air balloons. 

Some of the sets are dedicated to German stories, such as Hansel and Gretel or Max and Moritz. We recommend going there for the whole day or at least half a day. For your convenience, children's cafes, toilets, and recreation areas are on the territory.

Opening hours: Monday-Sunday from 9 am till 6 pm, from April till October only. 

Entrance fee: kids height up to 85 cm – free of charge, children from 85 to 140 cm - 12.50 Euros, from 18 years old and children from 140 cm - 14 Euros, seniors from 60 years old - 12.50 Euros. 

SeaLife Munich

Address: Willi-Daume-Platz 1. 

SeaLife Munich is another great place to drive your car hire. This is a huge aquarium with over 4,500 species of fish and sea creatures. A third of them are not available to see in wildlife, since they hide at the depths of the oceans or live in places that are difficult for people to access. 

Visitors will see sharks, octopuses, turtles, clownfish, stingrays, crayfish, etc. During the daytime, you can see the feeding. Divers and employees of SeaLife Munich invite those who wish to participate or watch how predatory fish or little turtles eat. It’s convenient and interesting to observe the inhabitants: the aquariums are stylized by sunken ships, reef thickets, the wreckage of submarines, while the walking space is made in the form of a tunnel with glass walls and ceilings.

Opening hours: Monday till Friday 10 am-5 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am-6 pm. 

Entrance fee: kids up to 3 years old – free of charge, kids from 3 to 14 - 9.95 Euros, kids from 15 years old and adults - 12.95 Euros. 

Circus Krone

Address: Marsstraße 43. 

This modern circus was opened in 1919. Before that, it was the transport menagerie of Karl Krone, after whom it was named. The performances are divided according to the seasons - winter and summer, and each time they have a new program. Other world troupes often come on tour. 

Children most of all like shows with animals: dancing elephants, trained lions, horses and zebras, exotic camels, etc. By the way, they live in a small zoo, which you can visit in the morning and afternoon. In addition, here you will see performances by acrobats, jugglers, magicians, stuntmen, clowns, and other entertaining artists.

Opening hours: depends on the current program.

Entrance fee: from 16 to 55 Euros.