Bremen, a fairy-tale trip for your kids

– Want to take your kids on a fairy-tale trip? Visit Bremen!
– This city gave the tale by the Brothers Grimm its name and Arnidol^® has all the info so you and your family can enjoy it. 

Are your kids into history or are they budding explorers? They’ll love Bremen. Take them to this charming city in northwest Germany, follow the routes we recommend and watch their imagination run riot! 

For kids who are into history 

• We’re sure you’ve told your kids the tale of the Bremen Town Musicians, by the Brothers Grimm in which an old donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster feel their lives are in danger and decide to run away and form a band. Near the cathedral is a bronze statue that depicts the main scene: the animals standing one on top of the other each making its own sound, to frighten away the bandits occupying the house. Grab the donkey’s front legs and make a wish. They say they come true! And if you’d like to see the tale performed, at noon on Sundays from May to September, the Bremen town musicians tell their tale on stage. Unforgettable.

• Go into the cathedral and play hunt the stone mouse, looking for the little stone mouse that has been scuttling around the eastern chancel since the 11th century. Then climb the 265 steps up the tower. From the top, you can enjoy fantastic views of the city. Back down on the ground you can explore the ‘lead cellar’, an annexe to the cathedral that contains a 17th-century crypt. From April to October, you can view the mummies. Are you scared? 
• If you’re hungry, the kids will love bratwurst, a typical German sausage that you can try in the market square (Marktplatz). There, opposite the town hall, is the statute of Roland, a character who symbolises the city’s independence obtained in the 15th century. A history lesson is always fun, even more so when you’re standing by statue that measures 10 metres high! 
• From the Bürgerpark, take the tram to Domsheide, the nearest stop to Balgebrückstraße and Schnoor, Bremen’s oldest quarter, and wander along its streets full of craft shops. You’ll think you’re in a fairy tale! Bremen’s museums usually close on Mondays; find out when the House of History is closed so you don’t miss it. Take a guided tour (the last one leaves at 5 pm), and meet Bremen’s most famous characters. Amateur actors become eccentric Heini Holtenbeen, Fish Lucie or Gesche Gottfried the famous poisoner. Who dares to accept a coffee from her?

For little explorers 

• If you go to Universum Bremen, a spectacular science centre, the questions start outside. What does the building remind you of: a silver whale, a giant mussel? The kids are bound to come up with many more ideas. Inside, 250 installations for visitors of all ages show, through a series of experiments, how a tornado is formed or what an earthquake feels like from a sofa. Spend at least two hours in this interactive museum and discover more in Entdecker Park, 5,000 m² on the theme of movement and the human body. You can crawl through a tunnel or climb a 27-metre activity tower to feel the force of the wind and the weather. Later, you can take a taxi or a tram to Botanika and enter another world: that of exotic plants! 

• If it’s Saturday, take your family on a journey through time. But not to the past, to the future! Near the airport is the EADS Astrium, where engineers and scientists work for the International Space Station or on Ariane 5 rockets. Find out how astronauts live and work in a 1:1 scale model of part of the space station. 

Don’t miss this city where fairy tales come to life! 

Information and images courtesy of BTZ, Bremen Tourist Office