Interrail destinations for 10 and 8yr olds

[Jayceepea]

I’m trying to plan a 2 or 3 week holiday by train in Europe, with a number of stops.

DH doesn’t like heat, so we’re looking at going no further south than northern Italy. Possibly Switzerland/Austria, possibly Scandinavia, but open to ideas!

To help me narrow down stops, I’d be so grateful for your favourite European museums for children, any theme parks, water parks and other outdoor activities, for a 10 and 8yr old who like to be kept busy. We’re not a beachy family, but enjoy both a city break and the countryside. Thanks!

Basel. Europapark, Lucerne has various mountain and lake options as has Interlaken, Lugano if you want Italian Switzerland, Lake Constance if you enjoy cycling

Definitely Munich. There’s so much for kids there:
Munich Zoo is one of the best we’ve been too for a while.
There’s a decent aquarium in the Olympic Park.
The Englischer Garten has a lake where you can rent out paddle boats and go to some of the mini-islands.
Many beer gardens are family friendly and some have playgrounds. The Hirschgarten even has a petting zoo and the Chinesischer Turm has a carousel.
The science and technology museum has hundreds of interactive displays and 'Children’s Kingdom'.
BMW world has some good creative hands-on exhibits.
It’s also possible to do a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle.

After Munich, we did Vienna. The highlights for the dc were:
Prater amusement park. You could easily spend a whole day there.
The maze, playground, children’s interactive museum and strudel making at Schönbrunn Palace.

If planning for this year - remember Eurostar passes for Interrail are limited and should be booked ASAP. www.seat61.com is the holy grail for info.

Cologne has some great museums and a zoo and is good changing point for trains to different places. Berlin also has a lot to do.

We did Brussels - Cologne - Munich - Salzburg via interrail recently and had a fabulous time.

Following as we are planning a 4 week trip in August 2026 with our children who will be be 8 and 11. Also seeking less hot options!

That sounds fantastic. What were your highlights?

I didn’t realise, thank you - hopefully we’re not too late.

We railed to Vienna last year with older dc (12, 15). Amsterdam was excellent. Vienna was in the mid 30s though of you're looking to avoid heat.

You can check availability of Interrail reservations on Eurostar by doing a dummy search on b-europe, the Belgian railways site (just choose the Interrail pass option, and you don't have to enter a pass number). Lille trains are slower to get booked up, as are the later night ones.

I did Brussels- Innsbruck-Italy- Paris 2 years ago at Easter with a 7 and 13 year old. Brussels I can't really summon much enthusiasm for. Innsbruck is a great centre for doing outdoor stuff by train- it's on a main line. We took the cable car up Patscherkoffel (easily accessible by bus) AND THERE WAS PROPER SNOW!!! Highlight of the whole trip I think (Although DS2 would say it was ordering a chip pizza in Venice. Yes, a pizza with a pile of chips on top 😆). But whatever time of year, once you get up to the tops of the mountains there are loads of hikes etc.

There's loads to do in Paris- they will insist on seeing the Eiffel Tower 🙄.

This summer they're 10 and 15, and we're doing Cologne (not stopping in Brussels this time!), Berlin, Transylvania, Bulgaria (don't even ask), Budapest, Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Strasbourg and Paris.

Berlin looks most excellent for everyone- there is a lot to do, and a lot of it free (Although some of that is quite horrific historical stuff- I would like to see the Topography of Terror for example, but am going to have to play that by ear with DS2. ) But the Reichstag and its dome are free, for example, East Side Gallery etc- and if it's hot there are loads and loads of lakes on the outskirts to swim in.

We're getting the sleeper train from Vienna to Transylvania, and I've booked a guided hike with a nature spotting company- if we're lucky we'll see bears, maybe even boars or wolves or lynx! (Or more likely their pawprints).

On the way back, we're stopping at Heidelberg for the night to go to the Teknikmuseum at Sindsheim, which is supposed to be very good (especially if you like cars, as DS1 does).

Budapest looks absolutely rammed with swimming pools- from full on water parks to thermal spas. I would love to go to a beautiful, historic thermal spa but most of these don't allow under 14s, so we'll probably end up somewhere water park-y, maybe with a thermal pool or two for me if I'm lucky.

We did:

Vienna - schönbrunn palace with the zoo right next to the grounds and Spanish riding school.
Budapest - the thermal pools, cool castle
Naples - possibly too far south for you but Pompeii was a big hit
Monaco - not as much to do but if either of them like Bond/cars/super yachts. We loved just walking round.

Paris - sneaky day at Disney (although you might be actively trying to avoid that!)

We also loved Prague, Cologne, Split & Venice but they had less that was ideal for kids.

Great idea for a holiday! Have fun :)

The transport museum in Lucerne is amazing. Check out this website too for family interactive hikes in Switzerland, we did the marble run one which was brilliant

swissfamilyfun.com/10-theme-trails/

Baden Baden - great hikes, and fabulous thermal baths https://caracalla.eu/opening-hours-and-prices/. It accepts over 7a with an adult.

Hop on a train to Triberg for a day - waterfalls, a fantasy museum and cuckoo clocks.

Definitely join the interrailing with families Facebook group.

Tivoli in Copenhagen is great for kids. Then it’s easy to travel by train to Berlin, which has a bit of everything. Then it’s easy to explore Austria and the Czech Republic from there.

You can pack a lot in during two to three but I wouldn’t make your itinerary too manic. Maybe pinpoint two or three destinations that you really want to go to and then map a realistic route with other stops around those. Enjoy!

Can I just ask, sorry if it’s already been answered, but doesn’t the food bill stack up? Given that you’re in hotels most of the time? I have Eurailed/Interailed, 1980 and 95, but we stayed in hostels with kitchens. Then in 2022, we did a 7 day drive through the Alps with young adult DCs (delivering one to a semester at a German uni) and the food costs were ridiculous, staying in hotels, many too basic for room fridges, so we had to buy more or less every meal out.

Any thoughts?

The food bill will always stack up for a family but picnics on the train and visits to food stalls help keep the costs down. I drew the line at hot dog vending machines in Germany though.

A bit, but not really...Last time we tended to have 2 day or more stays in AirBnBs with kitchens. There was one place outside Venice that didn't have a kitchen (silly me didn't check 😳), but it was in a working class area, so the food was pretty cheap- about 5-9 euros for a pizza in a pizzeria. Lunches and breakfasts are usually out and about- pastries from the bakery for breakfast, picnic ingredients from the supermarket for lunch.

Even if there isn't a kitchen, it's pretty easy to assemble a cold, nutritious meal from supermarket deli stuff- salads, dips, whatever species of pie exists in the country you're in, etc etc....

Actually, I don't think there's a kitchen in the hostel in Berlin we're staying in for 4 days this summer. But it's in the heart of Kreuzberg, so if we have an excuse to eat All the Turkish Food I won't be too sad...😆

Also if you’re in Austria check out summer toboggan runs.

Last year we did Brussels - Cologne - Vienna- Bratislava- Prague by train with DC 13 and 8 and it was a fabulous holiday. Plenty to keep kids entertained in Brussels and not blisteringly hot and we also found lots to do in Vienna and Prague. They may both be too hot for your DH however, as a PP said Vienna was in mid to high 30s. But we spent a day at Gänsehäufl, an island in the Danube which has a beach, swimming pools with wave machine, slides etc and was a lot of fun and where local families go on a hot day.

This year we’re taking the train to Slovenia and Croatia and I can’t wait! I know Croatia will be v v hot though.

Happy planning!

Depending on the route you take, Europa park could work well. Possibly as a starting destination, or after/before a Paris stop? There's a direct TGV going from Paris-Ringsheim that takes 2hrs 40mins, but can't recall how regular that is. Alternatively you can make changes on the same route and think it was around 3hrs with fastest connections. Great themepark and also great waterpark on site. Onsite accommodation is fab, but can be pricey. There is lots of alternative accommodation in the surrounding town, hotels and self catering if preferred. Our kids were 10 and 6 when we went.