Unless you are a soccer, or shall I say football, fan, you have most likely not heard of Dortmund, Germany. But maybe you are interested in making an off the beaten track stop in the Rhineland of Germany, then a trip to Dortmund with kids may be in the cards for you.
Dortmund is best known for Borussia Dortmund, one of the best German football teams, and certainly much of the local culture is centered around this. So for football fans that want an authentic German experience, going to see a game in Signal Iduna park is definitely a highlight.
The other main tourist things to do in Dortmund, involve its industrial past. Actually the whole Rhine-Ruhr region is full of various industrial museums, and Dortmund is no exception.
I will be perfectly upfront and say that the reason we went to Dortmund had everything to do with football, or soccer for us Americans. However, since I had two little ones that were less interested in that aspect, we found other activities for kids, and ended up having a great time! So without further ado, here are the top things to do in Dortmund with kids!
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Things to Do in Dortmund Germany with kids
Kindermuseum
This small children’s museum in Dortmund is housed in a reconstructed tower of what was the city’s outer wall in the Middle Ages (I think). It is small but my 6 year old and 9 year old loved it. They especially enjoyed being able to try on knight armor, and playing with the huge Playmobil set on the top floor. Entrance is free, and the kids got little gems as a souvenir. Definitely for the 10 and under crowd a huge hit.
DASA Working World Exhibition
This is the strangest museum I have been to, but surprisingly the kids also loved this one. The premise is to explore different professions, everything from typewriters to firefighters, and there are a decent amount of hands-on displays. Some are old-timey, like those showing weaving machines, and others high tech like medical devices. Our favorite part was a short ride themed on factory safety where they show you all the accidents that could happen (like a beam falling on your head). There is a small outdoor playground for some fresh air as well.
To get there via public transportation you can take the subway to Dorstfeld Sud (it looks farther on the map than it actually is). This was another place I thought we would be in and out quickly but actually ended up spending half a day there.
Parks and Playground in Dortmund
One of the draws for me that went into deciding to visit Dortmund is the access to outdoor space. While the inner part of the city is less aesthetic in my opinion (apparently the old parts were almost completely destroyed in World War II, so everything is “modern”), the parks are very nice, and mostly all of the parks have playgrounds. We really enjoyed the small Westpark for its proximity to the train station/downtown area. Westfalenpark is the big park to check out with lots to do. Romberg Park has a Zoo and botanic garden. But really once you get anywhere outside of the city the greenery is impressive.
Everything Borussia: Signal Iduna Park and German Football Museum
For those with older children or teenagers then soccer is probably the main attraction. If you can’t get tickets to a football game, then at the very least you can check out the German Football Museum (located right by the main train station), and/or the Borruseum, Borussia museum at Signal Iduna Stadium, where you can also do a stadium tour and buy every Borussia item you can imagine at the fanshop.
Legoland at Oberhausen
When I found out that there was a Legoland Discovery Center nearby, I knew this was a must-visit destination for my kiddos. For Lego fans ages 4 to 11 I would say this is an awesome activity with peak interest in that 6-8 range, based on my kiddos. Now if you have been to a Lego discovery center before you will know that the set up is all very similar (areas to build legos, playground, a ride or two, and interactive short movies). The difference between them is more in the details and theming. Our last visit to Legoland in Philadelphia was with our now teenagers, and our younger kids (especially the 6 year old) had the best time
How to get to Legoland Oberhausen from Dortmund
If you don’t have a car, then taking a train from Dortmund Hauptbahnhof is the easiest way to get to Oberhausen. You may need to change trains in Essen. Getting to Oberhausen took around an hour and then from the main train station you need to take a bus or light rail to the Neue Mitte area. This area is one where everything is new and rebuilt. There are some other attractions, like Sea Life, Aquapark, a carousel and restaurants and shopping. Needless to say this is a full day excursion.
Where to Stay in Dortmund
There is no shortage of accommodations, as it seems like there is lots of business travel in and out of the city, as well as fans that travel to see the football games. It is most convenient if you are arriving by train, to stay near the Dortmund central train station. We stayed in two locations, both of which are recommended.
Residence Inn Dortmund– We loved this Marriott hotel that can be booked with Bonvoy points. They had rooms with a king bed and sofa bed, which was perfect for the three of us. Breakfast was free and very good; a buffet with both hot and cold options. We especially appreciated that it included fresh fruits and vegetables. Another perk, is access to a washer and dryer, which makes it good for a long term stay in Dortmund. Additionally it is a short walking distance from the train station, grocery stores, pharmacy, a small selection of restaurants and a park. If I had to mention one downside is that there is a homeless shelter nearby.
Vienna House by Wyndham– This hotel has double rooms with ensuite bathrooms. There is a free cold breakfast. It is a good budget option and right across the street from the main shopping mall Thier-Galerie Dortmund.
Otherwise there are dozens of hotels all over the city and all of the major chains are represented.
How to Get to Dortmund Germany
For international travel, your closest large airports are either Frankfurt am Main, Germany, or Amsterdam Schiphol in the Netherlands. Both of them are around 2 and half hours away (by car/train) from Dortmund.
Alternatively, your absolute closest airports to Dortmund or either Dusseldorf or Cologne-Bonn. Coming from London, we took a direct flight to Dusseldorf on British Airways. Note that this was a “budget” flight where we had to take a bus to the airplane and climb up the stairs to get on, a challenge with carry-on luggage, so just keep that in mind. The alternative was a flight on Eurowings or Ryanair to Cologne-Bonn airport (CGN).
From Dusseldorf to Dortmund you can take a train. This requires taking the skytrain in Dusseldorf airport (free) to the Dusseldorf Flughafen train station. From there, you have a plethora of trains going to Dortmund. Read the next section for how to spend the least amount of money on the trains.
If you are asking about long distance trains, those are also a possibility, especially if you get something like the Eurorail pass. However, looking at our options, travel by train would have been significantly more expensive than flying, so that ended up being our final choice!
Public Transportation in Germany
Germany has launched a public transportation pass called the Deutschlandticket which includes all regional trains in second class, (not the high-speed intercity trains), and local transport such as subways and buses. It works on a monthly subscription model, always starting on the 1st of the month. Now if you do not have a German address, the only way to get this pass is via the mobile app. So for an adult in 2026 this was around 63 euros a month. Depending on how long you will be in Germany this may be very worthwhile, just be sure to cancel the subscription before you leave to halt recurring charges.
Do kids pay for public transportation in Germany?
Now children under age 6 are free on public transportation, and those 6 to 15 pay a nominal child ticket. This was 2.10 euros at the time of writing per child for local transport in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, which covers Dortmund.
Certain regions do have a discounted monthly pass for children, but there was no option for us to get this without a physical address. Over a week of buying various tickets for the kids we spent less than 20 euros per kids, so it would not have been worthwhile to get them their own monthly pass, besides the fact that they would need their own mobile device (which they don’t have).
Summing up our Trip to Dortmund
We spent 5 days in Dortmund, where we did all of the activities for kids mentioned above. If it were not for the soccer connection, I would say a weekend in Dortmund, city break style, would be ideal. Choose one of the museums plus one of the parks on day 1 in Dortmund and then do some soccer related activity or the second museum on the second full day. This way depending on how you divide things up, even 3 days in Dortmund could be spent without having too much free time. For us, we enjoyed the slow pace for catching up on laundry, being able to shop at a grocery store and have a picnic, and do some shopping. That said, our next destination, Cologne, was our favorite part of our Germany trip, so stay tuned for that post!
