When planning a family trip, many parents are looking not just for beautiful places, but also for experiences that will remain in children’s memories for a long time. From sea adventures and interactive museums to fascinating quests and unusual science centers, there are many places in Europe that can turn an ordinary trip into a true adventure for the whole family.
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Unusual Family Days Out Across Europe
Pirate Cruise, Varna, Bulgaria
Varna is the largest port in Bulgaria, which is most often visited for its seaside attractions. In addition to the beach, the main children’s entertainment in the city is Aquapolis water park, dolphinarium, zoo, attractions in the Seaside Garden and playgrounds in the Ecopark, a doll museum in the Znamya Mira Children’s Center and a puppet theater.
However, children of all ages especially enjoy the Pirate Cruise. It takes place on a real sailboat, which departs either early in the morning or in the afternoon. At the same time, another boat sets out, and a battle begins in the sea between them. Of course, it’s not real — water pistols, cannons, and buckets of water are used in play. Moreover, participants can literally put themselves in a pirate’s shoes — they are given costumes to change into advance.
After “defeating” the opposing ship, the pirate team will have lunch — grilled fish on the onboard grill. The sailboat follows the coast for a while, while the children are entertained by animators, children look for treasure, then they are initiated as pirates and awarded a pirate hat. The entire walk lasts from one and a half to three hours and is suitable for children from 6 to 12 years old.
Museum of the Human Body, Leiden, the Netherlands
An hour’s drive from Amsterdam, there is a museum offering adults and children an extraordinary journey inside a person. This is Corpus, the Museum of the Human Body. It was founded by Dutch businessman Henri Remmers in 1996, and finally completed only in 2008. When designing the museum, the architects and designers consulted doctors on human anatomy about the features of human anatomy and the laws of functioning of the body. The museum building looks like a figure crouched on the edge of the ground. This 35-meter-high structure weighs 750 tons and can be seen from afar.
The museum tour lasts about an hour and starts at the Knee station and ends at the Brain station. During the walk, visitors will learn how bones, muscles, and joints function when moving, lung theatre, digestion and reproduction processes, see blood cells up close while inside a red blood cell–themed capsule with 3D glasses, see how the heart works, and wander along the convolutions of the brain. The tour is accompanied by natural sounds of the body.
Knight’s Quest, Barcelona, Spain
One of the most popular children’s activities in Barcelona is urban quests. They are run by a company that originally organized adult tours for many years. Children accompanying adult tours often became bored. Then the company later developed separate quests for children.
There are three quests in total, which are adapted to children’s ages and activity levels. The most popular is the Knight’s Quest, during which children and their parents find secret places in Barcelona, following the paths of ancient knights. Along the way, the quest participants collect artifacts: a dragon’s head, drops of water from an enchanted fountain, the letters forming the name of the city and open the gates to the castle. At the end of the journey, the participants bring a petrified princess back to life.
The other two quests work on approximately the same principle, but are designed either for active younger children, or for middle and high school–aged children who are interested not so much in moving as solving puzzles and answering tricky questions.
Punat Underwater Park, Krk Island, Croatia
During a vacation on Croatia’s largest island, Krk, the sea is the main attraction for children. One local family of enthusiasts has come up with an interesting way to use the coastal space near Punta Debij Beach, turning it into a real underwater park.
You don’t need to be a professional diver to take part. You don’t even have to be able to swim or dive — visitors are held underwater by a 40-kilogram helmet, through which air flows from the surface via a long hose. All guests, young and old, are accompanied by qualified instructors who ensure safety and show the direction of travel.
Visitors to the park walk right along the seabed, feed colorful fish swimming freely around, handle sea urchins, hermit crabs, and other inhabitants of the underwater world in their hands. Just below the water’s surface, there is a small exhibition that introduces visitors to the history of Kvarner Bay and the island of Krk.
Palace of Wonders, Budapest
The Palace of Wonders is the first interactive center in Eastern Europe with a thirst for discovery, conduct experiments, and solve logical puzzles. Here you can get a visual idea of how the laws of physics, chemistry and mathematics work, and younger children will find answers about the world around them.
The Palace of Wonders is a 1,300-square-meter laboratory, featuring 250 interactive exhibits. Children use the exhibits follow instructions, and then learn the scientific explanation of each of them. There are Palace staff members in the halls, always ready to explain the complex physical phenomena and laws underlying the games with light and color, water and air, perspective and sound.
The center can be visited even with small children — they will be pleased with the construction kits with light and visual effects and other educational toys. A science show is held several times daily.
