How we chose these ten
Each museum below has its own page on JuniorTravelClub, built from its official visitor information: what children pay, which areas are made for them and what helps on a long day indoors. We favoured museums where children are given their own space rather than a corner of an adult collection, and pulled out the detail that matters most to families.
1. Science Museum, London
At the Science Museum five floors of galleries are free to enter, packed lunches are welcome in the picnic areas and there is a family show at weekends. The only extra cost is whichever paid experience you choose to add. It is one of several free museums in London.
2. Natural History Museum, London
General admission to the Natural History Museum costs nothing, so it can be one part of a London day rather than the whole of it, and families who bring lunch have a dedicated Picnic Area to eat in.
3. Deutsches Museum, Munich
The Deutsches Museum in Munich gives children their own version of its idea in the Kinderreich, where exhibits are meant to be handled rather than read about, from a fire engine to a ball track.
4. NEMO Science Center, Amsterdam
NEMO Science Center in Amsterdam has a roof you can walk out onto: children move from the exhibitions to an open-air square with food and a terrace, and the roof can be reached free from the east-side stairs.
5. Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, Paris
The Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie gives children a section of their own, the Cité des enfants, and plans for tired legs with strollers to borrow at the cloakroom and rest areas throughout. It is in Paris.
6. Experimentarium, Copenhagen
Experimentarium in Copenhagen builds spaces for the youngest rather than a corner: The Miniverse for toddlers with a parent, The Valley for preschoolers and water play at The Beach.
7. Natural History Museum, Vienna
The Natural History Museum in Vienna runs a children’s programme split by age, with guided tours from age three and a night in the museum where children bring a sleeping bag and a torch.
8. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
At the Rijksmuseum children and teenagers get in free, so a family pays only for the adults. Every child still needs a booked starting time, and one booking holds a limited number of youth tickets.
9. Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia, Milan
At the Leonardo da Vinci science museum in Milan the hands-on lab activities are part of the ticket, PLAYLAB is built for preschoolers, and free pushchairs and baby carriers wait at the entrance.
10. Swiss Museum of Transport, Lucerne
With a Day Pass the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne becomes a day of different formats: a ride through the Swiss Chocolate Adventure, planetarium shows about the solar system and films you can walk into without booking.
Tickets & tours for these places
Bookable tours via GetYourGuide. Affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
