Destination in Hesse

Family trip in Hesse: volcano hike, adventure monastery or jungle lake?

Hesse is a great destination for the whole family with a wide range of attractive options! How about a romantic float from the old town of Rüdesheim to the Niederwald monument, watching owls, eagles and kestrels in the eagle observatory or visiting the Vulkaneum in Schotten ? Cycling through tunnels in the Rhön or a crater tour on the Vogelsberg are also exciting excursion tips.

It is summery warm from June to September. Swimming is now the order of the day at the Edersee, Langener Waldsee and Aartalsee. The Sauerland winter sports arena and the Wasserkuppe in the Rhön, on the other hand, offer fun on the slopes from December to February . Many farms in the region offer farm holidays all year round.

Exciting for the whole family

With the Messel Pit and the fossils found there, Hesse has had a UNESCO natural heritage monument since 1995, which is a great day trip for young and old. The forest path leads to a platform on the edge of a pit: in the Eocene, 55 to 33 million years ago, a primeval forest lake stretched through this slate pit. On site, you can learn exciting things about dinosaurs and the development of mammals . Adventure tours on the crater rim are also available.

Lorsch Monastery Museum: Explorers are in demand here

Knowledge through experience is the motto of Lorsch Abbey , another UNESCO World Heritage site. In the Lauresham open-air laboratory, you can experience early medieval life ! On a good four hectares, you will discover medieval farms, stables, farm buildings and storage buildings. Cattle graze peacefully in the meadows: this is how people lived in the Carolingian era, 800 AD. The educational offerings of the museum at the former, beautiful Benedictine Abbey, built in 764, are just as stimulating. Here you can play stonemason and design capitals yourself, or learn how monks bound books.

Wonderful Odenwald

With orchards, varied mixed forests, vineyards and valleys, hiking through the Odenwald and Waldecker Land is also great fun for children. Medieval towns with charming half-timbered buildings, palaces and castles invite you to take a walk through history. The mountain animal park in Erlenbach is also recommended. The greatest climbing artists are united here: llamas, alpacas, chamois, ibexes and Cameroon sheep.

Attractive cities with great offers

With Frankfurt, Fulda, Marburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden, Hesse is extremely diverse. Frankfurt's banking district looks like a mini-Manhattan. In August, the city shows its culture-loving side at the Museumsufer Festival on the Main. The famous Städel Museum then offers great workshops for children to take part in: theater, music and culinary delights are celebrated for three days.

The state capital Wiesbaden boasts exclusive Wilhelminian-era buildings. Thanks to its 66-degree hot springs, Wiesbaden was already a popular spa resort for the Romans. A ride on the Nerobahn and a view of the state capital should be on the agenda, as should the relaxing Nerotal facilities or the Neroberg climbing forest with an obstacle course between treetops and zip lines.

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel is another UNESCO World Heritage Site with a castle , impressive water features and the famous landmark Hercules . There is a Sleeping Beauty castle and a lion's castle here. In the Grimm World on the vineyard you can experience the Grimm fairy tales up close: interactive hands-on stations, artistically presented, show the fascinating work of the famous fairy tale brothers in many different facets. A new circular path with numerous stations invites you to discover by association. Podcasts, video clips and texts make this course an experience for all the senses.

Rhön for nature lovers and baroque lovers

How about cycling with the whole family in the Rhön on a disused route through the 1,172-meter-long Milseburg tunnel ? Discovering protected plants on the Wasserkuppe or watching the paragliders? Not far away, Fulda invites you to take a relaxed stroll through the city with its half-timbered buildings, baroque cathedral and St. Michael's Church. If it's raining, the Fulda Children's Academy offers a great alternative!