A Few Hours in Ulm, Germany with Kids

Last fall we spent a few hours in Ulm, Germany visiting old friends and taking in a few of the sites. Between the three families, we had 3 five-year olds, 2 three-year olds and 1 two-year old and the kids had a blast the entire time - here are the highlights!

We got into town about 1:30 p.m. so the first thing we did was eat lunch. Our friend (an Ulm native) had booked reservations at Restaurant Zur Lochmühle (the website is only in German) which was an amazing place - the food was incredible and more important they had a basket of toys for the kids! The restaurant is alongside one of the canals in Ulm in an old building with a very old functioning waterwheel which was quite interesting to some of the little ones (and bigger ones) in our group. The staff was completely accommodating of our large and loud party, made us feel absolutely welcomed and allowed us to eat a relaxing meal without worrying that we were overstaying our welcome. The food was typical to the region and they did have a small kids' section on the menu. We were there on a chilly blustery day so we ate inside but they do have a lovely outdoor patio alongside a canal and the waterwheel for nicer weather.

After lunch our friends took us on a short walking tour of the center of Ulm - it's so charming and easy to walk around. Make sure to look for the leaning house (which is now a hotel) and take a walk along the Danube - there's a nice riverfront park there. We didn't have time to go into the cathedral but it's impressive and the square around it is nice as well. There's also an art museum that looked interesting but we didn't have the time or the inclination with all those kids with us.

The "leaning house", a park along the Danube River, and a bridge over a canal in Ulm.

The highlight for the kids was the playground with a giant pirate ship play structure, located just to the north of the restaurant across Neue Strasse. It's got a gate so that the kids can't escape easily and benches to relax and watch them play.

I've set up a map in Google Maps with the spots I've mentioned - click on the map below for more info!

View Ulm in a larger map

Have you been to Ulm with kids? What were your favorite things to do there? Let me know in the comments!