Kaunas with Kids: Family Attractions, Prices and Rainy-Day Ideas (2026)

The easiest family day in Kaunas starts at Kaunas Castle, where entry is free for pre-school children and schoolchildren, continues with a ride on the 1935 Aleksotas funicular, and ends at Science Island, the city's interactive science museum (€12 for a child in 2026). For animals, the Lithuanian Zoo is about 10–15 minutes away by taxi, and from October to April a child's ticket costs €5.

Kaunas is compact. The Old Town, Laisvės alėja and Nemunas Island are within walking distance of each other, and the rest of the places in this guide are a short taxi or Bolt ride away. We checked each address, opening day and ticket price in October 2026 on official websites: the attractions' own and the city's tourism office. Several prices change with the season, so the table shows what you will pay this autumn and winter.

Family attractions at a glance

Distances are measured from Kaunas Castle, on the edge of the Old Town. "By road" means a taxi or Bolt ride. The age column is our suggestion, except for the Puppet Theatre, where the ages are the theatre's own.

Kaunas Castle and Santaka Park

Kaunas Castle (Pilies g. 17) is the obvious first stop. It is about 250 metres from our Picturesque and Pearl apartments. The museum inside is open Tuesday to Friday 10:00–18:00 and Saturday 10:00–17:00. On Sundays it opens only from June to August, 10:00–16:00, and it is closed on Mondays and on the morning of the last Tuesday of each month, until noon. Adults pay €4, students €2, and pre-school children and schoolchildren enter free.

Behind the castle is Santaka Park, where the Nemunas and the Neris meet. The city's tourism office lists basketball, volleyball, frisbee and picnics among the things people do there. It is open grass, so children can run after the museum. Our guide to things to do around Town Hall Square covers the rest of the Old Town nearby.

The Aleksotas funicular

The Aleksotas funicular has carried passengers since 1935. The lower station is at Amerikos Lietuvių g. 6, just across the Vytautas the Great Bridge, a 10–15 minute walk from the Old Town. Cars leave every 10 minutes, daily from 07:00 to 19:00, with a lunch break from 12:00 to 13:00. The city tourism site lists fares of €1.20 one way and €2.00 return, and a family ticket of €3.00 one way or €4.00 return. Payment is through the Žiogas public transport app. At the top, an observation deck looks back over the river to the Old Town and the city centre.

Kaunas has a second funicular on Žaliakalnis hill, but it has not run since spring 2025, when its wooden track parts rotted. The owner planned to finish repairs in May 2026 but did not confirm a return to passenger service, and in August 2026 the city tourism office still described it as under renovation. Treat it as closed unless you see it running.

Science Island (Mokslo sala)

Science Island is a science museum on Nemunas Island, next to Žalgiris Arena (official address: Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 50). It has interactive exhibitions, a planetarium and STEAM laboratories. It is open Tuesday to Friday 09:00–18:00 and at weekends 10:00–19:00, and closed on Mondays.

In 2026 the exhibition costs €17 for adults and €12 for children aged 3 to 18. A family ticket for up to two adults and three children costs €50. The planetarium is a separate ticket, €8 for adults and €6 for children, and laboratory sessions cost €6 per person. No price is listed for children under 3, so ask at the desk. The building has lifts, accessible toilets and baby rooms. Like the arena, it is a 15–20 minute walk from Underground Kingdom and about 25 minutes from Picturesque Old Town Apartment. Holiday hours apply in 2026: it closes at 18:00 on 31 October and is shut on 1 and 2 November.

The Lithuanian Zoo and Ąžuolynas park

The Lithuanian Zoo (Lietuvos zoologijos sodas, Radvilėnų pl. 21) stands in the northern corner of Ąžuolynas, an oak park of 84 hectares with about 770 oaks in the Žaliakalnis district. From the Old Town it is about 5.4 km by road, or 10–15 minutes by taxi outside rush hour. There is free parking for about 40 cars.

In October 2026 the zoo is open Monday 11:00–18:00 and Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. The indoor exhibitions close at 17:30, and the zoo warns that hours vary. Winter prices apply from 1 October to 30 April: €10 for adults and €5 for children aged 3 to 18. From May to September the prices are €15 and €7.50. Children up to the age of 2 enter free, and the zoo says tickets bought online are cheaper than at the gate. On 10 December 2026 entry is free for everyone. Parents of babies will find a mother-and-child room with changing tables in the Egzotariumas education centre.

Leave time for the park itself. Vytautas Park, a section of Ąžuolynas, has attractions for children.

Museums children enjoy

Devils' Museum

The Devils' Museum (V. Putvinskio g. 64) holds more than 3,000 objects: carved devils, masks, souvenirs and works of fine and applied art. It is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 11:00–17:00, Thursday 11:00–19:00 and weekends 10:00–17:00, and closed on Mondays. Since 4 May 2026 the adult ticket costs €8. Pupils get 50% off, so they pay €4, and pre-school children enter free. Some of the masks may frighten very young children.

Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum

One of the oldest museums in Lithuania, the zoological museum is at Laisvės al. 106, at the Old Town end of Laisvės alėja. It is open every day, weekdays 09:00–19:00 and weekends 10:00–19:00, and the last entry is 1 hour 15 minutes before closing. Adults pay €6; students, children and seniors €3. It is a good hour on a wet afternoon.

Lithuanian Aviation Museum

The Aviation Museum (Veiverių g. 132) is at the airfield where the pilots Darius and Girėnas were due to land after their 1933 transatlantic flight. Its collection includes about 40 aircraft, gliders and helicopters. It is open Monday 10:00–16:00 and Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–18:00, and closed on Sundays and public holidays. Tickets cost €8 for adults and €4 for schoolchildren. Children up to the age of 7 enter free, and family tickets cost €12 (one adult, two children) or €16 (two adults, two children). Older children can try a flight simulator for €6 per 10 minutes on top of the entry ticket.

VDU Botanical Garden

The Vytautas Magnus University Botanical Garden (Ž. E. Žilibero g. 6) is in Aleksotas, about 5.4 km by road from the castle; buses 20, 32 and 35 stop nearby. From 1 October to 31 March the garden is open daily 09:00–20:00 and the ticket office 09:00–18:00; from April to September the garden stays open until 21:00. The greenhouse is closed on Mondays. Adults pay €7, children from age 6 pay €4, and under-6s enter free. The greenhouse is the warm option on a cold day.

Kaunas State Puppet Theatre

The Puppet Theatre at Laisvės al. 87A has worked in Kaunas since 1960. Family shows usually start at 12:00 on Saturdays and Sundays, and in November 2026 tickets cost €9. Each show has an age label, from 3+ to 6+. A show for babies aged 10 to 24 months, Pasaulėliai, runs on some mornings at 11:00. From 5 to 27 December the theatre stages festive shows at €13. Performances are in Lithuanian, but puppetry for small children relies on movement and music. Tickets are sold on bilietai.lt, and some dates sell out.

Kaunas Ninth Fort: for teenagers

The Ninth Fort Museum (Žemaičių pl. 73) is about 7 km north of the Old Town by road. During the Nazi occupation, tens of thousands of people, most of them Jews from Kaunas and the Kovno Ghetto, were murdered here. The museum also covers the Soviet occupation. It sets no age limit, but we suggest it for teenagers who have studied the Second World War. Adults pay €8, and a reduced ticket costs €4. A family ticket costs €8 per adult and €2 per child from age 7, and pre-school children enter free. Entry to the grounds and the memorial is free. The museum is closed on Mondays, children must stay with an adult, and scooters and bikes are not allowed in the exhibitions.

Rainy-day options

• Science Island: half a day indoors, with the planetarium as a break (closed Mondays).
• Puppet Theatre: a weekend show at 12:00, then lunch on Laisvės alėja.
• Zoological Museum: open every day, so it is a safe bet on a Monday.
• Devils' Museum or the Aviation Museum (the second is closed on Sundays).
• The zoo's indoor exhibitions, open until 17:30.
• The botanical garden greenhouse, Tuesday to Sunday.
• Akropolis Kaunas (Karaliaus Mindaugo pr. 49), near Žalgiris Arena: shops open daily 10:00–21:00 and restaurants until 22:00. It has a Forum Cinemas cinema, a children's playground and a babysitting room.

Plan Mondays with care. Kaunas Castle, Science Island, the Devils' Museum and the Ninth Fort are all closed that day. On a Monday, the zoo (from 11:00), the Aviation Museum (until 16:00), the Zoological Museum and Akropolis are open.

Practical tips for parents

• Strollers and cobbles. Many Old Town streets are cobbled, including M. Valančiaus gatvė. A stroller with large wheels or a baby carrier makes the Old Town easier. Laisvės alėja, a pedestrian boulevard of about 1.6 km, is the smoother route into the centre.
• Season matters. The zoo and the botanical garden change prices or hours on 1 October and in spring. Check the official site the day before.
• Free entry. Kaunas Castle is free for children all year. The zoo is free for everyone on 10 December 2026.
• Getting around. Taxis and Bolt cover the zoo, the Aviation Museum, the botanical garden and the Ninth Fort. Our airport guide explains the bus and taxi options from KUN, and the parking guide helps if you arrive by car.
• Quiet hours. All our stays have quiet hours from 22:00 to 08:00, which suits families with small children.

For a ready-made plan that mixes these stops with the Old Town's sights and food, see 48 hours in Kaunas Old Town. Couples or groups of friends travelling with older children can also look at Underground Kingdom Boutique, where the whole hotel of four rooms takes up to eight guests.

Prices, opening hours and dates are October 2026 data from the attractions' official websites. They change with the season and public holidays, so check before you travel.