egapark Erfurt

Start and finish at the main entrance. Pass Halle 1 and follow the path alongside the large flowerbed to Danakil. After exploring both climate zones, leave by the visitor exit and follow the park signs to the children’s farm. Continue into GärtnerReich for play, then take the path along the entrance-side edge of the Große Wiese back to the visitor centre and main entrance. This keeps the longer fortress-side gardens for another day.

Pushchairs are allowed in Danakil; use its lift where needed. Leave handcarts outside. Ask staff for the current step-free connections, and choose play equipment to suit each child.

Begin at the main entrance, follow the large flowerbed past Danakil, and continue beside the water axis to the sculpture garden and Deutsches Gartenbaumuseum. Visit the museum before continuing to the nearby tower if you want the climb. Follow the connecting paths to the rose garden and lily garden, then retrace through the rose garden to the water-axis junction. Return towards Danakil for the climate-house visit, continue to the children’s farm and GärtnerReich, and finish along the Große Wiese edge at the main entrance. Include a meal and play break.

The tower is optional and can be omitted without breaking the return route. Ask staff how to approach the lily terraces or enjoy them from the main path instead. This plan does not require the Japanese or Karl-Foerster gardens.

Choose one bed and draw three different flower shapes without picking anything. Then move to the sculpture garden and sketch how the hedges frame a figure. You can take home a record of the visit without needing permission to publish photographs.

In the Wissenswald, compare the model nesting boxes and try the listening stations. The giant birdhouse is a human-scale learning feature; keep any real nests undisturbed. Add this as a separate woodland detour only if everyone still has walking energy.

The separately booked “Geheimnisvolle Dunkelheit” Danakil tours are for ages 12 and over. They explore the house after dark, when bats become active. Check availability and the meeting instructions; this does not extend an ordinary daytime ticket or allow an independent after-hours visit.

Combine Danakil with the Deutsches Gartenbaumuseum when both are open. The museum’s permanent exhibition “Garten! Vom Paradies ins Einkaufsregal” looks at the many ways people grow and use plants. Allow for outdoor paths between buildings and avoid a tower climb in poor weather.

Watch the children’s farm’s donkeys from the public visitor area. Compare how they move and rest, and give them space if they head into their shelter.

Look for the domestic goats from the visitor side of the farm enclosure. Children can compare their posture with the donkeys’. Keep hands and food to yourselves and respect any closed pens.

The farm’s domestic chickens provide a smaller-scale animal stop. Watch their movements at ground level from the public viewing area; which birds are out will vary during the day.

Explore the rose garden when flowers are open, usually from late spring into autumn. Compare petal arrangement and colour between labelled plants. The cultivated roses include many garden varieties.

The upper Japanese Garden has the old “Großmutter” beeches; a weeping form is listed beside the water axis. Admire the different crowns from open paths. Follow barriers around veteran trees, and choose the water-axis area if the garden’s slopes are unsuitable.

The Lesebaum, or reading tree, is a large-leaved lime. Look for its heart-shaped leaves from the path and enjoy the broad crown. Storytelling is a separately scheduled activity, so finding the tree does not mean a performance is taking place.

Three black walnuts are listed at the rose-garden entrance. Make this a tree stop between flower displays and compare their crowns with the other planted trees. Use labels to confirm the trees, and leave any fallen material where it lies.

Look for the pedunculate oak at a corner of the lily garden. Stay on the garden paths and let the contrast between its canopy and the terraced flower planting guide a sketch.

The museum’s special exhibition “iga*61. Die DDR durch die Blume” is scheduled through 13 June 2027. It adds social and political history to the gardens outside; check the current exhibition programme before making it the main reason for a trip.

The visitor centre at the main entrance handles information and hire equipment. The park plan marks toilets, accessible toilets and changing facilities around the grounds. Food options include the Danakil area, the Rundbau by the playground and the Caponniere near the fortress, with opening varying by season. For Danakil, use the available lockers for bulky items and keep food outside the exhibition.

Set your arrival point to egapark, Gothaer Straße 38. Tram line 2 is the straightforward public-transport option from Erfurt Hauptbahnhof; consult EVAG for the actual day and return journey. Drivers will find the main visitor parking across Gothaer Straße from the entrance. Follow current signs and charges. The Gothaer Platz entrance is a different gate, and its winter ticket desk is unstaffed: advance tickets or an annual card are needed for the turnstile there.

The Reisen für Alle assessment describes the surveyed outdoor paths as at least 1.5 m wide and generally easy to walk or wheel along. Most assessed facilities are step-free or reached by ramps, with the tower excluded. This does not make the whole park flat. The visitor centre can help you choose around the steeper garden sections and reserve a wheelchair or rollator. Ask specifically about assistance-dog support for Danakil before arrival.