Hit the Ice: A Price and Amenity Guide to Germany’s Ice Rinks

Summer is over, and the winter months are already just around the corner. This is also evident in the world of sports: skiing, biathlon, or ice skating—many sports are now in their peak season. It’s not just professionals who enjoy these popular winter sports; for recreational athletes, too, a trip to the nation’s ice rinks between November and March is a must. Even though falling on the ice can be painful, once you’ve gained a little experience and practice, the fun takes center stage. There are plenty of locations for young and old alike that invite you to go ice skating. To prevent injuries among beginners, most rinks also offer skating aids—so you’re free to move around on the ice in your skates without getting hurt.

To help you enjoy winter sports throughout the cold months, we’ve done the comparison for you and looked into the size and cost of ice rinks in Germany’s 30 largest cities. In total, we took a close look at 56 rinks and stadiums, calculated the average admission price per adult, child, and family, as well as the skate rental fee, and determined the operating seasons. This way, you can get an overview right now and plan your next visit to these popular ice rinks.

Hamburg and Augsburg offer the lowest admission prices

Hitting the ice and skating a few laps for very little money: this is particularly easy to do in two cities. On average, winter sports fans pay four euros per adult in Hamburg and Augsburg for admission to the city-run ice rinks. In Kiel, too, the average admission price is comparatively low at 4.50 euros per person. Adults in Duisburg and Hanover each pay five euros for admission when they want to take to the ice.

Those taking their kids to Germany’s ice rinks will pay particularly little for children in Augsburg and Stuttgart: admission for children averages two euros and 2.23 euros, respectively, in those two cities. In Duisburg and Hamburg, it’s three euros.

You can find out the admission prices for ice rinks in all major cities in the table below:

Ice skating is expensive in these cities

The number of ice rinks in Bochum and Karlsruhe is modest: There’s only one location for ice skating in each city. But when it comes to admission prices, they’re quite steep: Adults pay ten euros per visit—the highest price in the comparison. For children, the fee is also steep at eight euros each. At 9.50 euros, Aachen ranks near the top, followed by Cologne with an average admission price of 8.73 euros. Admission is also high in Wiesbaden, Bonn, Bremen, and Essen, at eight euros each.

Augsburg and Mannheim Are Particularly Family-Friendly

Families, in particular, have to dig deep into their pockets when visiting ice rinks in Germany. While some locations offer families a special rate, it remains an expensive treat. Here, too, Augsburg stands out with a low average price of 12 euros. Ice rinks in Mannheim charge the same price for a family of four—two adults and two children. Although Munich is generally an expensive city, it performs particularly well with an average family price of 13.17 euros.

In Bochum, however, families have to pay more than double that amount—36 euros—if they want to skate together. Karlsruhe and Wiesbaden are also among the most expensive in terms of family prices, at an average of 32 and 28 euros, respectively.

Find out here how much families have to pay to visit the ice rinks:

Here’s how much it costs to rent skates

Ice rinks offer skate rentals, especially for beginners or recreational skaters who rarely hit the ice. However, the rental fee can quickly add up, especially for large groups. While the admission price in Munich is low, visitors should expect hefty rental fees averaging seven euros per person. In Bochum, Wiesbaden, and Mannheim, too, renting skates is expensive, costing six euros per person in each city.

The fee is significantly lower in Duisburg, where ice rinks charge an average of 3.75 euros per pair rented. The rental fee is four euros each in Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Münster, Kiel, Augsburg, and Hamburg.

Here’s a breakdown of the ice skate rental fees:

Most ice rinks are open until the end of March

The skating season has already begun at some locations. Since late September or early October, Stuttgart’s Eiswelt, Leipzig’s Anona Icedome, Aachen’s 100.5 Arena, the Oetker Ice Rink in Bielefeld, and other rinks have opened their doors to skaters.

But don’t worry: Many ice rinks stay open past Christmas until the end of March, including Cologne’s Rundbahn in Lentpark, the speed skating rink at Sportforum Berlin, and Bremen’s Paradice Ice Rink. So when spring arrives, you can still enjoy your last few laps on the ice.

Here’s an overview of the opening hours for the ice rinks we looked into:

Berlin has the widest selection

During the winter months, the capital attracts visitors not only with a multitude of Christmas markets but also with the largest selection of public ice rinks. Spread throughout the city, visitors will find a total of twelve locations that are open—primarily on a temporary basis during the cold months—for everyone from beginners to pros. There are three options each in Düsseldorf, Munich, Dresden, Essen, and Cologne for skating together on the ice and working up a sweat. This also includes the ice rinks at the Christmas markets, which invite visitors to take to the ice during the markets’ opening hours.

This table shows how many ice rinks and arenas in Germany’s major cities are also open to recreational skaters:

Some ice rinks offer discounted prices during the week

If you want to save money on a visit to the ice rink, plan your trip for Monday through Friday: Some locations offer reduced admission prices on weekdays. Adult visitors can save a full four euros on weekdays when entering the Hamburg EisArena. A trip to the ice is significantly cheaper on weekdays at the Berlin ice rinks in the Friedrichshagen lakeside resort and at the Grünau beach resort, with discounts of 3.75 and 3.25 euros per adult, respectively. You’ll save two euros each on weekdays at the Cologne ice rink on Heumarkt, the Eissportarena in Bergisch Gladbach, the Winter Wonderland on Ice at Krewelshof, and the ice rink at the Dresden Winter Festival.

Some of these locations also offer discounted prices for children and families when they take to the ice between Monday and Friday. This way, winter sports enthusiasts can have lots of fun at Germany’s ice rinks for very little money, staying fit and gliding across the ice even in freezing temperatures.

All the results of the comparison are summarized here:

What did we do?

For the comparison, we determined the admission prices for a total of 56 temporary and permanent ice rinks in the 30 largest German cities for adults and children, as well as the rental fees for ice skates for families. The price was calculated using the average of the costs for weekdays and weekends. At some locations, there is no separate family price. In these cases, prices were extrapolated. Due to a lack of options, Mönchengladbach⁠ and Gelsenkirchen⁠ are not included in the analysis.