I saw a thread called “Three days in venice too long?”, started by people with teenage kids. One response was “depends on the kids, and what they are into”. Three days of art, churches, history and architecture might be a challenge. Instead, give them something to do on their own account, a treasure hunt. Venice is the safest city in the world, and the best fun to explore. I think you could safely let teenagers wander at large here.
So here's a treasure hunt. When treasures are found, photograph them, or obtain documentary evidence. Some treasures are pretty obscure, and will need map reading skill. Others are easy. Some just need doing. They are certain to get lost, but a good map should see them home. Total cost for the escapade – about 30 Euro, and there's only one church to enter, I think Venice's most spectacular church.
I acknowledge Jan Morris – Venice, Tiziano Scarpa – Venice is a fish, Erla Zwingle - The National Geographic Traveller, Venice for the bomb in the Frari church.
It starts at San Marco, in the Piazza, but there is a preparation first, at a bookshop. You could do this the night before.
Leave the Piazza at the furthest end from the Basilica, along Sallizzada San Moise. There's a bookshop on the left, No 1345
Buy a Moleskine City Notebook for Venice – costs 15 Euro, and all the places in the treasure hunt are indexed in there with the maps. The good thing is that it is black and pocket sized, so you don't look like a dorky tourist when you are consulting it.
Still at the bookshop, first question: You will see sloping pieces of marble erected about two feet above the ground in corners, or brick infills in the corners. What are they for? (Hint – find the book, “Venice is a Fish” by Tiziano Scarpa, and browse to page 76.) After you know what they are for, you'll laugh every time you see one.
Now, start in the Piazza.
Find the lowest street number in the San Marco (hint – start at Florians, and I think it is number 3).
Name the fruit and vegetables carved on the tenth column of the Doges Palace facing the Campanile, starting from the corner. Extra points for English translation of the Italian names above. Quad bonus points for producing any of the actual fruit – hint – try Rialto Markets.
Go back, count to the fourth column facing the Grand Canal. It is a little out of line with the rest. Rest your back against the column, and try to slip around it, feet on the white marble step at the base. You won't be able to keep from falling off, but video the attempt. Condemned prisoners were given this challenge – if they fell off – and they always did – they were executed. A trial by gravity.
Find the American bar, buy something, keep receipt as proof. How many different flavours of ice cream are available. (Hint – order with the cashier).
Go through the arch under the clock tower, find the Sotoportego e Calle del Capello, about 15 metres on your left. There's a statue high on the wall of a woman who dropped a flower pot on the head of a guy who was staging a revolution. There's a tile in the pavement below, recording where the flower pot hit, and the date. Record the date, interpret from Roman numerals into English (15 June 1310).
Find McDonalds. Keep receipt or wrapper as proof. (Calle lunga San Marco).
Back into the Piazza, leave through the end opposite the Basilica, towards Academia. Find Campo Santo Stefano – it's big.
There is a statue in the Campo of of Niccolo Tommaseo, a writer. Venetians have nick-named him il Cagalibri, or the book shitter. Figure out why.
Find and photograph the canal that runs clean under the Church of San Stefano.
Find the plaque to the right of the main door to San Stefano high on the wall that prohibits gambling, bad language and selling stuff. Photograph it, extra points for interpreting the date (20 June 1663).
Follow the signs to Rialto.
Find the statue of Goldoni, in Campo Bartolomeo. He has a walking stick – which hand is holding it?
Find an internet cafe, buy time and check Facebook. (Hint – there is an internet cafe near Rialto, in Calle dei Stagneri, off Campo Bartolomeo. A legal ID is required to buy time, either passport of drivers license, minimum cost is about 5 Euro. It's closed from 1:00 to 2:45 PM).
Now, off to San Polo, across the Grand Canal.
Cross the Rialto bridge. Count the steps on the centre section of the bridge.
Pass through the vegetable market, buy some grapes if you want to pick up the bonus points from the second question relating to the column on the Doge Palace.
Find the Fish Market, the Campo del Pesceria.
The minimum size of fish allowed to be sold is controlled – what is the smallest fish size? (Hint – it is on a stone tablet mounted on the wall facing the Grand Canal.) (Red Mullet, Grey Mullet, Sardine, Anchovy – 7 cm.)
Head towards the Ferrovia, the Railway Station.
Find the Campo San Silvestro. Tap on the well cover with a coin – every point makes a different note, like a Carribean steel drum.
Find the Ponto Storto, the Twisted Bridge.
Find Campo dei Frari.
Enter the Frari Church, on your left there's a big pyramid monument, then a monument supported by four African gents, Moors. To the right of this monument, finf the small bomb attached to the wall, about six feet above the ground. It fell on the church roof and failed to explode on 27/28 February, 1918. It costs 3 Euro to enter the Frari Church.
Leave the church, find Legatoria Polliero, a paper shop. The proprietor is Paollo, and he has no English, not a word. Buy something – a bookmark would cost about 5 Euro. You'll love his shop.
Head towards the Ferrovia, the station.
Find Salizzada Zusto – a street barely two and a half feet wide, and twenty yardslong. (Bonus points for this one – it's tiny. Extra bonus point – what direction are you facing when you leave the street - North, South, East, West.)
Cross the Ponte degli Scalzi over the Grand Canal. Count the number of steps, turn left.
Buy a coffee at the Ferrovia. (Hint – order at the cashier, present ticket to the bar).
Leave the Ferrovia, turn left, follow the signs to San Marco. (There's heaps of tourist junk along this strip, but by now, you'll ignore it, because you'll be feeling like a local.)
Cross the Grand Canal at the San Sofia traghetto. It costs 50 cents, and you are back at the fish market. Tourists don't use traghettos much, Venetians all the time. Pay in coin – the cheapest gondola ride you could ever have.
Wind your way down stream to the next traghetto which is below the Rialto bridge. It is on the Fondamenta del Vin, or off Campo San Silvestro, where you played the steel drum. Cross on the traghetto, and follow the signs back to San Marco.
You'll have seen more of Venice than many tourists, and you'll be able to direct your folks when they get lost.
That should keep the kids busy for a day.
Day 2 – buy a 12 hour ferry ticket, which costs 14 Euro.
Write down the cost per litre of diesel fuel oil on Burano ...............
Venice for teenagers.
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Wow! This is great. I think you are really onto something! We'll be in Venice in April for 5 days with 2 eight year olds and 1 one 5 year old. We were already brainstorming activities to keep them busy like spotting and counting winged lions, counting bridges, etc. But your hunt is much more interesting. Care to author one for youngsters? If I get around to trying one myself, I'll be sure to post it.
Just did a Google search - seems it's already been done for kids. http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?asinsearch=0977269906
Note on travelbugs' link: There's a similar book for Florence.
Oops. that link doesn't seem to be working. But you can search Amazon for Kids Go Europe Treasure Hunt Venice
The link works for me.
Bookmarking
hi travelbugs,
I can't even attempt to rival Peter, but if you search under my name and Venice, you should find my trip report called "we went to venice and we saw" which has a few ideas for kids, albeit mine were a bit older and bigger than yours!
have a great trip,
regards, ann
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Thanks!
this is perfect for our upcoming trip! now,....do you have anything like this for Salzburg???? Maybe Munich????
Peter S - taking a printout - will let you know how it goes!!
A small correction - the Macdonalds near San Marco has closed down.
I heard that there were complaints about the rubbish on the street. (Same problem exists in Melbourne with Macdonald's rubbish, so it seems to be a universal problem).
Small world!
I was walking my way around the columns of the Doge's Palace this morning, and sighted two American teenagers, a girl and a boy, checking out the fruit on the tenth column from the corner. With the above quiz in their hands.
In Venice, you can't but help running into people that you have some sort of connection with.
Fun.
Thanks guys! This will be so helpful to us in our travels this summer!
Great ideas#!
Wonderful idea!! I will be printing this for my 15 year old daughter. I think she will enjoy it!
GG
An update - <<<The proprietor is Paollo, and he has no English, not a word. Buy something – a bookmark would cost about 5 Euro. You'll love his shop. >>>
Paollo died about 18 months ago, but the shop is still there in the campo beside the Frari.
This is a great idea. Maybe there should be one for Rome, Paris, London, etc.
Bookmarking
bookmarking as well..........we took my daughter on the ABC tour (Another Bloody Cathedral) on our last European trip (in which we planned WAY too many activities), so It will be difficult to get her back into many more, no matter how lovely they may be. This will be something for her to enjoy~thank you, Peter_S!
we took my daughter on the ABC tour (Another Bloody Cathedral) on our last European trip (in which we planned WAY too many activities), so It will be difficult to get her back into many more, no matter how lovely they may be.>>
forgive me if I've posted this here already - [i don't think that i have but you never know] we used to play the "spot the ugliest baby" competition. There are some real corkers. why all these great painters suddenly forgot how to paint when they got to the Christ-child I have no idea. it certainly kept our two interested, and as one had/has ADHD, I think that was quite a feat!
We had fun in Venice with my god-daughters ages 14 and 16. One of them had an insatiable craving for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes that she saw at a Coop supermarket. We spent the rest of the day finding ways to interject the image of Tony the Tiger, with her casually displaying the box, in other people's tourist photos.
Am I the only person who doesn't find any of this amusing? I'm not talking about Peter's original treasure hunt post (which I confess was too long for me to read all the way through) but all of these ways to teach kids that art and architecture is crap, a bore, to be laughed at and regarded with hip cynicism -- or, topping the cake -- having fun on *your* vacation means trying to goof up other's stranger photos.
I dearly wish many people would let their children who have no interest in sightseeing -- especially art -- simply stay home, do something else, whatever, instead of trying to dumb down masterpieces and letting kids be rude to other travelers. Shocking thought, I realize. Other people to think about, maybe even put ahead of your privileged kids.
People travel for a heap of different reasons, to see different things.
Some people just HAVE to go to the Maserati, Ferrari or Porsche factory, others would avoid it like the plague. EuroDisney attracts some, and repels others. Some people are into Art, others are into art, some don’t care either way. Some people have detailed plans, lists of things they want to see, Others make it up as they go along. Diversity, difference, variety – which is what the human condition is all about.
You can visit any city and seek out the big ticket items, the Brandenberg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie or the Vatican. These might interest your average teenager, or maybe said teenager would be happier exploring on their own, or getting into photos with a box of breakfast cereal. Or spotting ugly babies. The fact that they are not into art or architecture, would prefer Macdonalds to pasta marinara, prefer Facebook to the Frari, Coca Cola to Chinotto is no big deal.
If people can just get a taste of what another place is like then they are the richer for it. If they can be seduced by the art and architectural heritage of places, then they are even richer. If they can do some exploring on their own, then they will create a connection at least, and that will maybe draw them back.
Which is why I wrote the treasure hunt – a little gift to a bunch of unknown kids.
well, Zeppole, I like the think that though our kids would not necessarily have chosen to visit museums and art galleries when we started taking them, by the time they'd seen a few spread over a number of years, they began to see the point.
our hope is that in future years, they will see the point of visiting these places by themselves, even if it isn't until they have their own kids.
if not, well, we tried. and i don't think that a little "ugly baby spotting" hurt anyone.
annhig, I totally agree. DH and I are artists ourselves and love art, but we are in no way above making snarky remarks about ugly babies, particularly in Italian paintings. (We were told by a tour guide in Florence once that there were actually standards for how to paint the Christ child that had to be adhered to. I have no idea why, but ever since we've made it a point to look for the ugly babies.)
Let the flaming commence.
hi ll,
i have occasionally asked those who purport to "know" about art how come so many great masters made such a pig's ear of painting the baby Jesus. Barely one is the right size and shape [ie resembles a real baby]. The rules you mention clearly didn't include "making the baby look lifelike" as one of the criteria!
PS - does your screen name mean that you are the 42nd lady lawyer here? I could be the 43rd!
Hi annhig -- I don't know if I'm the 42nd lady lawyer here, but I'm delighted to know I'm not the only one! (The "42" is a literary reference -- want to guess?)
ll42 ... if 42 is the answer, what is the question?
if 42 is the answer, what is the question?>>
I don't know but i do know to bring my towel with me.
Alot of what constitutes "art" baffles me, especially modern art. In my mind, a box covered in burlap with an offcenter rip in it isn't art. I don't have a degree in art appreciation; therefore, I like pretty stuff~like Renoit, Monet, and those types of things. The other stuff~I'm one of those people who tends to make fun of it. My family and I often take photos of what we consider bizarre art and make captions for it.
So zeppole, I'm afraid that, yes, you appear to be the only one..........