Kids in Venice
 

3 days in Venice this summer.

Want to show our kids a good time.

Please tell us your kids favorite places, memories.

Thank you.

How old are the kids ?

Are you staying in Venice proper ?

Favorites of my kids -

Riding the vaporetto. One afternoon we got on and then got off at a random stop, wandered up and found a wonderful, small, totally away from the tourist area restaurant for lunch. We had to order the pasta appetizer twice because my son (who had not been very adventurous so far) ate most of mine and wanted his own.

Doge's palace - we all enjoyed the tour and my son really wanted to take the "Secret Passages Tour" but we didn't have time.

Pigeons in St. Mark's square. Adults might think they are flying rats but my kids enjoyed being in the middle of them and we have the pictures to prove it.

Walking around Venice - it is just so unique. Even walking to and from dinner (with complicated instructions from our hotel) was an adventure. You felt really great when you found your way back home!

My daughter returned to Venice when she was 17 with friends from High School. They loved it too.

"Venice for Pleasure" by J G Links has a chapter on Venice for Children. A colleague used it when he took his children, and it was a success. Anyway, it's a terrific book.

My son and I played the game of "let's get lost in Venice." It's not a huge place and eventually you hit water. We just wandered around, through piazzas with kids playing soccer and down narrow lanes where passersby broke into song.

Kids would like a gondola ride as well as the vaporetto.

With just 3 days, there's probably no need for excursions, but maybe watch glass-blowing at Murano and see the tiny, bright-colored houses of Burano.

Gelato every day is a must.

Also, let each kid have a camera, even if one of the disposal kinds. When we took the water taxi to our hotel after flying all night, my kids perked up as if they were on one of those disney rides where you sit in a boat and travel through some fascinating scenery. They were snapping those cameras non-stop.

One of my kids hated the pigeons at St. Marks. The other one loved them so much we could have just left her there all day with a bunch of bags of feed and she would have been content.

We took the Secret Passages Tour of the Doges Palace. It is always highly recommended for kids. It was find but not fabulous. Note that it is not air conditioned, so if you happen to go on a sweltering day, it will be sweltering on the tour as well.

All of my kids were smiling when feeding the pigeons.

They liked the Vaporetto.

We didn't do a gondola ride but as we were wandering took the poor man's version, a quick ferry ride across the canal in what looks like a gondola for about a half Euro each.

Of course they were more than happy eating pizza and gelato for every meal. My daughter had Marguerita, basically cheese pizza. Our sons had Salame, the closest thing to Pepperoni (asking for Pepperoni gets you a pizza covered with cut up green chile peppers).

What my kids remember most fondly was how lost we got in the narrow narrow streets, trying to find our way around. The moral of that story is not to try to pack a lot of planned activites into your three days. If you get hopelessly lost, it's funny unless you end up missing an expensive concert for which you bought tickets, or something.

Guys will come up and offer you a free water taxi ride to Murano. We did it (water taxis are normally very expensive.) We took the ride, watched the demonstration, then were taken to shop in their very expensive store. We didn't buy anything and the pressure was very slight.

On the way to Murano we saw so many different kinds of boats, including a garbage boat, an ambulance boat, and a hearse boat going to the cemetary island. Cool!

boats within Venice and to farther out islands

Gelato

Climb the bell tower in San marcos

Gelato

Gondola ride if you can afford it

Gelato

Gelato

and more Gelato

Oh yes - I almost forgot - the best thing about our Italy trips:

Gelato
Twice day
Every day

Hi Rkogel,

firstly here's another vote for Mr. Links.

secondly, we've just got back - our kids are probably a bit older than yours but you may find my trip report helpful - just click on my name.

thirdly, DO get 3 day vaporetto passes - they enable you just to jump on an off any time you like, which is a real boon with kids.

if you want a "day off", you can do all three of the major "off-islands" in one day -

get the LN ferry to Burano from the fondamente nuove [at 10 and 40 minutes past the hour], takes about 40 minutes

then get the 5 minute ferry to Torchello - on the hour and the half hour, comes back at 15 and 45 minutes past

finally get the LN back to Venice, getting off at teh Murano Faro stop. walk into town, look at the glass, catch a no 42 back - if you get off at "gardini publici" your kids can have a run round the gardens and then have gelati from the shop in the via garabaldi.

have a great time,

regards, ann

Thank you for your responses.

Our kids are 15, 13 and 11. Two boys and a girl.

We are staying in Venice 3 nights.

I will review them more thoroughly after the basketball game.

I agre with the vaporetto ride. If you can afford it take one of the mahagoney 1950' cruisers from the airport (or train station) to your hotel...It's really cool and you'll feel like Grace Kelly.