Suggestions for Venice...with kids
 

Hi! We are going to Venice for a week with two 12 year olds and our 16 month old. Looking for tips on what to see and do and where to eat. Any suggestions woud be helpful.

We found food in Venice to be more expensive and not as good as the food in Rome...But one good place to take the kids is a very basic-looking place with outdoor tables right on the Grand Canal, in the dorsoduro area of Venice, near the Accademia museum...They have good pizza and you get a nice cheap canal view table! Now, when you look at this place, you will have your doubts, but once you sit down and enjoy that canal view and your pizza comes, you will see it's a good choice. I think your 16-month old would enjoy watching the boats go by and also watching the seagulls begging.

Be sure to have lots of gelato!

San Marco square is just loaded with very tame pigeons, to the delight of small children, and to the dismay of grown-ups! Your 16-month old will think he's in pigeon heaven...

Get a vaporetto pass...if you're there for 72 hours you can get a 72 hour vaporetto pass for 22 euros each, and that way you can get on and off whenever and wherever you like. A great advantage with children because you get to be spontaneous. I recommend pushing your way over to the railing and stand holding onto the railing...you can see everything best that way.

I would recommend a gondola ride but what if your 16-month old decides he wants off?!

Wander about on the walkways past all the smaller canals, and you'll all enjoy catching sight of the gondolas passing by here and there.

Since you have a week you have enough time to take the vaporetto rides to the little islands of Burano, Murano, and the other two...they are included if you buy the 72-hour vaporetto pass. We didn't have time to see the islands as we only had 3 nights in Venice. But I think 12-year-olds would enjoy the boat rides (vaporetto).

We also saw the Dogge's Palace but I'm not sure how much kids would get out of this. You could give it a try. Oh yeah, if your 12 year olds are boys they might be interested in seeing the prisons of the Dogge's Palace and hearing about the Bridge of Sighs...when the prisoners walked over it and peered out that was their last glimpse of light and freedom...You can tell them about that as they walk over the Bridge of sighs...Oh, yes, I almost forgot, in the Dogge's Palace there's an interesting collection of weapons, armor, etc. that your kids would like.

I'm sure you will get some responses here, but also check out http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/italy/. There is also a book called Italy With Kids which is available at Borders or Amazon.

Taking a day trip to Lake Como might give the kids a chance to relax and run around on the beach for a day; there is also a big parc with swings, and a lot of open space etc.. at the St. Elena vaporetto stop.

I personally think a whole week might be long with kids that age.

I spent a week in Venice with my two children (who would have been 9 and 12 at that point, I think) and we had a great time. One week was not too much time.

Pizza's a great option---we liked Ae Oche---very good pizza (as well as non-pizza offerings) and half the restaurant (a separate room, actually) is non-smoking.

My kids loved the Doge's Palace (including the Secret Itinerary tour). We also took the elevator to the top of the tower in San Marcos.

Shopping for trinkets on the Rialto Bridge was a big hit.

We went to Murano and visited a glassblowing place. It was late in the day, but they were still quite busy, and happy to show the kids what they do and answer questions.

When you ride the vaporetti make a point of trying to get the outside seats in either the front or the back. If one boat looks really full then just wait for one that doesn't. A much more exciting ride.

We didn't do any museum sorts of things at all other than the Doge's Palace and Saint Marks.

If you want to learn about the ecology and history of the lagoon you might want to visit a place called (I think) Puntolaguna. It's on the same square as Paolin gelateria (San Stefano, I think), on the San Marco side of the Accademia bridge. It's actually set up for school children to visit on field trips, so they have a lot of age-appropriate information to share.

I agree on that pizza place. It's called Foscarini's I think. Another place often mentioned here for good but inexpensive food is San Travaso also in Dorsudoro not far from the Accademia.

There is a place in Dorsudoro where they make and repair the gondolas that the 12 year olds might like. The mask shops would also be fun for them.

If you are going in summer, they might enjoy a day at the beach on the Lido (island)- a shortish ride on the vaparetto.

Along the Zattere (the south end of the Dorsudoro) there are good places for pizza and strolling and a wonderful gelato place Nico .

If they like tuna fish sandwiches, I found the tuna there heavenly. There are small bacaro (like a sandwich shop). You generally select from a case of food from cold or hot things and then can sit at a table or take it away (often cheaper). At certain times of day there may be table service. Anyway, the sandwiches are sold by the half. Tuna and radicchio is fantastic.

Have fun.

We were in Venice last week with a 13 year old, two 11 year olds and an eight year old. By far their most favorite thing was feeding the pigeons in San Marco. Go figure! The other thing they liked was going to Murano and Burano. We took a water taxi from Burano back to Venice and they loved that too although it was very expensive. Against my better judgment, we took a gondola ride. What a ripoff! Personally, I like Venice but it is so expensive that I can't see staying there too long. We stayed at the Hotel Giorgone and would highly recommend it for its location away from San Marco and its incredibly helpful and friendly staff. We ate down the street at their trattoria, also called Giorgone which was wonderful and not crazy expensive. Actually some of the better food I've had in Venice where food tends to be way overpriced and very average in my opinion. One final thought, with a 16 month old be prepared for the number of bridges with steps. It will be hard to get a stroller up and down.