Felice

We are a family with small children. We will be in Venice on New Years Eve for 5 days and then to Rome for three days. <BR>Any suggestions for child friendly hotels, restaurants and sites?

baloobhat

We - my wife, daughter and I, were in Venice recntly. It is a wonderful place, we enjoyed the view of the canals and feeding the pigeons. If you are going there with plenty of children , do take lot of food for the birds. We were also in Rome. As we booked through a travel group, I do not know about the hotels there and the cost.

cap

Advice for Venice: <BR><BR>The Hotel Al Piave has family suites ... we were there two weeks ago and it was great. Good price (for Venice), great location. We stayed in one that had two rooms: mom and dad's bedroom included a small sofa, and the kids room had bunk beds. Our friends stayed in a two-bedroom apartment that even had a small kitchen (it is a few doors down from the hotel). <BR><BR>Other suggestions:<BR> + There is a nice park with playground near the Arsenale. <BR> + The Doge's palace is pretty neat and usually not crowded. You get to walk across the Bridge of Sighs and visit the prisoner's dungeons. <BR> + You can get a 4-person family pass for the vaperetto (1,2 or 3 days, I think) which is sometimes not advertized on the price charts. <BR> + The tragettos offer a cheap gondola thrill (it just takes you straight across the canal), which the kids would probably enjoy. <BR> + Gelato every day. <BR>

Sonia

Hi<BR><BR>I'll be in Venice for New Years Eve too. I understand that St Marks Square is the place to be for the celebrations. I am currently looking into nice restaurants, but on that particular night of the year the prices are very high and you need to book well in advance.<BR><BR>There are lots of posts on this sights on venice restaurants, many of which are very useful. Elaine has posted a lot of good information.<BR><BR>Sonia

Natalie

Hi Felice,<BR><BR>Places to go in Venice which may be of interest for children are:<BR><BR>1. Parco Savorgnan near Ponte delle Guglie in Cannaregio has a well-equipped play area for children. Also the fenced-in waterfront park at Giardini in Castello is good.<BR>2. Take the children around on the boats. Maybe try the Montonave over to Lido and Punta Sabbioni.<BR>3. Doge's Palace Prisons and Armoury are a spooky labyrinth of narrow passageways which children find interesting.<BR>4. The best city museum for children is Museo Storico Navale which is on 3 floors and includes exhibits from World War II.<BR>5. Demonstrations of glassmaking. The children will be amazed at how skillful the craftsmen are.<BR><BR>For hotels in Venice try Hotel Bisanzio or Venice Rentals which has apartments at cheaper prices to the cost of hotels.<BR><BR>In Rome I would recommend:<BR><BR>1. Villa Borghese where you can hire bikes and paddle boats or take the kid's to the park funfair.<BR>2. Arrange a picnic in one of the numerous parks and gardens.<BR>3. The Capuchin Crypt is a chapel which houses the bones of dead monks in unusual arrangements (actually, they may find this a bit gorey - even my boyfriend did and he's 30yrs old!!!).<BR>4. Take them to the puppet show at Gianicolo which has Punch and Judy shows.<BR>5. Piscina delle Rose - an open-air swimming pool great for cooling down the kids!!<BR><BR>For hotels in Rome, try The Casci Hotel, Hotel Augustea or Hotel Coronet.<BR><BR>Regards.<BR><BR><BR>Natalie