Is Venice doable with children? A question I spent several months googling and never really finding an answer. Well, I have now done it and it turned out OK - not all sweetness and light but certainly not the grim stress of my worst imagination. Below is a pretty comprehensive list of the things we did with our 10yo and 8yo and there were only a couple of major stress points and one absolute refusal to leave the house (for half a day!).
Kids focused stuff we did to keep the boys sane and everyone happy:
Ca Macana mask making workshop - expensive but worth it. Info here.
Kids Sundays at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection - these were monthly when we went but looks like they are weekly in high season - free and BRILLIANT. Info here.
Lido - we went to the free beach (walk from the boat to the beach and then turn left and walk another 400m). It is a short boat ride from St Marks.
Leonardo da Vinci museum - Venice supports 2 of these approx 5 mins walk from each other which is baffling. They cost the same to get in and have the same score of Tripadvisor. Indiana Jones fans may want to go to the St Barnabas one but we went to the one next door to our apartment and it was great - lots of playing with machines designed by LdV. Details here.
Hanging out in the Campo San Polo - excellent nasone (water fountain) for water fights, nice benches in the shade, decent ice cream and, more often than not, a game of football.
Gelateria Millevoglie - best ice cream we found in Venice and right by our apartment. Also sells Calzones which were great for take away lunches.
Non-kids stuff we did anyway that they really enjoyed despite themselves:
The oldest (10) loved St Mark's Basilica and was willing and able to queue to get in. They got there at 9ish and the queue was already 50m long. When the Basilica opened at 9.30 the queue moved super quickly and they got in straight away. Queuing was in the shade. Info here.
Scuola San Rocco was a hit for the youngest (8)- he was quite taken with the Tintoretto ceiling of various biblical scenes - some more brutal than others. Info here.
The Accademia was good for spotting animals in pictures, learning saint iconography and the Bellinis and Giorgiones which were brilliant. Info here. It is free (but chaotic) on Sundays - we visited on a Monday morning (closed from 2pm on Mondays) and it was pretty chilled.
The Frari - good for full Venice lion spotting (including a sad one on Canova's tomb) and an incredibly cool and peaceful place. Info here.
San Pantalon - second biggest painting on canvas in the world which is a sight (though the 8yo preferred the blue ceiling with stars on it in a back chapel). Also a Banksy just outside it. Info here and here.
San Giorgio Maggiore - extremely beautiful, peaceful church by Palladio opposite St Mark's Square. Very quiet and more than worth the boat trip for that alone. A trip up the bell tower is worth the money for the astonishing views. Info here.
Giardini Reali - a beautifully planted shady garden just off St Mark's. No picnics allowed disappointingly but it is the perfect place to escape the chaos and recharge a bit (or play with the pebbles/water fountain). Info here. You won't get the whole place to yourself like Monty Don did, but it is significantly quieter than the surrounding streets.
A note on public transport: the vaporettos are frequent and have the city and outlying islands covered. We got 7 day tickets (there are 24 hour and 3 day options) which were expensive but worth it. Any refusals to walk any more meant we could hop on a boat without stress. We took one traghetto - big gondolas oared by 2 people that go back and forth across the grand canal - which cost 2 Euros per person and gives you a slice of the gondola experience for a fraction of the 80 euros for 30 mins gondola price. The ACTV (public transport) employees we came across were completely helpful and supportive and all ticket office staff spoke wonderful English. Info here but I would recommend going and talking to an actual human as they were brilliant.
PHEW! Those were quite some show notes. I hope I covered everything but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch - [email protected] or via Instagram @the.stuff.buff
Enjoy!
