Venice with teens

[Ollycat]

Have just booked 4 nights in Venice at the end of October- dh, me and dc 12+ 14.

Haven't been to Venice for years - (and not with kids). Will stay somewhere around St Marks square. Planning on doing standard tourist things, a trip to Murano and the beach maybe. Any other suggestions for hidden gems much appreciated.

I have loads . For starters don't stay around St Marks !- I would stay away Cannaregio / Dorsoduro or Santa Croce . Are you planning on a hotel or an apartment ? Have a look at Row Venice - great fun with teenagers. If craft / art orientated - Ca Macana . Go to top of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi ( old post office ). Naval Musuem is interesting , The beach will be closed and not worth going out to Lido really in October.Pushing the boat out on arrival - Venice Quality Transfers PM me if you want to know anything

Murano is very very touristy and full of glass made in China. Burano is much nicer with all the painted houses. Torcello has a church with a super mosaic which you can actually see, unlike those in San Marco.

Would also advise staying away from San Marco - if you haven't been for many years then you will be shocked by the sheer heaving mass of people and fight for your 6 inches of ground to put your feet on that is San Marco. Even in October.

Hidden gems - it's Biennale year, even if you don't go to the main show at the Arsenale the national Pavillions are fun. Plus there will be pavillions scattered about all over the place full of random weird stuff.

Going out now, will think of some more stuff.

Thank you - am probably going to book something via Air BnB - don't really want to spend more then £200 per night (have flights already). Air BnB had fair amount of choice Cannerigio area I think. Will google the places you mentioned. The trip is a bit of an impulse booking as flights were sooooooo cheap - v excited!

Yes it's been pushing 20 years since I've been to Venice! Am I in for a schlock with crowds?!

Thanks for tip re Burano and Torcello.

They do fab English speaking tours in the evening, think the one we went on was "murder and mystery" :) you can buy tickets at the tourist info just off st marks square. Also I'd highly recommend a tour of the clock on st marks square. Lovely little tour detailing how it was made, the family who lived their and at the end a stunning view of the square after you've climbed to the top.

Have a great trip, we got engaged by a little naked man statue off the beaten track in 2009 and it's our alltime favourite place !

Shameless place marking as I want to go there.

We went to a quarter Vivaldi concert in an old church near st marks. It was stunningly atmospheric.

*quartet

Second going to Burano. It's beautiful, great for photos too.

We did something v similar last year in Oct half term with our teens. We stayed in apartment in canneregio area which was v nice. We did the secret doge palace tour which they really enjoyed so would def recommend booking that up

Oh also meant to say, we have just come back from Rome and did a couple of tours with Walking Tours of Italy. Not sure if they are in Venice, I think so and they were very good.

Would highly recommend looking at apartments with Views on Venice, we stayed lat year in a fantastic apartment in Dorsodura. The hidden treasures tour of the Dodges Palace is good as you can then see the rest after the tour, our guide was really relaxed and informative.

San Michele (the cemetery island) is very interesting and lovely and peaceful to walk around. You can get there on the way to murano etc island if you go by vaporetto x

It was hell on earth crowd wise yesterday - today a bit better . MOnday will be a nightmare.
October should be better !
Think about how you are getting to the rental when you book it so pick something that you can reach easily_ e.g via vaporetto or Alilaguna waterbus. Water taxis are about €120 each way - Look at venezia unica for vaporetto passes. Basilca out of hours tour as well

Totally agree with previous poster who suggested Burano over Murano. Enjoy Op.

Thank you thank you fab suggestions! Rosa do you live in Venice?

DH wants something on a canal / with balcony. Row Venice looks ace - ds is a rower so would be fun.

We're going on 29th Oct so after most half terms so hopefully not too heaving!

I would second the tip to make sure your AirBnB is not too long a walk from a vaporetto stop - not a lot of fun dragging cases around over bridges etc.

We did the Hidden Doge's Treasure Tour at the Doge's Palace - I don't think it matters which tour you do but you get a lot more out of it for doing a tour.

If you want something arty the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni is small (for those with short attention spans) and has an amazing cycle of St George and the Dragon.

You can avoid the extortionate cost of a gondola trip by using a traghetto - a gondola crossing the Grand Canal. There are several stops and they only cost 2euros each.

Another nice cheap tour of Venice is Vaporetto route 1 which goes along the Grand Canal. We enjoyed spotting all the buildings from our guide book ourselves - bargain!

Ollycat - yes I do and I work in travel !!!!

With teenagers I'd do the Damien Hirst exhibition in Palazzo Grassi and of course the Hard Rock Café as soon as possible!

I think that teens would enjoy the Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doges Palace - lots of winding stair cases, prison cells, torture chambers, armour and weapons, and secret doors. It's also a good chance to escape the crowds, as they limit the numbers allowed on each tour - but book in advance.

I've just checked 29th October on the calendar. That weekend looks as if it could be very busy due it linking onto the Italian National Holiday of 1st November, All Saints' Day (Ognissanti).
This is known as doing a "Ponte" or bridge and is a popular way of getting a break from work without using too many days of leave.

So book early is my advice!

• due to

Do a tour of the Jewish quarter.

Take clothes for wet weather. We visited Venice one October and got soaked. St Marks Square was ankle deep in water by the basilica.