Venice with young kids

[SnowCurl]

Has anyone been to Venice with young (or older) children? We have 3 aged between 2 and 7 years old and have never been abroad with them. I'm wondering how the logistics works so would be grateful for any thoughts here please x

Personally I would not take small children to Venice its very very crowded and very very expensive. To get from place to place you need to travel by water bus (vaporetto) which are also crowded. Venice to me is a city break for adults and teenage children.
There are many shorthaul destinations far more suitable for a family with small children

If you've never been abroad with them, I honestly wouldn't pick Venice for a first time.

It's not a kids destination, there's loads of walking everywhere and if you don't walk you are on the vaporetto which can be very very crowded. DH has some nice pictures of me fainting on one on our honeymoon.

Plus much of the appeal is wandering around appreciating how pretty everything is, going into churches and looking at art.

As adults, after the ill-fated honeymoon day trip, we waited to do it in October to avoid the crowds and it was still mental in San Marco.

If you want a mix of culture plus child friendly then go to Holland and do Efteling + sight-seeing. Much much better.

I took my 5 and 2 year olds to Venice a couple of weeks ago. It was great, they loved it. Yes it's busy and expensive, as a lot of major tourist cities are with the weak pound at the moment. They loved the water taxis and they were fine on them. It's better off season - avoid the summer as it's crazy busy.
We stayed in the centre of Venice for 3 nights and then the Lido for 2 nights. They enjoyed the modern art, especially the Biennalle.
Having a buggy is difficult because of all the bridges (lots of carrying it up and down the steps) but manageable. Young children do live in Venice too!
I would say though, if you've never taken them abroad before, Venice might be a challenging first city. We found there wasn't as much for young kids to do as say, Paris.

The first time I took my children abroad we went to Lapland which was fantastic.
I think Venice would be hard work. Lovely when they are older but too stressful for younger ones.

I love Venice. I'd love to go again. I can't think of a worse place out of those I have visited to take a 3 year old, tbh, so we will be waiting a while. There's loads of walking, crowds, unfenced canals, lots of stepping on and off boats. Not that many children do live there now - a friend of mine is Venetian and confirms that, as reported in the press, younger people are leaving to find jobs and better connected places to live with better job prospects.

I went with a one year old and a 3 year old. We had a great time. Buggies are a hassle but we managed.

Took 4 yr old DS to Venice in April. He LOVED it. Didn't want to leave. Took an umbrella stroller so it was easier to carry up and down bridges - he walked otherwise. All the boats were a huge hit for him - both water bus and water taxi.
He really enjoyed looking at a glass gallery on Murano (of course only do this if you know your dc won't knock down a $30,000 sculpture or something).
He really enjoyed the food too - found a couple of not too fancy cheap places for dinner.

We found an amazing little Venetian mask shop just off the corner of St marks square - the owner was sitting in there making masks and took half an hour to let DS try on all sorts of masks, even the expensive ones.
DS loved that too. (You can get cheapy kiddy masks for a couple of Euros which is fun for them).
If you've got money to splurge check out the Marriott resort. It is seasonal though so might be closed over winter. Otherwise stayed at the Hilton and that was pretty decent.
Anyway basically you know your DC - does any of that sound like it would keep them amused?

I took my teenagers to Venice and they loved it. I'd avoid summer if you go with younger children as it gets very crowded.

I think there are better destinations for younger children tbh. We took a day trip there as we were staying on the Lido with a 2 yo and 7yo It was v hot and v busy (August) and too far for the toddler to walk so we had to put her in a back carrier as it’s too steppy for a buggy. Their highlights were lunch, ice cream and the mask shops. The architecture and art were pretty much wasted, even on the 7yo. I think there are better cities for kids - we’ve taken a 4yo to New York in summer and he loved it (though appreciate that may be a bit far).

It’s not really possible to use buggies in Venice because there are so many bridges with steps. But if your kids walk, or you carry them in a backpack thingy, then Venice will be fine. Expensive, but fine. A long weekend is long enough though.

My recommendation would be to stay on the Lido, where there are roads and beaches, and you can hire 4/5 person pedal bikes and stuff. It’s cheap to get the vaporetto over to Venice each day.

Thanks for so many comments. Was originally thinking about October time and had thought to stay just outside Venice so that we could do a day in Padua and maybe Verona. I have heard it is very crowded and touristy. Lots to think about.
I think a romantic getaway is a long way off, so sadly that's not an option. We are past the point of needing a buggy as my youngest walks everywhere and we use a sling when he's tired. Don't much fancy fainting on a vaporetto though . But yes, NCforCake, that does sound the sort of thing they would enjoy. X

Verona is beautiful, I’d go there over Venice any day.

Yes we took the ferry from Greece to Venice and spent the day there, then took the train to Trieste which is a much more chilled out and pleasant place to stay with children IMO.

that was with 10 year olds.

I have taken my children to Venice when they youngest was 7. They loved it and we had a great time. We went in April so not in high season. Outside high season I would say Venice is one of the best city breaks for kids.

We have been there with preschoolers but it was better with primary aged children. Even so they only wanted one day there and were happy with the beach another day. Even with the vaporretos there is a lot of walking. They loved seeing fire boats and police boats.

My family loved Venice. We stayed at Generator Hostel and bought a 3 day card for the water taxis. I wouldn’t go in peak season though.

agreed, would not go there in peak season. have heard it's horribly hot, muggy, mosquitoes are really bad, and it's really crowded. the one other time i've been is in June, before it gets too crowded/hot - we were there during one of the times st. marks square flooded (the water is disgusting by the way).

We actually did go in August, but our kids are a bit older. It was very busy on the main island, but we still found we could get around. The hostel we were in was on an island opposite, which gave us lovely views. One of the hostel staff helped us to book a table at a great pasta restaurant he recommended (still DS2’s all time favourite meal).

It was hot, but there weren’t any midges and I also didn’t find it very smelly (something we’d been told it would be).

We had our middle day on the Lido, just messing about on the beach (we hired a pedalo with a slide on the back). This gave us a break from the crowds so it didn’t become overwhelming.

So whilst we coped and really enjoyed it, I think the heat may be too much for smaller children at that time of year.

We have been to Venice many times & brought dd for the first time when she was 7. She LOVED it & still talks about it. I personally think that was a good age as I wasn't worried about her running off or falling into canals etc. She loved the masks & the food!

This may sound daft, but how did you travel from the airport? I worry about the whole car seat/ no car seat thing.

by boat!

I brought mine, thinking I was giving them a fabulous treat. They hated every second of it. It was very hot and very crowded and they were miserable.

I took my children to Venice at the end of October but they are 12 and 14. They loved it. It was busy but manageable. We walked a lot. Their fave bits were Burano, Basilica San Marco (this was a big hit), Rialto market, Guggenheim, private water taxi from airport and the shockingly expensive hit chocolate and cake in the Florian!!! I would maybe save Venice till they’re a bit older.

We took our 5&8yr olds backpacking for 3 weeks around Italy this summer and finished in venice - it was great, they loved it. We were over churches and sights by then so barely passed St Mark’s Sq, we got lost and wandered and had a brill time - we also stumped up to have gondola lessons on the quieter back”streets” with an amazing all women company - even the 5yr old had a go! Look up row Venice, I think it worked out about €60 more than just hiring someone to take you round the normal gondola thoroughfares and you got more time as well.

I can also point you in the direction of some handily placed playgrounds ;)

My DC keep asking to go back