10 Things to Do in Venice for children

There’s no doubt that Venice is an incredible and magical city. The sheer number of sights to see and activities on offer makes it a must-visit for everyone, including children – although you do need to approach things a little differently.

Although children tend to tire more quickly and find long visits tedious, a trip to Venice can be fun for them if you plan your itinerary well. Obviously, this doesn’t mean you should stop taking a gondola ride or visiting museums, but you will need to change the way you go about these activities. Let me explain how!

As they wander around Venice, children will see the typical Venetian masks associated with the winter carnival everywhere. The beauty and colour of these masks are sure to make them want to buy one, which is always an option. That said, they might enjoy it even more if you take them to make their own mask.

Creating one of these masks won’t just be entertaining for them, but it’s also an activity that will encourage their creativity. In Venice, you can find several shops offering this activity, in which adults can also take part.

When booking a class, I recommend that you always look for a genuine Venetian master craftsman, as they are best placed to explain the traditional techniques for making the mask. And there are two types of classes:

• Decoration classes, where children can take their mask home straight away.
• Production classes, for which they’ll have to wait a few hours before proudly collecting their creation.

Best places to buy a mask if you prefer

If you don’t have time or the children aren’t keen on making their own mask, a good option is to buy one. You’ll have no trouble finding numerous shops and street stalls all over the city, but there are certain neighbourhoods that are better for finding a mask of decent quality.

In my opinion, the best place is the San Polo neighbourhood. You only need to look at the number of windows displaying carnival masks and costumes to realise how many artisans live there. To reach this area, you can take a pleasant stroll across the Rialto Bridge.

Venice is often described as a labyrinth of canals, streets, alleys and passageways. However, just a short distance from the city there is a real maze that is sure to delight children.

It is located at Villa Pisani, a place with stunning architecture, but there is no doubt that the little ones will be most interested in the aforementioned maze set in the huge garden.

The truth is that the maze is by no means straightforward, so you must never let the children out of your sight. The route winds through several concentric rings and it is quite easy to get lost. Fortunately, in the centre there is a staircase you can climb to get an overview of the whole maze and work out the way out.

Practical information

• How to get there: the easiest option for children is to take an Actv bus from Piazzale Roma.
• Opening times: between April and September, the Villa is open from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm. From October to March, it closes at 4.00 pm.

Travelling with children doesn’t have to stop you from visiting fascinating monuments such as the Doge’s Palace in Venice. The trick to keeping them from getting tired is to change your perspective and focus your explanations on things that might interest them. In this case, my advice is to leave the architecture aside and focus on the secret passages hidden within the palace.

Although it depends on the child, they usually have a great time exploring the cells, the narrow staircases, the torture chamber and the entrance via the Bridge of Sighs.

If you can spice up all these attractions with interesting stories, I can assure you that the children will thoroughly enjoy visiting the Doge’s Palace.

Practical information

Children under the age of 6 are not permitted to visit the ‘secret’ areas of the palace. However, they can enter the Doge’s Palace, walk across the Bridge of Sighs and see some of the isolation cells.

Did you think that a gondola ride was something only adults could enjoy? Well, let me tell you that it’s one of the things children will love the most.

What’s more, it’s one of the best ways to explore the city without the children getting too tired and you having to carry them in their pushchair or in your arms.

Tips for taking a gondola ride with children

This experience is usually available both during the day and at night, but children will surely enjoy the daytime option more, as they’re usually exhausted by the time the sun goes down.

If you’re travelling with a baby, I’d advise against bringing a pushchair. It’s best to use a baby carrier, as pushchairs must be left at the gondola station. However, pushchairs are permitted on rides along the Grand Canal.

There’s a common misconception that children get bored in museums. However, this depends very much on how the visit is organised and the type of museum. My advice is not to rule out this activity entirely, but to research carefully where to go and whether the museum offers activities that might interest the little ones.

In the case of Venice, these are the best options:

• Natural History Museum: one of the most interesting museums for children in Venice. Inside, they’ll be able to see fossils and dinosaur skeletons, including one over 7 metres long that always amazes the little ones. Another section they usually enjoy is the large aquarium it houses.
• Peggy Guggenheim: every Sunday, it organises what is known as Children’s Day. Children under 10 can enter for free to attend workshops (in various languages) on contemporary art.
• Correr Museum: the highlight for children is the drawing workshop based on myths and legends. They’ll also enjoy the guided tour that takes them on a journey to discover 16th-century Venice.
• Naval History Museum: the old ships inside are a magnet for most children.
• Leonardo Da Vinci Machine Museum: in this museum you can see several of the machines designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. It is a very eye-catching exhibition, particularly for slightly older children.

If you’re visiting in spring or summer, when the weather is usually fine, the children can enjoy a few hours on the beach to take a break from the more touristy sights. The best place for this is the beaches of the Lido, just a 15-minute vaporetto ride from the city.

The island has several different beaches. Some of them are private, but others are public and free, such as:

• Paradise Beach
• San Nicolo
• Murazzi
• Alberoni

If you fancy spending a few days on this island to discover all its beaches, I recommend buying the 72-hour transport pass in Venice, which will also allow you to travel to other parts of the city at a better price.

Make the most of your time on the Lido by taking them to the planetarium

If you’ve visited the Lido in spring, why not take the children to the fabulous planetarium located within the Lungomare D’Annunzio public park? It’s open from October to May, and the activities are recommended for children aged 7 and over.

The show, which is free to enter, lasts around 50 minutes and offers children an extraordinary view of the sky, its stars and various phenomena such as rainbows.

When you arrive in a city for the first time, it’s common to feel a bit disoriented. If you’re travelling with children, you won’t be able to afford to waste much time getting your bearings. The best solution is to book a personalised guided tour of Venice to spend your first few hours.

This type of tour offers many advantages when travelling with children, as not only will you be shown some of Venice’s most important sights, but the guides are usually used to having young children in the group and know which places might spark their curiosity.

Play the lion hunt

It’s quite likely that during the tour, the children will be told about the lion, the symbol of Venice. One of the city’s most popular lions is located in the small square next to St Mark’s Square, and guides usually point it out during tours.

To keep the little ones entertained, it might be a good idea to organise a sort of ‘lion hunt’; get them to look out for the lions they find in different corners of Venice. To make it more fun, ask them to distinguish between the winged and wingless ones.

Venice also offers some interesting shows aimed at younger children. The following venues often host activities that will delight children:

• Palazzetto Bru Zane: offers special concerts for children aged six and over. Before the concerts, there is a workshop in which a musician encourages the children to participate interactively. In addition, other activities, such as a treasure hunt, are organised in the same building.
• Teatro Goldoni: as well as the museum housed within it, this theatre organises various children’s entertainment activities, including puppet shows.
• Teatro ai Frari: like the previous venue, it offers puppet shows and other cultural activities for children of all ages.

A unique visit that children particularly love is the famous Acqua Alta bookshop. Inside, they’ll not only enjoy the unusual way the books are stacked (forming shapes like a staircase or a gondola) or the special exit designed for swimming out in the event of a flood, but also the cats who, it is said, guard the old books to ensure nothing happens to them.

This bookshop is located in the Castello district, amidst an intriguing maze of narrow streets and canals. The main entrance is in a small square called Campiello del Tintor, on Calle Longa Santa María Formosa. In my view, it’s a must-visit if your stay in Venice is going to last more than two days.

All children need time to let off steam, where they can play, run about and relax. If you don’t take this into account, there’s a good chance the trip will end in a tantrum.

Luckily, Venice has some gardens that are perfect for them and, in some cases, equipped with play areas for the little ones. These are the ones I recommend most:

• Giardini Reali: just 50 metres from St Mark’s Basilica, this small park is perfect for a picnic or enjoying an ice cream whilst sitting down. Although there are no swings, children can entertain themselves watching the fish in the pond.
• Giardini della Biennale: this is the city’s largest green space. Here, children can enjoy the play area, with activities for the whole family. If you’re lucky enough to visit whilst the Biennale is taking place, the park fills with stalls and art exhibitions.
• Savorgnan Park: close to the train station and the fascinating Jewish ghetto, this park is ideal for the hottest days. Its shaded areas seem tailor-made for sitting down and having a bite to eat.

It’s not easy to decide when is the best time to visit Venice with children, especially as your options are very limited by the school calendar.

If you have a choice, I’d recommend spring. For a start, there are usually fewer tourists and strolling around the city is much more comfortable, not to mention that the queues to enter the monuments are much shorter.

What’s more, the weather is mild, without the cold and rain of winter and without the intense heat of summer.

There are several modes of transport for getting around Venice, almost all of which involve water. Generally, most tourists tend to get about on foot or by vaporetto. With the latter option, children under 6 travel free of charge and pushchairs can be taken on board free of charge.

If your child is very young, it’s best to carry them in a baby carrier. Although in open areas such as St Mark’s Square there’s no problem getting around with a pushchair, many parts of the city are full of steps and bridges without ramps.