Ultimate Guide to Venice with Kids, Venice, Italy

Venice with kids is an awfully good idea. It’s hard to imagine a city more thrilling to visit with children than Venice. This, after all, is a city on the water where even the ambulances and rubbish trucks are boats. Most of the buildings are palaces and there are winged lions and dragons around every corner.

Venice is a joy to explore with children. Wander down the less touristy backstreets and you’ll find tiny canals and little bridges to run across. There are ice-cream shops on almost every street and you can learn how to row a gondola and paint a Venetian mask.

Here’s our guide to exploring Venice with kids, with lots of ideas of things to see and do as well as tips on avoiding queues.

Venice is at its best approached from the water and arriving in Venice with kids by boat is an unforgettable experience. The bus from the airport to the city centre is quicker and cheaper but it’s worth paying more for a seat in a water bus. A one-way ticket costs €15 on one of the Alilaguna boats. A water taxi is more indulgent at about €110 but even more special as you’ll get better views of the approach to Venice.

Getting around is definitely part of the fun when you’re staying in a city on the water. The vaporetti (water buses) are a great way of getting around. The best way of getting your bearings on your first day is to take line number 1, which travels the length of the Grand Canal, from Piazzale Roma to San Marco. The journey takes about 45 minutes. Line number 2 travels along most of the same route but is quicker because there are less stops. For the best views, try and find seats at the back of the boat where there are a few seats in the open air. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).