Family Travel Ideas

Exploring Venice Italy With Kids: 5 Popular Venice Attractions You’ll Love To Try!

You will love exploring Venice Italy with kids, and these 5 popular Venice attractions should definitely be on your to-do list! Taking your family to Venice can be one of the most amazing experiences of your life. For most people, it’s hard to imagine the amount of history and culture a city like Venice can offer.

Exploring Venice Italy With Kids: 5 Popular Venice Attractions You'll Love To Try!

If you have the opportunity to take your whole family to Venice, your kids will likely benefit from being exposed to other cultures and seeing some of history’s great works of art, buildings and just from the experience of traveling. Many children that have the chance to travel early in life get to see things they might have otherwise missed until adulthood.

Exploring Venice Italy With Kids: 5 Popular Venice Attractions You’ll Love To Try!

photo: Flickr, Arian Zwegers

1. Piazza San Marco

Once referred to as the ‘drawing room of Europe’ by Napoléon Bonaparte, the Piazza San Marco connects three amazing places, all with historical impact and interest in Venice. The three places are the Basilica di San Marco, or St. Mark’s basilica, Doge’s Palace, a historical political hub and Toree dell’Orologia, a clock tower that took over 10 years to build, and is still one of the area’s main attractions.

Today, this area is bustling, and nearly everybody that comes to Venice stops to see it. When you’re in Venice Italy with kids, it is a great idea to stop here and marvel at the architecture and history.

photo: Flickr, Thom Watson

2. Take a Gondola Ride

When you think about Venice, you probably think about the canals that people once used to navigate the city. While those canals are still used, it’s not exactly like it used to be.

Today, you can hire a gondola for a set period of time to take you around and show you the sights. The gondola may not be a standard mode of transportation for Venice residents today, but it’s a part of the history of the city that can be a whole lot of fun for the whole family. When you’re in Venice Italy with kids, this is a popular Venice attractions!

A gondola ride can also provide a quick romantic moment for parents traveling with kids since they usually only last between 40 minutes and one hour. If there’s time during your romantic getaway, try to find a local restaurant or bar that serves Venetian wine and stop in for a glass or two.

If you end up taking the kids on your gondola ride, a scoop of gelato is the next best thing.

Gondola ride on the Grand Canal in Venice Italy, Honey + Lime

3. Tour the Grand Canal

If you’re in Venice, you’re going to want to take a tour of the Grand Canal. It’s just something that you need to do if it’s your first trip. 

Guided tours of the Grand Canal are offered multiple times each day, and most tours only cost a few Euros per person. You can also buy multiple-day tickets that will allow you to board different boats and see different parts of Venice via the Grand Canal on separate occasions.

Smart travelers that are spending more than a few days in Venice will also find that many of the Grand Canal boats are a great way to get around the city while seeing the sights.

photo: Flickr, InspiredVision

4. Art History Class

Even if you’re not a big art buff, you absolutely have to take some time to see the incredible art that Venice is home to. In Venice, you’ll find work that dates all the way back to the late middle ages, as well as more contemporary art – though Venice’s art focus really seems to be on classical painting.

If you can only visit one museum while you’re in Venice, make sure you check out the Gallerie dell’Accademia. If you have a little more time, Scuola Grande di San Rocco’s incredible frescoes are also a must see.

Venice also has a considerable amount of contemporary art galleries as well. The Punta Della Dogana, which opened its doors in 2009, is home to works by contemporary artists like Dan Flavin and Jeff Koons.

5. Language

Venice is certainly a welcoming city to travel to, and you’ll likely feel very comfortable while you’re there however, you do need to remember that people speak Italian in Venice, and while some people may speak a bit of English, not everybody does.

The locals greatly appreciate if you make an effort to speak Italian, so make some time to either learn a good base or learn keywords that will help you get around the city. Your whole experience in Venice Italy with kids will be much richer if you do.

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer and mother of three in the Los Angeles area. Her articles range on topic from tech to health to family.

More European travel articles…

10 things to know when visiting Venice, Italy for the first time
A traveler in Paris, a short photo story
Best place to stay in Venice, Italy – Ca Gottardi
Taking a Florence bike tour through Tuscany with wine
My 10 favorite photos from my trip to Paris

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2 Comments

  • That looks amazing! I have never been to Europe. We have traveled all over SE Asia because we currently live in Singapore. I’ve heard Italy is such a great place from friends who have visited

  • Thanks for the tips on traveling to Venice with the family! I love opening my kids’ eyes up to the world around them through travel, though we haven’t been to Italy yet. It’s on our long range plan though – perhaps next summer – and Venice is definitely on the list.

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