At first glance, visiting Venice with a young child is scary with the bridges, the steps, the crowds… but it can be done. My son discovered Venice at the age of 3. Return to an easily super simple adventure with a visit to the city’s must-sees, a boat trip and a walk along the canals.
Visits to the emblematic tourist places of Venice
Coming early in the morning, you can see the Doge’s Palace, climb to the top of the Campanile or discover the interior of Saint Mark’s Basilica. Each time, we were patient (less than 1 hour queue). And to make him wait, there’s nothing like small cars.
This therefore led to improbable scenes of car games on the ground floor of the Doge’s Palace or on the terraces facing the Grand Canal. At the top of the Campanile, it was just a matter of showing him the landscape and drawing his attention to the roofs. And in St. Mark’s Basilica, the crowd and the venue left him speechless, so it was even easier.
It was even possible to visit the Correr Museum which presents objects of art and history from Venice. For this museum on the other hand, we had to do it more quickly because it always interested him less. But positive note: the people monitoring the showrooms have all been lovely to him.
Take a boat trip, a great outing for a child
Even if it meant being in Venice and to get away from the crowds a bit, I took tickets to visit the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. On the first, we attended a glass blowing workshop. We might as well tell you that seeing a horse being built in a few minutes thanks to the breath of a man captivates a child!
Then in Burano, we just had a drink in the main square. Going to see the lace workshops did not particularly interest us. So a perfect moment of relaxation to play toy cars in front of the island’s church.
Finally, we finished our afternoon visiting the island of Torcello and its ancient church. To get there, you had to walk (or run as a child) along an old canal where there are bridges (to be taken under the supervision of a parent though). For information, arriving at the church, there was an old stone seat that he loved to occupy. For the anecdote : he loved this tour so much that when he returned to the boat to Venice, he was dying of laughter over nothing and all the tourists were laughing with him.
Take a nap on St. Mark’s Square and play on each square
Of course, Venice is full of people in summer, mainly on St. Mark’s Square and the adjoining streets. Oh, and as well as other shopping streets on the island. But, as soon as you move away a little from these places, you find the calm of the Venetian city. So we walked through the streets and played games set up for children like in any city.
So lots of flying small cars, racing and hiding in the alleys later, we had to take a nap. He just felt asleep on me in one of the wings bordering Saint Mark’s Square.
Practical information in conclusion
- Forget the stroller in Venice (yes, you have to carry him/her)
- Take a boat ride, it relaxes everyone
- Eat ice cream, it cools everyone down
- At the restaurant, take something to color
- Children under 6 pay no or ridiculous price for tours
