What to Do and Where to Go

Holidays by Destination Europe Italy Venice What to Do and Where to Go 

There is plenty of culture but unless you want to provoke rebellion it may be best dipped into almost randomly. Most churches for example have something worth looking at - and opening times are very erratic so if you see an open door, take advantage.

That said, the following lists options you could consider when visiting with children:

A Trip down the Grand Canal
The best introduction to the city (assuming no-one will get travel sick). Vaporetto No 1 stops everywhere and takes in all sights. From the railway station to piazza San Marco takes about half an hour and gives an overview of the development of design and architecture.

Admire the black gondolas
They are made of eight different types of wood and the oar can be used in eight different positions, the asymmertrical shape of the boat counteracting the force of the oar. The flat bottom means the boats can get through shallow waters at speed because less than half the hull is in contact with the water. A gondola can warp beyond repair in just five years and then gets used as a traghetto.

Take a traghetto across the Grand Canal (for example from the Rialto) - the cheapest way to take a gondola trip.

Buildings

The buildings - the most notable built between the 12th and 18th centuries - and the art have brought visitors to Venice for centuries, though there are a few additional items which might appeal.

St Mark's (Basilica di San Marco)
The most attractive works of art are the mosaics (more than 4 square kilometres apparently) including scenes from the life of Noah (just inside to the right of the entrance, before the steps up to the horses), and the Creation of the World with Adam and Eve. Look out for the birds and fishes in particular.
On the fa?ade more mosaics show St Mark's body being smuggled from Egypt in a basket of pork (so the Muslims wouldn't investigate too closely).
As well as St Mark's body, for the gruesomely minded other reported relics include drops of the blood of Jesus Christ, a piece of the Cross, a fragment of the skull of John the Baptist, a hair of the Virgin, a rib of St Peter, and more of lesser known Christian figures.
There's lots of stolen stuff too - the big pieces mostly from Constantinople, notably the bronze horses on the fa?ade which once stood on Trajan's Arch in Rome before the emperor Constantine took them for his Hippodrome in Byzantium. The real ones are in the museum now to protect them.
Behind the high altar is the Pala d'Oro - bought in Constantinople and enriched by various doges. When Napoleon arrived his people melted down all the precious metal they could find but this looked so over the top they believed the officials who told them it was fake.
See also the sculptures such as the inner curve of the outer arch with details of Venetian trades like shipbuilding and hunting and fishing.

St Mark's Campanile
Offers great views on clear days but the sound of the bells is deafening if you're there when they ring. A 14-person lift moves the queues fairly quickly. From the top you can see how Venice is set in the Lagoon.

Piazzetta dei Leoncini
Right next to St Mark's and effectively an extension of St Mark's square, named after two marble lions much climbed on by children.

Doge's Palace
The sculptures at the corners were supposed to offer moral teachings. One is the Judgement of Solomon, another the Archangel Gabriel, another Adam and Eve with the Archangel Michael, and another (near the Ponte della Paglia) with the Archangel Raphael and Tobias.
There is an internal tour called the ‘Secret Itinerary', passing the Lion's mouth letterbox where people could snitch on their neighbours, through the administrative rooms of the republic including the Hall of the Chancellery built to resemble inside a wooden ship. There is the torture chamber, and the cell Cansanova tried to escape from and the one he actually did.

The Rialto
As important in its time as the City of London or Wall Street today - a centre of major and international finance. Today it's largely kiosks and stalls for the tourists, plus a food market.

The Gobbo di Rialto
The hunchback of the Rialto is a 16th century kneeling figure in the Campo di Rialto opposite the church of San Giacomo di Rialto, supporting a staircase going nowhere. It was the end point for minor offenders who had to run there naked from San Marco through a jeering crowd and sometimes blows as well.

The Jewish Ghetto
Europe's first, reached by two bridges sealed by gates until the French under Napoleon removed them. Because expansion was not allowed building went up, making this one of Europe's earliest high rise developments. A museum covers its history with local artefacts and a tour of synagogues.

Campo dei Mori
Not far from the Ghetto, on the eastern wall are statues of three men in 13th century eastern dress. They were silk merchants from Morea who took refuge here and built the building. A bas relief of an oriental man leading a camel is found at the end of the campo after they opened a shop selling spices under the sign of the camel. One of the figures became a but of jokes and had a metal nose added in the 19th century.

Churches

There are churches all over the place and - armed with a guidebook so you know what to look out for - it can be fun to stick your nose into any you happen to be walking by and like the look of. The following might appeal:

San Marco
Santo Stefano campo Santo Stefano, has a fine ship's keel roof - an engineering shortcut in a city of boat builders.

Cannaregio
Santa Maria dei Miracoli a model of early Renaissance architecture, created because a small painting which hung on the corner of a local palace drew too many crowds when it was deemed miraculous. It's rather prettily patterned in different colours of marble.

San Polo & Santa Croce
San Giacomo di Rialto believed to be the city's oldest church, close to the Rialto market.
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (or I Frari) has fine altarpieces by Titian and works by Donatello, Giovanni Bellini, and Anonio Canova among others.

Dorsoduro
San Nicolo dei Mendicoli which has kept its 13th century Venetian/Byzantine form and was founded in the 7th century. There are wooden panels and painted arches by the altar. The loggia on the front was once a shelter for the homeless.
San Angelo Rafaele Lovely paintings on the tribune of the Baroque organ scenes by Antonio Guardi from the story of Tobias and the angel. There is also a statue of the story outside, complete with an accompanying dog.

Art

The sheer amount of money in Venice, plus the traders' access to rare substances like lapis lazuli for colour, meant the city became a key centre for painting and art, which in turn became one of the main attractions for visitors.

If you are going to look at any art it's good to pick a greatest hits selection for each museum (five, max 10) and show children reproductions in advance of the trip - it makes a big difference to their ability to see what they are looking at. Most modern guides include decent colour reproductions - unfortunately most museum web sites don't as yet oblige. On the spot, unless you have remarkably patient or artistic children, seek out the paintings, chat about them briefly, then move on swiftly for refreshment.

Which painters you focus on is largely a matter of personal taste and at a guess Carpaccio would work best because of the day to day detail, and in some paintings his sense of humour. Bellini's subjects (Madonnas) seem to pall after a while, though the glowing style is appreciated. Tiepolo might work because showing day to day life, and similarly Canaletto. Be prepared to explain the biblical stories being told.

Gallerie dell'Accademia is the largest collection of Venetian art in the world, going from Byzantine icons to the Baroque. Its in a former church and one of the old Venetian Scuole (guilds/brotherhoods). Famous works include La Tempesta by Giorgione in room 5, Raphael and Tobias by Titian in Room 8, Tintoretto's Transport of the Body of St Mark, and Titian's Pieta in room 10. In room 20 is a painting with a scene of Venetian life in the Procession in Piazza San Marco by Gentile Bellini.

Museo Correr The massive and central museum including the Quadreria picture gallery, a place where again you can see the development of Venetian painting from its Byzantine beginnings. Works of art you might make brief stops by include Antonio Canova's Paris, in gypsum with pin marks to enable the studio assistants to transfer accurately to marble. (His skill was to make marble appear as soft as skin.) A few small rooms near rooms 17 and 18 show the social history of Venice through shoes and clothes and cards and games and more. Breugel's Adoration of the Magi might appeal.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection In the one-time villa of the American collector, works by Picasso, Braque, Klee, Moro, Giacometti, Kandinsky, Dali, Rothko Jackson Pollock and more. In the central courtyard is a sculpture garden. Rather expensive but very pleasant and with a good overview of key 20th century artisits.

Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni not a gallery but one of the guild/membership scuole, with a smallish room lined by paintings by Carpaccio (the dog painter) often set in a vaguely oriental setting with palm trees, turbans and exotic animals. St Jerome and the Lion might appeal with its comic undertone, and the Vision of St Augustine with its fluffy dog. The paintings are rather charming and it's a manageable size.

Museums

None of these is vital but just in case they appeal:

Telecom Italia Future Centre For those whose children overdose easily on art, a look at the latest in Italian telecoms innovations - as well as computer lessons on Italian art and history. The setting - 16th century cloisters - is pretty impressive too.

Museo Civico di Storia Naturale - Natural History Museum - If Venice itself is palling, there's a dinosaur exhibition. Probably more interesting are the sculpted animals outside though.

Palazzo Mocenigo a look at 18th century furnishings and Venetian dress.

Museo Storico Navale a maritime museum with Venetian ships and galleons and one of the world's largest maritime displays, written up in English. There are model junks, a Viking room, and collection of seashells. The workers in the Arsenale shipyards could assemble a galley in just a few hours if required.

Fortuny Museum to the man known for inventing the pleated silk dresses which carry his name.

Ca' d'Oro a gothic Grand Canal palazzo, at one time embellished with gold leaf and painted in fabulously expensive ultramarine and vermilion, from inside offers good canal views and a chance to see what it might have been like living as a noble family at the time.

Ca' Pesaro again on the Grand Canal, home to an oriental museum particularly Japanese art and weaponry as well as a modern art collection.

Ca' Rezzonico 17th century Baroque, home to a museum of 18th century Venice, though it's the building that really impresses. There are carvings of slaves in chains. That's where much of the money came from to build these places. At one time owned by the son of poet Robert Browning.

Shopping

One of the pleasures of Venice is that business, including the making of the items to be sold, continues to be where they always used to be - in ground floor spaces that you can see into as you walk by. You may find yourself watching a wood carver, a violin maker, or candlestick makers at work.

The Rialto Market includes sections for vegetables, fish (so fresh it's often still flapping, plus strange shellfish), and streets around are named after the various produce still sold, like cheese, spices, and wine. Stalls by the bridge sell slightly tacky masks, dolls, glass sweets and T-shirts though there are more serious shop outlets if you want to spend more money.

Carnival Masks
Mask making was only revived in the ‘70s when Venice decided to attract more tourists in the low winter months by re-starting its carnival. Now, though purists believe that masks should only be made of paper mache, there are an ever-growing range of materials and styles - from the old-fashioned plain white or black, to metal framed, or leather, and styles ranging from oriental draping to caricatures and animal faces - as well as the plastic imports from China.

For some children the styles are endlessly fascinating, particularly if they are careful enough to be allowed to try them on (allowed by most shops, even if you make it clear you are not planning to buy). If the cost of a real mask (from around €30 for an animal one) is too much, you could consider buying a plain white one for home decorating - costing from around €10.

Most shops simply buy in their masks but there are probably around 10 to 20 real workshops, worth looking out for as you go by to see if anyone is at work. The following are attractive and/or friendly.

Ca' del Sol Castello, Fondamente Osmarin has a selection of different types of masks including plain white ones (and expensive grown up dressing up outfits).
Alberto Sarria . San Polo, 777 Ruga Rialto S Croce 1809 - S Stae designs by an architect.
BlueMoon Mask . Dorsoduro 2312. Makes much of the fact that its masks were used in Eyes Wide Shut. Slightly expensive.
Venice Fashion . Cannaregio Strada Nuova 2326/2327. Not as high fashion as you would expect given the name, more semi-traditional.
Maschere Benor . S Croce 1164 Calle larga dei Bari S Croce 1109
Ca'Macana . Dorsoduro 3172. Some fine masks - though the web site does not sell direct.
La Trottola di Barbara Barbaria de le Tole 6468 Castello Run by a young woman keen to work on traditional designs, with her own personal clients.

Glass Beads
There are some very beautiful glass necklaces on sale throughout the city, but for children with limited pocket money, a better option might be to buy a few beads to make their own necklace. Shops selling the beads generally also sell metal wire and leather or fabric to thread them on to. Options include
Perle e dintorni - Calle della Mandola 3740 and Calle della Bissa 5468
La Compagnia dell Perle - SS Apostoli 5622
Valentina Bijoterie San Polo 2751 Calle Saoneri

Other Fun Shops
Gilberto Penzo . Calle Saoneri (actually up a side street just off Calle Saoneri) is an accurate model boat maker - the place to go if you want a proper souvenir gondola. Children's model kits of simpler boats are available at €21 or €30.
(Calle Saoneri has a variety of interesting shops, including one with tiny and delightful glass figures - from €10 - by a glassmaker who started when he was 11 years old.)
Lorenzo Venuti/Eredi Giovanni Pagnacco San Marco 231, lots of tiny, tiny glass figures of everything from a baroque orchestra to a football goalie. Will keep a certain type of child intrigued for a good while.
La Bottega Artigiana Calle della Madonetta 1459 S Polo Glass and fabric items.

Outdoor Areas with Children

Most Venetian children do not have the luxury of a garden but they do have the safety of car free public spaces - and use them. At some point during the day virtually any open space will see small boys with a ball and sometimes locals set up their own unofficial toddler play area with portable plastic slide etc, in one corner.

It's really just a question of finding somewhere convenient but in San Marco Campo Santo Stefano is a well known spot, Campo San Polo, San Polo & Santa Croce is the largest square north of the Grand Canal. If you need somewhere to sit and possibly picnic in the shade while the children play, the Biennale gardens have slides etc. We didn't manage to check it out but apparently Parco Savorgna, a garden hidden behind a 17th century palazzo in Cannaregio, has a playground for children.

Swimming

Venice is not really a swimming destination. If you want to splash about a bit go to the Lido - though the beaches in season are covered by the usual ranks of changing cabins and umbrellas and even out of season the piers protect against erosion make them feel rather urban.

Alternatively if you are really keen there is the Piscina Communale Sant'Alvise Cannaregio 3163, calle del Capitello. There is a warm mini pool but, although open morning to evening, this is almost exclusively for those taking courses with only an hour and a half or so for free swimming, and that at different times every day.

Concerts

There are regular evening concerts, with a choice of three or four nightly in high season. It's easy listening stuff - a Tribute to Vivaldi including the Four Seasons; Vivaldi plus Mozart; Vivaldi, Mozart, Pachelbel and Rossini; or a selection of baroque opera hits. The concerts are seldom much over an hour and in at least one case are in period costume. For details see imusiciveneziani ; prgroup ; and virtuosidivenezia . You can generally buy tickets on the day.