Venice and Italy with kids. Family travels
During the times of quarantines, closed borders, and bans on travels due to the outbreak of COVID-19, I keep travelling in time and brighten our days and broken spirits by remembering the beautiful moments we had during our travels. Today I will take you to Venice and Italy, a country that got very hardly hit by the pandemics and where it will take a long time to go back to “normal” life. But one day it’s going to be normal again and we will be able to pack out backpacks and go to Venice.
Venice is a dream for many travelers. It’s a city like Paris or New York. It’s enough to mention the name of one of those places and people go like “WOW”. No need to explain why you want to go there. However, although Venice is a common destination for romantic trips, not many families with small kids have Venice on their travel bucket list. We think they should and not just to stop by but stay in the city for a few days.
We visited Venice with our two years old daughter Zofia. For the majority of time I was sightseeing with my daughter alone, as my husband was on a conference. I’m not complaining now, just showing that it is not a problem to visit Venice alone with kids to all who are concerned how to survive with small kids in one of the most touristic places on Earth full with water and canals, with no streets but bridges and water buses. Here are a few things that you might be afraid of in Venice, although you shouldn’t.
Public transport
The first thing you do when you come to Venice is to buy the vaporetto, a travelcard for all land and sea transport services, valid for one or several days up to one week. The boats stop at most of the famous tourist attractions. Check the map for the best connections to the places you want to visit. Remember, you can’t always cross the canals by foot, so sometimes you need to get out on other stops. Here is an official page to check the ticket prices: http://actv.avmspa.it/en/content/prices. It looks expensive but believe me, we used the boats so often that a weekly pass was worth its price.
Don’t be afraid that there are many tourists and that travelling with a small baby and a stroller will be impossible. Italians are very nice people. It was like “Bambino” followed by a smile. There were always some locals to help me to get in and out of the boat. Sometimes there are too many tourists and not all people were able to get into the boat, however if you are with a stroller and kid just go to the crew. They always helped me and took me on the boat.
Too many tourists
Remember if you are travelling with kids and need help, you almost never get it from tourists. They are going to push you and complain that you dare to visit this place with a stroller and a toddler. Of course, there are different kinds of tourists, for example Asians are usually more friendly. But in general, it’s better to stay closer to local people. Venetians we met were very kind, helpful and family friendly people. They often stopped and talked to us, showed pictures of their families and kids.
Where can my kids play?
Ok, Venice is not New York where on every corner you have an amazing playground (more about New York with kids you’ll find in the article: New York with Kids. What to see and do with kids in NYC) Still there are places that toddlers can enjoy. One of them is Piazza San Marco, often known in English as St Mark’s Square. Of course, it’s one of the most crowded places in Venice, but it is enough to come here early in the morning to enjoy a little bit of piece. Our daughter loved to run here and play with the pigeons. It was her favorite place in Venice, and I kept coming back here with her few times a day 🙂
Not far away from it are Giardini Reali di Venezia, the Royal Gardens. There are walkways and a park with benches over there. It’s an ideal place to chill with kids, as you can sit, while kids can run a little. There are not too many tourists here, so you can rest and enjoy a few moments of peace 🙂
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