Enlarge Photo

DAY 1

MORNING: Arrive and check-in. Take a walk around the neighborhood to get your bearings.

LUNCH: Have a light lunch in an informal place where you can watch the rhythms of the city unfold around you. Good spots on the water include the Dorsoduro’s La Piscina the terrace of the Monaco & Grand near San Marco; outside near the Rialto at Bancogiro Art Blue Cafe or one of the other cafes in Campo San Stefano or even in Piazza San Marco at Florian or Quadri.

AFTERNOON: The Clock Tower Tour: Children must be over the age of 6 and tickets must be purchased in advance. Entrance ticket also includes access (unguided) to the Museo Correr, the National Archaelogical Museum and the State Rooms of the Marciana Library, all of which are in Piazza San Marco as well.

OR

For those with lots of energy, climb the bell tower in San Marco and then cross the lagoon over to San Giorgio island and climb its bell tower for two great overviews of the city.

OR

Take a gondola or the #1 Vaporetto, depending on your budget and preference, to give you an introduction to the city’s waterways. There are only 425 gondoliers left in Venice. Many take great pride in the city and its traditions, one of which is carrying on the use of the Venetian language. They know the history of the city and will tell you how it has changed. Prices for rides go up after 7 p.m. but the calm, quiet of the canals at night makes it easy to envision the city as it was hundreds of years ago when Casanova and others plied the same waterways for their evening rendez-vous.

DINNER: The local cuisine emphasizes seafood, and if your kids are not fish lovers, you will probably want to serve them pizza at least once on your visit. Among the best restaurants for traditional pizza margherita (tomato and cheese) and more inventively topped ones such as figs and prosciutto or eggplant are: Il Refolo, La Perla, Da Gianni on the Zattere and Aqua Pazza (be sure to order the gelato fruits for dessert).

DAY 2

MORNING: Book our favorite guide for a child-friendly introduction to the history of Venice as told through a scavenger hunt for the ubiquitous lion symbol. Be sure to head up the stairs on the right just after you enter the Basilica of St. Mark’s to the small museum on the second floor. Few visitors know to go up and pay the entrance fee, but it provides the only opportunity to view mosaics close up and to see the original bronze horses. You can visit the copies on the terrace overlooking Piazza San Marco as well.

Tip: Since pigeon feeding is no longer allowed, get an iconic photo of the kids atop the lion statues between St. Mark’s and the Clock Tower.

A great way to wind up the tour is visiting the Rialto market, where the kids can see the fish and fruit sellers on the edge of the Grand Canal.

LUNCH: Eat at one of the trattorias under the 15th century Rialto arcades: Bancogiro, Ancora or Naranzaria.

AFTERNOON: If the weather is warm, relax by the pool of your hotel if you are staying at the Hotel Cipriani or San Clemente Palazzo or make a trip to the beach at the Lido. You can rent a bike to explore the island and have afternoon tea at the Hotel des Bains.

OR

For the heartier sight-seers or history buffs, book our favorite guide for a tour of the Cannaregio district, a true residential area, where you will pass under clothes lines and amongst women doing their shopping. She will take you to visit a master glass blower who creates insects and animals that are collected by museums, a legendary printer, and other local artists as well as churches.

DINNER: See Where to Eat/Family Friendly and consider Aqua Pazza, Harry’s Dolci and La Piscina.

DAY 3

Tour the secret side of the Doge’s Palace. In the public rooms, you will learn about the Council of Ten and then cross the Bridge of Sighs to the legendary prisons. Then, you will pass through the secret door to the rooms and passages that were off-limits to almost all and see secret documents and the torture chamber. Only available at 9:55, 10:45 and 11:35 a.m. and must be reserved two months in advance.

LUNCH: On the Giudecca at Lineadombra or Harry’s Dolci so you can have a view of the palace you explored in the morning.

AFTERNOON: Climb the bell tower of San Giorgio for a great perspective on the city.

OR

Get on the water either by touring Murano or Torcello with a guide or independently or by going to the Lido for a bike ride and tea at the Hotel des Bains.

OR

Visit some of the small museums that may entertain parents and kids: Museo Fortuny, Ca’ Rezzonico, Ca’ d’Oro, or the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

DINNER: Let them eat pizza and gelato at Il Refolo or Da Gianni or Aqua Pazza.