Venice: Family Vacations

Even before you’ve crossed the lagoon and set foot on the uneven stones of Venice, you have seen its sights a dozen times. The Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, the Campanile, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto, curved prows of gondolas bobbing against candy-stick striped mooring posts—these sights have been so popularly painted, photographed and rhapsodized that they are already familiar. You could spend a whole day sightseeing without encountering something that seems new.

To escape this sense of déjà vu and discover your own personal Venice, head for the less trammeled streets of Dorsoduro, San Polo or Cannaregio. Instead of other tourists, you’ll meet craftsmen in their studios, Venetians shopping for their dinner, nannies and nonnas watching children play and couples drinking Prosecco in canal-side cafes.

Along with the obvious activities—St. Mark’s, a ride along the Grand Canal, a visit to the glass-blowers of Murano—explore the back corners to experience the real Venice that you won’t find in the designer shops and tourist crush between St. Mark’s and Rialto. Choose the indirect routes between the sights—getting lost several times a day is one of Venice’s must-do experiences.

Venice Is for Families

Kids love Venice immediately because it turns things topsy-turvy. Instead of gray and glass, the walls are pink, red and yellow. Boats replace buses, taxis, garbage trucks and even crosswalks. The city’s winding passageways form a living labyrinth to puzzle through, making it feel like a giant board game with surprises at every roll of the dice.

• Don’t forget to pick yourself up some Murano glass as a souvenir.
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Challenge kids to keep a running count of bridges as you wander. How many of the 355 will they see? From the four across the Grand Canal to tiny arches and stairs leading to a single doorway, most have interesting stories to tell.

Bridges make a good vantage point for watching local life, too. Lean on a railing watching gondolas glide underneath; find one near a blind corner and see how gondoliers avoid collisions. Watch the wakes lap at the stucco walls and foundation stones to realize how fragile Venice’s footing is. With rising oceans, Venice becomes even more fragile and fleeting, heightening the sense that you’d better see it now, before it’s too late.

St. Mark’s—More is Better

Kids usually don’t do churches with great enthusiasm, but take them to St. Mark’s. There’s enough cool stuff inside to keep their attention. Walls, domes and columns are covered in mosaics—a big picture version of the Bible painted of tiny glass bits that reflect the light at different angles to bring the pictures to life. Beyond the columns in the wing nearest the Doge’s Palace, our kids found the picture story of St. Mark’s missing bones, hidden then lost for centuries. Tired of obscurity, the story goes, St. Mark thrust his arm through a wall to signal his hiding place—can your kids find the mosaic of the arm?

• St. Mark’s Basilica is a great example of Byzantine architecture in Venice.
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Don’t miss the altar behind the main one, all gold and encrusted with 3,000 precious stones, said to be the most valuable altar in the world.  Few visitors know that they can ask permission to descend into the impressive 11th-century crypt below the main altar.

Remember the horses that overlook Piazza San Marco from above the basilica’s doors? They are copies, but you can climb up to see the originals, then go outside onto the loggia to get a horse’s-eye view of the entire piazza and a straight-on look at the famous clock tower, where two Moors strike the bells.

Tip: Give St. Mark’s full attention, resisting the temptation to crowd it into a day with the Doge’s Palace, Campanile and half a dozen churches. Hit it fresh and savor it, then pick a sestiere (one of Venice’s six districts) and wander.

• The Ca’ d’Oro was built in the early 1400s for the Contarini family, who provided Venice with eight Doges between 1043 and 1676.
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Seeing the Sights

Our favorite getaway is to cross Rialto Bridge to the San Polo neighborhood. In the morning you’ll walk right into the food market along the Grand Canal. Our kids love the funny-looking fish, displayed there along with octopi and other sea creatures. Although it’s a bit overwhelming for younger children, adults appreciate the magnificent paintings by Tintoretto that cover the ceilings and walls of Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Look for the hand mirrors that make it easier to see the ceilings.

San Polo leads on into Cannaregio and the Venetians’ favorite little church. Santa Maria dei Miracoli was built in 1481-89, with all the magnificence of a cathedral, but on a very intimate scale. This is one kids will like; its interior walls are geometric patterns of pink, green and white inlaid marble.

You may not want to tour all three of the grand palaces—Ca’ d’Oro, Ca’ Pesaro and Ca’ Rezzonico—but you should see at least one. We suggest the latter, for its view of 18th-century Venetian life. Inside are paintings by all the greats, a complete apothecary, rooms exploring women’s life in noble families and a ballroom that stretches from one side of the grand palazzo to the other.