Venice: Family Vacations - 2

Wander from San Polo to Campo San Barnaba. On the Ponte dei Pugni (“Bridge of Fists”) kids can see footprints in the white stone, reminders of fierce fistfights here in the 1600s. Disputes between neighborhoods were fought in a very organized way on the bridge, and the footprints mark the “ready, set, go” line for beginning the fight. Contemplate this custom from a table at nearby Pasticceria Colussi.

Just off the square is a barge stacked with fruit and vegetables—a little floating grocery store. How many other unusual boats can your kids find? Who can find the coolest one? Our youngest won when she spotted a brown UPS boat loading as our vaporetto passed the docks. When there is a funeral, the hearse that carries the casket to the cemetery island is a specially built gondola.

Whether or not you opt for a gondola ride, you’ll want to use the traghetti, stripped-down gondolas that form “crosswalks” over the Grand Canal between the four widely-spaced bridges. These can save a long walk to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a magnificent museum of modern art in Dorsoduro, another good neighborhood for getting lost.

San Polo and Dorsoduro also are where Venice’s master mask makers are found. [Read more in our Mask Makers of Venice article.]

Romantic Venice

Venice loves lovers. Few places are as perfect for strolling hand-in-hand, and a ride in a gondola is pure romance, especially in the evening when windows of the palazzi glow from the light of crystal chandeliers and the colors of their façades deepen in the fading light.

• Masked revelers pass on the street.
• Barbara Radcliffe Rogers

If you’re in Venice near a full moon, check the tide schedule and go to Piazza San Marco in the evening if the tide is high. Be prepared to take your shoes off and wade across, or just walk around the edges to see the basilica’s lighted façade reflected in the water. It’s dazzling, and the strains of violins from the two orchestras in the cafés waft through the air. It’s worth the high price to sit in one of them and savor an espresso or grappa.

The most romantic lodging in town is in the lusciously decorated rooms of Ca’ Maria Adele, across a tiny canal from Santa Maria Salute in Dorsoduro. Arrive by boat to its canal-side door or take the vaporetto to within a few steps. The charming palazzo has been beautifully adapted to an inn, with inviting rooms and lavish breakfasts.

Lodging and Dining

We enjoy staying in one of the city’s pleasant apartments available by the week. Not only is it more comfortable for children, but it provides the luxury of living in a neighborhood, shopping at local markets and interacting with locals.

Venice is not famous for fine dining, but you can eat well if you avoid the places with long printed menus in four languages. Look instead for a little neighborhood osteria, such as Osteria Vivaldi, on Calle della Madonnetta in San Polo (tel. +041 523 8185), with its daily changing menu of local seafood dishes.

• Exploring the side canals of Venice.
• Barbara Radcliffe Rogers

For lunches, look for a bar, more like a café. Bar alla Toletta on Calle Toletta near the Accademia (tel. +041 520 0196) serves delicious sandwiches. For healthy fresh ingredients, look for bright cafeteria-style Brek, near the train station at Rio Terra lista di Spagna in Cannaregio. For contemporary Italian dining, reserve a table overlooking the Guidecca Canal at Lineadombra (tel. +041 241 1881), where fusion cuisine is based on local traditions and ingredients.

Getting There and Getting Around

Most flights from North America arrive in northern Italy at Milan’s Malpensa airport, from which there are frequent flights to Marco Polo Airport in Venice. A bus or the faster, pricier water taxi takes you across the lagoon to the city. From there the vaporetto and your own feet are the best transport. Vaporetto stops are marked on all city maps, making it easy to find your way. When in doubt, ask—many Venetians speak English.

A three-day vaporetto pass gives free access to all the boats, even to the islands. A Venice Pass, which includes museum admissions, is only a good buy if you visit multiple museums in one 24-hour period. Other passes to consider are the Museum Card, good any time for the Doge’s Palace and all city museums, and a Chorus Pass for unlimited entrance to 15 churches, along with audio guides.

Venice can wear you out quickly. Most families find, as we have, that a few days in the city is best followed by a day or two exploring the nearby region. Break up stays with day or overnight trips to other places—Verona, Padua, the Brenta Canal or Lake Garda. On your return you’ll be delighted by the warm sense of “coming home” to Venice.