Itinerary Suggestions for Venice with Kids

I'm not an expert or a mum, but I saw many kids enjoying themselves in Venice. I mean, Venice is just so different from any place they've been. They'll probably enjoy the boat rides (vaporetto, traghetti, gondola) and the food. I remember seeing a family with kids of 11, 12, at a restaurant and the kids were thrilled that they could remember the names of the pizzas they liked, and did the ordering for the whole family. Teens and adults alike were having a great time at Piazza San Marco in the evening, when the dueling orchestras were going at it full tilt - some young ones were dancing and singing!

Lisa... I am hoping someone here will remember the book/travel guide that I heard about for kids traveling to Venice... I cannot remember the name but hope someone here will be able to remember as I think this is where it was recommended.
Definitely a gondola ride...does not need to be long and if the kids are in to art I think making a mask would be great for all or part of them. The boat trip to Burano is also fun and a little more quiet than Venice. Good for an afternoon with lunch and shopping.

Ok so I was a boy back in the day but now I am a multiple of 12.  Here is my best guess at being 12 again: Secret Tour dungeons, secret pasage ways, a walk though the giant roof, a genuine torture chamber.  Way to go Mom! Mask Making they let us try on some really scary vampire masks.  It was spooky.  Mom wouldn't buy any.  Gondola ride pretty much ok for 10 minutes then I'm like it's boooring. I'm like Mom why is that guy singing some old song and she's like shush this is really expensive. Rialto Market squiggly yucky things on ice. The bloody tuna head with that sword mouth was ok but the man yelled at me when I picked it up. Why are we looking at vegetables? Mom can we go now? Traghetto cool and my little sister almost fell in, that would have been awesome.  Mom Let's go back and forth some more Basillica.  Dark boring but the upstairs porch and giant horses were ok I guess Capanille the bells went off while we were up there and my ears died. Awesome!  Murano big flames and molten stuff that some guy stuck on a pipe. I'm like this is totally Cool. But nothing exploded.  Shopping was lame. Black spaghetti.  Gross but it turned our teeth gray and sis cried.  Awesome.   Accademia Museum. Same woman is in every painting and they all look alike.  Even the grownups look bored.  Mom can we go now? Vaporetto Mom elbowed a guy from Cleveland when he raced us to get the bow seats.  The boat stopped everywhere on that big canal river thing and it almost ran over some gondolas. Awesome.  We got lost in the dark after the black spaghetti place.  There were no people and the alley was really dark and curvy.  I was scared when we head footsteps coming at us. Turns out it was some grandma.  Sis said she was a witch.  We all slept in Mom's that night 

I think the Castello area would be a good place for kids. It is at the opposite end of the island from the train station. Admittedly it is well away from the main attractions of Venice, but it does have a park, and relatively wide streets, so there is plenty of room for the kids to run around. I also think Burano would be worth visiting for similar reasons.

The park actually spreads from Castello into the Sant'Elena neighborhood. And yeah, it's a great place to wander around, and quite a contrast to the rest of the city. Fair warning - you may be the only tourists there. :-) Have a great time.