Six Full and Two Half Days in Venice with a toddler. Should we skip Florence?

I don't think 8 days is too long, we had 7 days in a flat in Feb a few years back, and it was heaven, just walking, exploring, sitting and people watching, going to markets, a few museums and popping over to the other islands, it was a fantastic trip. And I think a lot more relaxing with a toddler!
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I think you have enough days to do both. Head for Florence the day you land in Venice since your bags are already packed. It's a 2 hour train ride. Spend 3-4 nights in Florence (3 was enough for me) and then go back to Venice for the rest of the trip. From Florence you can also do a day trip to Sienna. Have fun!

To minimize hotel changes I would go directly to Florence upon arrival by plane. Basically take a taxi from Venice Marco Polo Airport to VENEZIA MESTRE station (15 min) then a high speed train from Ve. Mestre to FIRENZE SANTA MARIA NOVELLA (Florence main station). The train journey is only 2 hours and there is a train every hour.
Spend 3 or 4 nights in Florence, then take a train from FIRENZE SANTA MARIA NOVELLA to VENEZIA SANTA LUCIA (Venice main station). Spend the reminder of your nights in Venice (at least 3 nights).

We've been to Venice a number of times and could still easily spend a week there. One thing to consider is that a day trip to Florence will be quite long -- especially with the little one. If you need variety, Verona is a comparatively shorter day trip. One could also spend three quarters of a day just going to Murano and Burano. While it would make for a very long initial travel day, perhaps flying into Venice and going directly to Florence for a few days will work for you. Then just one move back to Venice to spend time there before returning home. No right or wrong answer to your question. Just food for thought.

We spent two weeks in Venice on one trip. There are many interesting day trips you can take.
I love Florence, but the sites you should visit are not child friendly.

And don’t forget the Venice Lido for that all important beach time for the little one.....

I've done both, we took our then two year old Grandaughter and spent two days(three nights) in Venice. Then headed to Florence for the same. But.. there were her parents and 2 grandparents. We had a great time. Have also had 6 nites in Venice
And there was plenty of time for day trips.

Only you can make the decision.

I agree, if you wish to do both, head to Florence first. Your first day is going to be hazy anyway so head to the furthest location.

I vote for Florence-get a hotel close to the main sights and you can swap off childcare so you can focus on the museums when it's your turn. We went to Florence with our 15 mo old-of course, we also had 2 grandparents to take their turns at babycare!

I, too, would opt to stay in Venice. There is that Lido beach! A couple of kinds of boats in which to take rides (and it's fun seeing the fire and police boats), bridges to cross, light and color and all kinds of sensory input. For a day away, you can take a short train ride to Padua and back. There is a wonderful Botanical Garden in Padua that my grandkids thoroughly enjoyed exploring (me, too!).

Sorry I meant Florence. I'm not a fan of Venice.

Have you done any sort of traveling domestically to get an idea of your your child reacts to it?

That should give you some insight on whether to stay one place or do two.

One thing to consider is time change, jet lag. You will be OK with that, because you have travelled. You have seven hours time change from Chicago to Venice, and this could cause some interesting scenes with your daughter. You might find yourself walking the streets at 3:00 AM, and fortunately Venice is really safe at night! Venice is a good town to be in if you are confronting jet lag. No cars, little street noise, walking everywhere.

My advice would be to stay in Venice for all your days. Sure, Florence is doable as a day trip or as an overnighter, but Florence would probably not grab your daughter. But Venice is fun for kids, in the afternoons many campos are alive with kids. There are many kid friendly activities, parks, the Lido beach, La Certosa and so on.

You would want to take a stroller with you, and the light weight ones are good. Also you will see many children being towed areond Venice on scooters. Maybe you can fit one in your luggage.

When you book seats for your flight, tryv to get window seats on the right hand side of the aircraft. You will geta view of Venice as you fly in.

Our first visit to Venice was for six nights, our second visit was for two months. We fell in love with La Serenissima.

I, too, would recommend just basing in Venice. Relax, and enjoy the ambiance of Italy, rather than running to other cities for sites, etc. I love Florence, but by just doing Venice you are allowing all of you to enjoy your holiday. You will really get to know the town this way, and people will get to recognize you. Kids travel in a different way, and all this change does is add to your perspective and slow you down so you enjoy it as well. Have a lovely holiday.

It will be such a pleasure to be in Venice with a child and never have to worry about traffic --- not even motorcycles, bicycles, buses, or trade vehicles which even the pedestrian streets in other towns often have. It is great to be in just about any of the piazze in Italy with a kid, but Venice being traffic-free is particularly pleasant. And if she is an early riser like our grandson, you will have even the heavily touristed areas of Venice almost all to yourselves.

So, we just took our son, daughter-in-law, 3-almost-4-year-old grandson, and 5-month-old granddaughter to Italy for two weeks in March. We all had a terrific time, but we did have to haul around two carseats, a stroller, a portable crib, a baby bqckpack, and a few other such things. We were really glad we stayed a week in each place (plus two nights in Rome before we departed for home). A stroller will not be very useful in Venice because there are so many little bridges with steps up and down. Maybe an extremely light umbrella stroller if you don't think you'll want to carry her when she gets tired of walking or needs to nap. Get a week's pass for the vaporetto --- it's worth it for the convenience.

We've been in Venice twice for a week each time and would be happy to spend more weeks there. There is so much to see and do beyond what the daytrippers and cruise people do. I think you'll be happy that you visited one city well instead of two cities in a rush, especially with a 3-year-old who may get weary of art galleries and churches pretty fast. Our grandson was enchanted by all the little things about Italy and your daughter will be, too.