Venice for a week with kids too long? Florence for 2-3 days too short?

I would say too long... we had 2.5 days, would have liked one more (our kids were 9 and 11). But then I would want to see something else, so much to see in Italy!

Do the rowing class at rowvenice.org. Super fun!!

We also enjoyed 2 nights in Lucca (with a day trip to Pisa) - could have used another day there as well!

Kim

Venice: too long, unless you are planning several day trips out of the city. I'd do 3 solid days (not travel days).

Florence: depends how into art your kids are. Too short for adults who want to see all sorts of artistic sights. 3 days would be ok, 2 is too short IMO. But 2-3 is fine for the highlights, which is all a lot of kids can tolerate. Also, are you heading into Tuscany at another point on your trip? Pisa, Lucca, Siena, smaller hill towns are all close to Florence and could be good day trips or overnights before/after Florence

I consider Venice for 3 nights ideal. That would be at least 2 full days, which should give you a chance to also visit the island of Murano (glass blowing) and Burano (colorful house facades and laces). Two nights in Venice is really the bare minimum to see just Venice.

Florence is bigger and has more things to see than Venice, however 3 nights (2 full days) are also sufficient for the city itself, unless you are a Renaissance or art fiend, in which case a lifetime may not be enough. Two nights (one full day) for Florence only is barely sufficient to scratch the surface of the major sights.

However I generally recommend to stay in Florence even longer than 3 nights and not just because it's the city where I was born and raised. Rather Florence is in the middle of Tuscany and an excellent base to take day trips to many other Tuscan famous locations (Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo, San Gimignano, Chianti hills, Volterra, Cortona and hundreds more, including the Cinque Terre). So start with 3 nights in Florence, then add one night for every day trip you would like to take from there. You could stay one week in Florence and just be busy the whole time visiting places outside of Florence.

I agree with Roberto about allotting your time. A good daytrip might be to Pisa and Lucca, things that the kids might like in each city (walls and tower in Lucca, Leaning Tower in Pisa).

Roberto is right on! Other day trips would be Pistoia and Montecatini Terme Which has a
funiculare the kids might like. In Florence they might like the Galileo Museum.
http://www.museogalileo.it/en/visit.html

There is also the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica in Firenze.

Mom and Dad might want a vineyard tour.

From Venice a day trip to Verona can take (at a leisurely pace) better part of a day. Same with a day trip out to Murano and Burano. If those are in your plans, then maybe aim for five full days in Venice and add the other two days to Florence. Otherwise three or four full days in Venice will be enough.

We enjoyed an overnight to Via Regio from Florence - loved the beach and a relaxed night at the shore. We also did a day trip to Pisa which I think is ideal for kids