Venice or Verona for Beginning of Trip with Four Kids?

This may not help a ton, but I am bringing my family of 4 (kids 14 and 12) and we are starting in Venice. First international trip for us as well, we leave in two months!

Venice for sure!

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/venice-a-treasure-hunt.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/venice-for-teenagers.cfm

The second treasure hunt is a bit dated, but you get the picture.

Don't overlook Padua (Padova) or Vicenza as a base outside Venice. I found both much nicer than Verona. Padua is a lively university city; Vicenza is an outright beauty.

I would highly recommend you stay in Venice instead of commuting on/off the island (why use that time to commute when you could spend more time exploring, enjoying a local concert in a church, dinner in one of the campo's, or linger in one of the museums until closing?). There are wonderful Airbnb's available to accommodate your family. We will be in Venice in early July (5 total traveling, 2 teens) and have rented an Airbnb.

Something to consider if renting an Airbnb in Venice: the buildings in Venice are very old and most private buildings have not been retrofitted with elevators. If stairs are going to be a concern, make sure you know what you are renting, what floor it is on and how you access it. We rented a lovely 2 bedroom apartment in Venice with a rooftop terrace but that also meant 5 flights of stairs with our luggage. We knew ahead of time, but it was not explicitly stated in the description and something you might not think about.

Definitely stay in Venice as long as you can. It is an amazing city, and is at it's best in the early mornings and late afternoon / early evening when most of the day trippers are gone. In the middle of the day all one has to do to avoid the crowds is go three or four blocks off the main "tourist routes" through the city and simply avoid the big tourist sights while they are crowded. It is very easy to day trip from Venice to Padua (Padova), Vicenza, or Verona.

Thank you to those of you who replied. After spending more time on forums dedicated to similar question, it seems as though Venice is a fabulous spot for us to spend a few days. My only memories were from my 20 year old self travelling with a friend in the hot August days staying in the convent hostel! (Does that still exist?!?) We are going to attempt to have a much better experience! I CAN NOT WAIT!

Momto4inOR,

I wouldn't day-trip from Verona to Venice but I might do the opposite. If you are worried about the budget, Padua or Vicenza could be nice central hubs for day-tripping. I would take Padua over Vicenza only because the train station is bigger and you can go in any direction without changing trains. To get south (Florence/Rome) from Vicenza requires a change of trains at Padua...

My opinion of Venice is split. In some ways it is so different and beautiful and other ways it is one of my least enjoyable times in Italy just due to crowds and the almost fake feel that I found no where else ; however I think it is a must see and to see it right you want to stay there not commute in. I think your family would really enjoying staying there and fully experiencing it at more than just the most crowded mid day hours.

I definitely say along with most others to stay in Venice not Verona but also agree to do the opposite and one day take a day trip from Venice to Verona or Padua. Since you have 4 children with you, I think Verona would be more fun for them to explore but could be wrong. Padua while a young university town, the main attractions there seem to appeal more to adults in my opinion at least whereas Verona has great shopping, the cool Coliseum, the Bridge, Juliet's Balcony, Parks and Piazzas that are usually lively, etc... all contained within a walking loop you can do within half a day. It does feel much different than Venice, more authentic/local.

I also vote for staying in Venice. Padua and Verona are nice, but there is nowhere in the world like Venice. Your children will always remember it for that reason. And as has been pointed out, when the day trippers are not there it is magical. During the day when it is more crowded, they will enjoy the backstreets and small shops. Also a vaparetto trip to Burano or Murano would be a fun thing for them.

Have a Great trip and would love to read a trip report from your family when you get home! If you can get your children to write some in the trip report, it would be fun to read what they thought!
Mimi

I totally agree, stay right in Venice! And you are not crazy! I, too, am a "mom to four", with three boys, and our youngest a girl! We have been fortunate to have taken our kids to Europe twice - and Venice was the one place that we visited on both trips, because we all loved it so much. Our children were 6, 8, 10, 12 the first trip, and 12, 14, 16, 18 the second. And they ALL remember Venice vividly from both times.

We, too, often stay in apartments when traveling for the exact reason you mention. Yet for both of our trips to Venice, we stayed in Rick Steves' highly recommended Pensione Guerrato - his tours stay here, too. GREAT location right in the center of Venice near the Rialto Bridge and outdoor market. They have a LARGE room, and put extra beds in the room, so that we all had beds. Since we only stayed in Venice for two or three nights, not having a kitchen wasn't a big deal in this location. Avoid the main tourist areas during the middle of the day (St. Marks Square, Rialto, etc.) by getting off the beaten path, or going to one of the other islands...Burano or Murano. Our kids LOVED Murano and watching the glass blowers. Then, in the evenings and mornings, do some exploring when the day-trippers leave Venice. It's just magical.

Enjoy this amazing experience. And remember, Gelato is its own food group, and can often substitute for a meal. We would have gelato twice a day...walking as much as you will be, you will all burn it off, and our kids still talk about all the gelato they ate!

Stay in Venice and do a day trip to Verona.
If you do the opposite you'll probably need two day trips to Venice and Verona isn't so close (over 1 hr by high speed train) so a train ride for a family is going to be either very expensive (on a Freccia train) or too slow (on a Regionale). By staying in Venice and taking a day trip to Verona you can take care of Verona in one day trip.
If you want to take day trips from Venice, I recommend a minimum of 4 nights in the Most Serene city.

I agree with the others and stay in Venice! it is unlike any other city. We stayed in an AirBNB that had room for 5.

We just returned from Italy with our 12 yr old daughter and 9 yr old son, they thought Venice was the best city we saw. I also wanted to mention that we had several friends tell us to visit the island of Lido, where Venice's beach is. We felt we really experienced Venice in 2 days, so maybe for your 3rd day you could visit there. I don't know anything about Verona but it is an easy train ride away (more than an hr though I think).
Ciao Bella!
Amanda