Venice with kids?

My ideas:

Gondola or vaporetto (gondola is more expensive but more memorable) - target Grand Canal - go a bit before sun is setting
Get Gelato - try unique flavors
San Marco - see inside
Rialto
Try cichetti
Doge palace
Naval museum if they like boats
Wander - hard to get lost, plenty of signs that point back to main sights
My kids liked glass making demo

I don't know what it's like now with increased crowds but my daughter was about that age and loved the sunset gondola ride years ago- especially going under the low bridges. We all enjoyed the vaporetto and went out as far as it went (where the church is), stopping at Murano and Burano along the way. We didn't do "touristy" glass things but looking for a special necklace or little figurine was also fun. And eat as much gelato as you can! What a wonderful time you will have!

I'm a far cry from 12 years old, but I think Venice is the most wonderful city, offering child-like delight. Riding the vaparettos is something I could do all day long.

Last summer, we took three girls to the Lido beaches near Venice. They loved having a beach day.

Two things for sure:

Visit the rooftop terrace at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi near the Rialto Bridge. This is a very high-end department store and the girls might enjoy seeing the Gucci, Versace, Prada etc. or maybe the food court items on the lowest floor. The building itself, newly renovated, is beautiful. But the highlight is the view from the rooftop terrace over the Grand Canal. The visit is free, but it must be booked in advance—-on the exact day the reservations are released, 3 weeks in advance, sometime after 1 am in Italy.. They go quickly. For example—-today, 17 April, I checked at 5:15 pm. There are no reservations available for the days prior to May 9–all gone. The May 9 reservations were probably released about 20-30 minutes ago, and they are about half gone. The late afternoon slots, which are the most popular are all gone. There are only 50 spots for each time slot.

https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/service/rooftop-terrace

The second is to take the girls to Gelateria Nico, on the Zattere in Dorsoduro, and get a table on the floating terrace. There may be a wait but it is worth it for the experience.

https://www.gelaterianico.com/

We took our grandsons (11 year old twins) and there parents there in September and it was fun for all. Adults ordered aperitivo beverages and the kids got amazing gelato concoctions, like ice-cream sundaes.

I agree with the above that a visit to the Lido beach could be fun. It wili take a half day at least, with the vaporetto ride and some time on the beach. It is a typical Italian beach, with sun lounges and umbrellas lined up in rows, which you must pay to use. Facilities like restrooms, beverage and snack service, etc., are nearby.

But there are a couple of “free” areas without any facilities if you just want to stroll a beach, or swim a bit.

https://www.visitlido.it/en/experiences/a-venetian-beach-holiday/

https://www.italyheaven.co.uk/veneto/venice/lido/

However, on a 3-night visit with only 2 days to see Venice, this may not be worthy of the time.

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts. This is all very helpful.

Lola, my girls are twins!