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Taking children to Venice
Taking young children to Venice and keeping them interested can be quite a challenge. Pamela Goodman has some hints, published in the Sunday Telegraph, on what to do and see based on her experiences with three children, aged 15, 12 and 10.
She advises a preliminary filmshow of the highlights a short time before departure as well as drawing up a list of top sights, many of them chosen with the youngsters in mind. A few games helped, she says, particularly with all the art on show: "We played a game whereby every 10 baby Jesuses and every 10 cruxifictions equalled one gelato (ice cream)."
Her list of sights may be useful for those heading off to Venice shortly. They were:
Piazzale Roma, buy your vaporetto passes and head off on Vaporetto No1 for the trip down the Grand Canal.
Go up a campanille, choosing one depending on the queues. She includes the church of San Giorgio di Maggiore as an alternative to St Mark's campanille which always seem to attract a lengthy wait in line.
St Mark's Basilica, but get there early to avoid the crowds.
The Frari: there's stunning art in the masive Gothic church, although her children were more taken by the strange tomb of Canova.
Scuola San Rocco, nex door to the Frari, where even the children were taken by Tintoretto's Cruxifiction.
A Gondola ride: a must despite the cost.
Ride on a traghetto: the ex-Gondolas which act as ferries across the Grand Canal where you stand up like the locals - be careful to keep your balance as the gondoliers push off, she says.
San Pantalon: It took the artist Gian Antonio Fumiana 24 years to paint the ceiling before he fell to his death, the sort of information that intrigues all ages!
The Accademia - while the children can soon get bored, this world-famous gallery cannot be missed.
Murano - the boat trip, as well as the glass factories, were a hit with her children particularly as they had read the children's book The Glass Heart by Sally Gardner.
Finally, she says that her family found Nico on the Zattere the best gelateria in Venice and stayed at the Hilton Molino Stucky on the Giudecca. The hotel has a rooftop swimming pool, the only one in the city, with great views which the children thoroughly enjoyed.
This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Bob Cartwright. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.
