We arrived at Malpensa Airport on Wednesday at 11 am and retrieved our luggage (don’t forget to bring a 1 euro coin for the cart) before setting off towards Venice in our car. After a minor disagreement between the children in the back seat, we hit the road. We knew from experience that the three-hour drive to our hotel near Venice would be a good opportunity for the kids to recharge, so we set off with high spirits.
Our time in Venice was nothing short of magical. We spent two days wandering through the winding alleys and canals, savoring every moment and leaving with a hunger for more. We quickly discovered that everything we had heard about the city was true. Happily, our children also loved exploring the city, walking for hours through the alleyways, sipping coffee in the piazzas, and even playing with the pigeons in San Marco Square.
We watched mask artists and glass blowers at work, admiring their skill and craftsmanship. The city is beautiful both day and night, and we recommend experiencing it at both times. We covered an impressive amount of ground on foot, using gelato as our fuel.
On our first day in Venice, we arrived in the afternoon and found the city delightfully uncrowded. We wandered for hours, exploring alleyways and canals, taking in the beauty of the Rialto Bridge and admiring the architecture of the Basilica of San Marco and the Doge’s Palace. We watched gondolas gliding through the smaller canals and even visited the shops of mask makers to see their creations in progress. We walked until late into the night, savoring every moment of this incredible city.
12-hour bus-boat ticket (Vaporeto): The next day, we arrived in Venice by train from the hotel around 11 am. As soon as we left the Santa Lucia train station, in front of which is the Grand Canal, we bought tickets for the Vaporetto bus boats at the ticket offices on the edge of the canal. Since we knew that we also wanted to sail to the islands of Murano and Burano, we bought a ticket for 12 hours, which costs 14 Euro (more financially profitable compared to buying a single ticket at the price of 6.5 Euros per cruise). The price is the same for a small child and an adult, so we paid 70 Euros for five tickets. It takes a few minutes to understand the ferry line system, which line sails where and when. Ask at Modiin and the ticket offices, it saves Time and nerves. In any case, line #1 is a collector line that stops at every station and is therefore very slow and not recommended when you are in a hurry (we sailed it when we wanted to rest). Below is a website with information on the prices of cruise lines: ACTV
Murano Island: We sailed to Murano Island on the DM line and got off at the station next to the glass museum (MURANO MUSEO DX). The cruise took about 25 minutes and was a pleasant experience. The main purpose of the visit to the island was to observe the glassblowers and the glass making process. When we got to the island, we wandered a bit through the quiet alleys. Beautiful and quiet there. The walls of the houses are painted in bright and varied colors and the view is beautiful. We planned to enter the glass museum, but after realizing that the museum only has glass exhibits from different periods and no glass making workshops, we gave up and decided to look for such workshops that are open to tourists (entrance to the museum: 5.5 euros for an adult, 3 euros for a child from the age of 6). The girls at the museum’s reception directed us to two such workshops. The closest one is right across from the museum, on the other side of the canal. Adjacent to one of the glass shops is a workshop open to tourists where you can watch the glass blowing and production process. Definitely an impressive and fascinating performance, both for adults and children. When you watch all the decorative and colorful glass products on sale and see how they are created before your eyes, it is undoubtedly amazing. It’s worth coming and watching it. After half an hour in the workshop, we left and realized that we had exhausted the island. Beyond the glass workshops and a light stroll in the nearby alleys, there is not too much to do there. After rethinking, we decided to forego another cruise of about half an hour to the island of Burano and we returned with longing and joy to the alleys of Venice. This time, we planned to enter all the sites that we had seen from the outside in St. Mark’s Square the night before, and especially to tour the Basilica of St. Mark and observe the view from the top of the bell tower.
The Bell Tower (Campanile di San Marco): the entrance cost us 32 euros (just an observation without a guided or recorded tour). The elevator brought us up in seconds to the top of the tower and the view from there is breathtaking. Every Venice on Aya the many are spread out below. Although we were only there for half an hour, the pleasure was great. The bags must be left at the reception, on the entrance floor.
The Basilica of San Marco (Basilica di San Marco: the entrance is indeed free and free of charge, but you must dress appropriately and do not enter with bags. When we arrived, half an hour before closing, there was no line at all. The basilica is very impressive in its exterior beauty with its statues and mosaics and its interior design. The tour itself is quite short (5 to 10 minutes) but high-quality in terms of the visual experience since the basilica is simply amazing from the inside, the entire space of the building is full of beautiful colorful paintings, mosaics and decorations with scenes from the Bible. The interior marble columns are very impressive. We gave up an internal tour of the Doge’s Palace sea and we sat down to rest in San Marco square.
Gifts and souvenirs: the prices of the various glass items (colored saucers, glass candies, pendants) and the small tourist souvenirs, as well as the prices of masks, are cheaper in Venice than in Murano. Therefore, on the last evening, as part of the wanderings in the alleys, we also bought souvenirs and small gifts in several shops in the area of Campello San Polo Venice. The shops close at about seven, seven thirty.
Recommended restaurant in Venice: Da Sandro – a good and inexpensive pizzeria in Venice. Among other things, they have a fixed menu (Fixed Menu) at a price of 17 euros per diner, which includes grissini and rolls, a first course (lasagna, bolognese pasta, pizza, soup, etc.), a main course (steak, schnitzel, chicken, etc.), side dishes (fries , rice or salad) and a drink (the menu includes wine or a soft drink). The price on the fixed menu already includes a cupperto. A deal is definitely worthwhile: the food is very tasty, the portions are large, the service is homely and smiling and the atmosphere is warm. If you order dishes from the regular menu and not from the regular menu, the table fee is 2 euros. A definitely sane, delicious and highly recommended place in touristic Venice. We arrived following recommendations on the Internet and when we were previously in a gift shop in the area and were interested in the location of the restaurant, the shop assistant said that it was a very good restaurant. Indeed, the place is excellent and crowded mainly with many local diners.
Address: San Polo 1473, Campiello Dei Meloni (in the area of Campo San Polo. Phone: 0415234894. From the Rialto Bridge, go straight and then turn left to Via Vecchia S. Giovanni. Keep walking and at the end there is a square and diagonal to it, an alley called Celle di mezzo and from there to Campigliano de melons (less complicated than it seems, if you get confused, ask someone local)
Not recommended restaurant in Venice: ALLA RIVETTA DA LINO restaurant was crowned by us as the downfall of the trip. On the first evening of the trip in Venice, it started to drizzle and the children sent signals of hunger. At first glance it looked like a small and full restaurant and we were received kindly. Only when we were seated, we realized that all the tables were occupied by groups of tourists. We ordered several dishes whose taste was average or below. The surprise came with the bill, when we discovered that in addition to the 7.5 euro cuproto, they also charged a 7 euro service fee (out of 65.5 euro, 14.5 euro went to table and service fees). Their registered patent. The money was full, but we didn’t really enjoy the food either. In short, an unsuccessful experience.
Recommended ice cream parlor in Venice: MAJER ice cream parlor at 2307 S. Polo St. (phone: 041722873) – excellent ice creams in a selection of flavors and relatively cheap prices for Venice (a scoop – 1.5 euros, two scoops – 2.5 euros, a cup of espresso – 1.8 euros). Very friendly and patient service, especially for children who love it
try a taste or two before ordering (some ice cream parlors do not allow tastings at all). A designed ice cream parlor in the interior of which quality wines are sold, lying there in wine coolers or standing in cases on beautiful stands.
Bottom line, a visit to Venice is a pleasant “must” during a trip to Northern Italy, and both we and the children really liked and enjoyed Venice. It is recommended to devote at least one and a half to two full days to Venice and Laia and you should stay there both during the day and in the evening and night, when darkness falls and the lights are on and reflected in the water and everything is so beautiful, calm and romantic… even for children… real magic! If possible, you should spend one or two nights near the city so that the movement to and from it will be more convenient and fast for you.
Additional and up-to-date details regarding routes and sites in Venice, parking lots as well as trains to Venice can be found on the TOUReply website at the following link: https://www.toureply.com/QASearch.aspx?SearchWord=%d7%9c%d7%95%d7%a6’%d7 %99%d7%94
https://www.toureply.com/QASearch.aspx?SearchWord=%d7%9c%d7%95%d7%a6’%d7%99%d7%94
