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Visit Venice
Wading Through This Magnificent City in Italy with Kids
By Sonia Michaels
(Pallas Athene, 2000) for this great idea.) This activity will help to keep children interested in their surroundings (especially if it involves a small prize), and will also draw their eyes to some of the many winged lions, angels and other decorative sculptures that cling to the upper stories of many Venetian buildings.
Take a boat ride to Murano, where you can watch the glass-blowers in action. Your kids will love watching the artisans fashion a lump of glass into a tiny horse. Beware the "hard sell" though, since after the free demonstration you will be shepherded into the showroom and encouraged to buy! If you're traveling with small children, you may find it easier to escape, since toddlers and glassware aren't an ideal match. If your kids do want to buy small souvenirs, tiny glass replicas of hard candies are relatively inexpensive, and just might make it home in one piece.
Other interesting destinations (check your guidebook for details): the Arsenale, the old Jewish Ghetto, the Accademia, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the Peggy Guggenheim collection (modern art) and the Ca d'Oro, among countless others.
Almost as soon as you arrive in Venice, you'll realize just how amazing it is to be in a city where absolutely nothing on wheels can hurt your family. The only wheeled vehicles you will see are strollers and wheelchairs, along with the occasional hand-held cart pushed by a station porter or market vendor.
If you're coming from a traffic-heavy city like Florence or Rome (or New York for that matter), you'll be able to take a deep sigh of relief, but don't let go of those little hands until you have figured out how to handle water safety! Even though mst of the canals aren't very deep, you'll still want to keep your younger children away from the edges, which don't usually have protective railings or barriers. If you have a toddler, consider connecting yourself to your child with a wrist strap or harness, just as an extra safety measure, even if you wouldn't choose to do this at home.