Venice for kids

Venice is a city famed for tragic romance, but it also has much on offer for families with children.

At first, Venice seems quite 'child unfriendly' – it has no parks, no cycling, and a constant threat of a dip in a canal, along with walking being the main means of transport.

The crowds that flock around St Mark's Square, St. Mark's Basilica, and the Doge's Palace can also be as off-putting as the sites are enchanting.

However, a short stroll from the main tourist sites there is space and the chance to enjoy the Venetian social life, go out buy some bread or pizza, bump into interesting people, and watch heated debates in the city's cafes, all without bumping into another tourist.

The classic way to arrive in Venice is, of course, by boat cruising down the Grand Canal admiring the magnificent palaces.

However, the real fun starts when you step off the water bus, taxi, or gondola, (depending how far the budget stretches) and the first stop has to be St Mark's Square.

A great view and unforgettable experience is to be had from the Campanile bell tower in St Mark's Square. Thankfully for easily tired little legs there is a lift and the view – especially beautiful at sunset supposedly enhanced by the pollution of nearby industrial development Porto Marghra – gives you a true sense of Venice's magnificent winding alleys and canals trapped on a small island.

However, if you are going up the tower beware as the five bells ring on the hour. The sight of the clapper whipping past your head is exhilarating, but the sound is probably a health and safety risk.

Getting lost in the streets and alleys of Venice is the start of an adventure.

A short walk from St Mark's Square in Calle della Vida, and the Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is a great discovery for children.

Bovolo is Venetian for snail and the external spiral staircase which gives the palace its name, leads up a tower with amazing views of the city's roofs, as well as through the arches as you ascend.

Getting away from Venice onto the nearby islands is also a great adventure. The municipal ACTV boats head out to many of the islands, each with its own character.

Seven kilometres away from the decadence of Venice, the island of Burano has a rural feel. The cottages that line the sea front and port are each a distinctive colour, supposedly so fishermen could recognise home from afar.

Burano – famous for lace-making - has parks and small cafes. If your timing is good it is possible to take part in one of the islands many fetes, which are more like village parties, where children are welcomed and made to feel the centre of attention.

Back in Venice, but away from the traditional sites, the Jewish districts - Ghetto Nuovo (New Ghetto), and Ghetto Vecchio (Old Ghetto) – in the north of the city are also worth exploring especially for the restaurants where children are warmly welcomed.

The only drawback is the few tourists that head to the area mean menus are rarely in English – but the fish dishes, pizzas and creamy desserts are worth the risk.

The Ghetto also has quite a different feel from the rest Venice. When the Jewish people were given the district, it wasn't big enough, especially as new families arrived. The answer was to build upwards, creating multi-storey buildings leaning as if in a cartoon - defying gravity and planning permission.

Rainy days provide an excuse to discover Venice's museums. The Guggenheim Collection – housed in Peggy Guggenheim's former home - keeps the feeling of someone's home and not a stuffy gallery, and features works by Picasso in the dinning room, Kandinsky in the kitchen, Ernst in the library, and Pollock in the guest bedroom.

The Guggenheim also has art workshops for children to help them get involved in the creativity.

Meanwhile the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale (Civic Museum of Natural History) has a dinosaur and aquarium to explore.

Venice really does hold a surprise round every corner, but the downside is that you may never be able to revisit the same jewel again once you have found it.

I once found a most fantastic ice cream palour, or gelatoria, in Campo Nazario Sauro. It sold truly unique homemade and delicious flavours of ice cream – compared with the low-grade ice cream at inflated prices usually sold to tourists where Venetians would never part with their euros.

However, in the two years I lived in Venice, I never found Campo Nazario Sauro again.

Billy Barnes