Venice is a special city, for families in particular: there are no cars and children spend a lot of time playing soccer and drawing with chalk on the stones of the city’s many campi. It is a city in which you can run around freely, listening to all the fascinating stories, and following the family activities for children and teenagers that are offered by the many Venetian museums.
The history of the city, of its palazzi and legends, artistic workshops, dinosaur skeletons, archaeological detective investigations, treasure hunts… these are all one-of-a-kind experiences for a truly special vacation: learning, discovering, and above all having fun together as a family!
Playing outside in the open air
Venice is a child-friendly city: having no cars, kids can run around freely in the many campi (open spaces similar to small piazze), where they meet to play ball and playground games while parents sit and chat in the nearby shade or benches.
Among the bigger and most popular campi are: Campo Santa Margherita, Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, Campo San Polo, Campo Santa Maria Formosa, Campo della Bragora a Castello, Campo del Ghetto, and Campo San Geremia (just five minutes from the train station and with a great playground set).
There are many public gardens in the city, some of which host playgrounds for children: the park of Giardini di Sant’Elena is the green lung of the city, with playground sets for kids and fun sport sets for adults (near the Sant’Elena waterbus stop).
Nearby is also the green of the Giardini della Biennale, with a small playground exactly in front of the Giardini waterbus stop.
A few steps off of Piazza San Marco are the Giardinetti Reali (under reconstruction at the moment), an oasis in which to take a break away from the tourist crowd and let children play around freely. Once reconstruction works are complete, a new café will also make it a pleasant break for adults as well.
Near the Accademia bridge there are the Zattere, a long fondamenta (pedestrian bank along the side of a canal) where children can run and play, with bars and cafes for ice-creams or aperitifs out in the open.
At the museum with the whole family
Who said that museums are boring? Not in Venice!
Here, there are many tours and activities thought out precisely for family fun. With more than 20 family-oriented proposals, the Musei Civici di Venezia offer activities for children 5 years and older in many Venetian museums and temporary exhibits.
Tours and activities are in many languages, always available “on-demand” online, with particularly good offers for families.
Among the most interesting:
To Palazzo Ducale:
The Palace with a Tale to Tell or The lion hunt
Museo Correr:
The Art Detective
Ca’ Rezzonico:
Who does Venice work?
Ca’ Pesaro:
Pop Art and more – Printing On Fabric
Palazzo Mocenigo:
Hunt the perfume
Museo di Storia Naturale:
Exploring a Very Special Museum
More information:
www.visitmuve.it
Children at the museum: from visitors to protagonists
The Venice Biennale – which alternates yearly the International Exhibition of Contemporary Art with that of Architecture (and hosts the Music, Theater, and Dance exhibits every year) – organizes interesting workshops for children, young adults, and families.
The aim of the proposed activities is that of exploring the spaces in which the exhibits are hosted, the Arsenale and the Giardini, investigating the artistic languages, techniques, multimedia, and themes of the Biennale programs, which are new every year, presenting original and fun approaches to art in all its forms.
More information:
www.labiennale.org
The Guggenheim Museum in Venice welcomes children with open arms on its Kids Day: free workshops on Sundays for children from 5 to 10 years of age.
Through easy and accessible analyses of one or more artworks, young visitors have the chance to experiment with various artistic techniques and discover more on the many artistic themes.
More information:
www.guggenheim-venice.it
Teenagers: Trending Art
Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana, the two seats in the city of the Pinault collection, are the reference points for contemporary art in Venice. In addition to its family and children activities, the teens.palazzograssi.it website is completely dedicated to teenagers: an original way for young adults to discover about the artists and contents of the collection, with videos, pictures, music, and texts expressly thought out for a younger crowd.
The two museums organize workshops, previews, guided tours, performances, concerts, screenings, and much more for the fun and participation of teenagers. Here, they can discover contemporary art and make new friends!
Furthermore, from 2018, entry to the museums is free for all under 19 years of age! It is truly an awesome opportunity that should not be missed!
More information:
www.palazzograssi.it
