When it comes to family holidays in Venice, there are a surprising number of child-friendly activities to enjoy. Whether you’re taking young children or planning a multi-generational adventure, Sara Scarpa shows you how to keep the family happy in Venice…
For sure, it is true that if you are travelling with very young children, going around with a pushchair can be a nightmare – too many bridges to cross, many narrow calli to squeeze through – not to mention crowded boats, especially during high season.
However, if your children are a bit older, then family holidays in Venice get much easier, and lion spotting is just the first of the many fascinating activities for kids in Venice.
The first ‘fun activity’ is Venice itself.
The city is like a maze, and the best thing to do as a family is to just get lost – literally. Lose your map and just start wandering.
If you follow the small calli, you will find courtyards and forgotten places. Remember to look up as well. There are hundreds of beautiful patere (small circular relief sculptures usually portraying different figures and symbols) and many fantastic creatures to be discovered on the façades of the palaces.
While walking in Venice, you can relax. The fact that there are no cars means kids can run almost freely – if they pay attention to not disturbing the residents on their way to work, if they watch out for the carts full of goods which try to get through the crowded narrow calli, and, last but not least, if they make sure they don’t fall into a canal!
They can play in the campi or in the few pretty hidden gardens. There are a few squares, such as Campo Santa Maria Formosa, where you can sometimes still see kids playing football or campanon (hopscotch).
Lion hunting on family holidays in Venice
One proud winged lion looks down on his fellows and the eight figures protecting a monumental entrance. Its look is fierce and intimidating, and if you look closer, you can see almost a grin on its face as it gets ready to pounce on the first one who dares to enter the area.
Its gigantic friend standing below is three metres tall, has a muscular body and looks serious and vigilant. The lion next to him, though sitting comfortably, appears to be scanning suspiciously, possibly on the lookout for any approaching enemies. Another lion, much slimmer, amicable and nonchalant, and not mindful of trespassers, seems keen to make friends to kill time while pretending to guard the door.
So, let me introduce you to them. These are the lions of the Porta da Terra, the entrance to the Venetian Arsenale, or at least, my own version of them.
These lions are only a few of the hundreds scattered around Venice. Despite Napoleon’s attempts to erase them all, and with them the visual symbols of the existence of the Serenissima, luckily, many are still in the city.
Sculpted or carved, usually winged, the lions are everywhere. They are the symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Venice, and therefore the symbol of the Serenissima.
But most importantly, for many kids, they are there to entertain and to entice imagination.
I have played lion spotting in Venice so many times before – first as a kid and then as an adult (but still a kid inside!) with local children.
The lions are on flags, façades of Venetian palaces, balconies, door handles, on top of the tall Piazzetta column… They are everywhere in Venice.
On just one door of a famous palace, you can count 75 lions in one go. I won’t tell you where it is, but if you can find it, then you will surely win your hunt!
Water activities for kids in Venice
Learning to row can be an interesting activity for both kids and adults. You can learn to row the Venetian way in a traditional Venetian hand-crafted wooden batelina. Alternatively, try a kayak tour to see Venice from a new perspective.
Most kids (myself included) find moving around by boat fascinating. While it’s the norm for Venetians, for most visitors it’s a sensational event. Kids are usually amazed at the fact that I had to get a boat every day to go to school.
Observing the different types of boats moving things around the city is entertaining. There are boats for everything – deliveries, garbage, hotel laundry, and larger boats used to transport cars and vans to the mainland. There are even two ‘floating fruit and vegetable stores’, or rather boats used to sell fruit and vegetables.
Massimo, my mum’s cousin, owns the one in Castello. He spends his life on boats – a boat to go and buy fresh groceries at sunrise, a large wooden boat used to sell the produce, and a smaller boat to enjoy his time off with family and friends on weekends.
The whole Venetian cosmos functions by boats. Police, ambulance and firemen all move around by boat as well.
There are so many different types of water vehicles – motoscafi, vaporetti, motonavi, gondole and many more. Sometimes they are so similar that it is difficult to recognise them (a fun game is seeing who is the first to tell a gondola from a sandolo).
Children’s craft activities on holiday in Venice
Masquerade masks are a symbol of the city and can provide engaging activities for family holidays in Venice, particularly for children who love to get creative.
During the Venice Carnival (which runs from 7th – 17th February in 2026), visitors can dress up for Carnevale and decorate their own masks.
There are also ample opportunities to get involved and see local artists making fabulous masks all year round.
When we visited La Bauta, a mask atelier near San Tomà (which also rents out some luxurious costumes), we met the lovely Jessica and three incredibly well-behaved children.
Jessica briefly explained the history of the local masks and gave the kids some useful painting tips. After picking their favourite blank mask, the kids decorated it beautifully and took it home as a souvenir.
Venice is also famous for glassmaking, and locations like the Murano Glass Museum and the Gino Mazzuccato Artistic Glass Factory offer a great experience in which kids can see the glassblowers creating pieces of art. On certain tours, you can even have a go at glassblowing yourself.
Kid-friendly walks in Venice
While you are walking in Venice, you will come across dozens of shops selling masks and at some point, you will walk over the famous Rialto Bridge. I would recommend coming to this area early in the morning (Monday to Saturday) – you will be able to mingle with the locals at the daily fish market and witness its bustling atmosphere.
The kids will love looking at the huge swordfish, the moving crabs and the cicale di mare (mantis shrimp, funny-looking creatures with a long, skinny body). And even more, they will enjoy the traghetto ride that you can catch from the side of the market, which takes you from Rialto to Santa Sofia by crossing the Canal Grande.
For a couple of euros, you can experience the feeling of being on a gondola on the Grand Canal, and, even though it is just for a minute, it is worth it. Also, on that side of the canal, on the Strada Nova, you can grab a delicious gelato at Gelateria Ca’d’Oro, and with a 10-minute walk, you can reach the restaurant Vecia Cavana for a delicious family-friendly meal.
Turn your stroll around the city into a photography tour of Venice by taking photos of the canals, the stunning palaces, and the colourful houses in Burano. With a list of snaps to capture, it forms a fun scavenger hunt and leaves you with beautiful memories to look back on.
On your walks, make sure you don’t miss the wonderful Libreria Acqua Alta. Located near Campo Santa Maria Formosa and just over 5 minutes away from San Giovanni e Paolo, this quirky bookshop is a real experience.
Thousands of books are stacked everywhere – on the tables, in a bathtub, and even inside a gondola. Some are even piled up to form an actual staircase made of books!
Here, amongst the friendly cats, you can find great books, comics, postcards and posters of all kinds. From the top of the steps/books, you can also enjoy the pretty view over the calm canal and the nearby elegant palaces.
Educational family fun in Venice
If you are looking for some educational activities for children, you should check the MUVE website. Muve (Fondazione Musei Civici Venezia), the foundation of civic museums of Venice, organises interesting activities and workshops for kids in its many museums.
In most cases, there are a few options of activities for children on offer in different languages, which take around a couple of hours. In the Doges’ Palace, for example, there is an interactive visit to discover the palace through games, hidden clues, stories and legends.
Alternatively, take a tour through the most significant areas of the palace, searching for clues to find the culprit of a crime that took place at the time of Doge Francesco Foscari. And, of course, there is the option to continue your lion hunt throughout the palace!
There are many other interesting activities on offer also in the other Muve museums: the Museo Correr, Ca’Rezzonico, Ca’Pesaro, Palazzo Mocenigo, the Glass Museum in Murano, the Lace Museum in Burano, the Natural History Museum, Casa Goldoni and the Centro Culturale Candiani in Mestre.
In Palazzo Mocenigo, the Museum and Study Centre of the History of Textiles and Costumes, you can opt for a great activity dedicated to perfume. During the tour, which traces the history of perfume, the kids can smell some of the most important raw materials used by the ancient Venetian perfumers and learn to make their own perfume, which they can take home with them.
The Natural History Museum is also a fascinating place for children. Here, you can discover the origins of life on Earth, explore fossils and even see the skeleton of a dinosaur discovered by the Venetian palaeontologist and explorer Giancarlo Ligabue.
So, do go to Venice with the kids – or your grandkids. I hope you can see that you will be spoilt for choice as the city offers so much in every season. Plus, you will have lasting memories of La Serenissima that the whole family will treasure forever!
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Words by Sara Scarpa, all photography by Iain Reed (beanotownphotography.com) unless otherwise stated.