Venice, Italy is a gorgeous country with many sights to see. They have beautiful art galleries and the short walks to exquisite cafes sound so appealing. However, visiting Venice with kids in tow is another story.

I’m going to be honest, I did not want to add Venice to our Italy itinerary. I was there many years ago and remember it being hard to navigate and I didn’t have 4 kids in tow. I also heard it was VERY hot and VERY crowded in the summer. 

But when I asked my husband one spot he wanted to add to the itinerary, he said Venice. When I asked my girls the same question, they said Venice too. I decided despite being hot and crowded it was a spot my family was interested in seeing, so I was on a mission to figure out where to stay in Venice with the kids.

I’m sharing a whole post on WHERE the best area to stay in Venice is because while I was hesitant to add it to a summer itinerary to Italy, it ended up being a major highlight of our trip and it was super kid-friendly too. I also think the location of where we stayed MADE the trip. We rented this apartment: Mongolfiere Residence in the Castello neighborhood, inside the Giardini Pubblici. I rented the apartment through Kid & Coe. I had been wanting to try Kid & Coe for a long time and since I was nervous about finding kid-friendly accommodations in Venice, I figured this was a good time to try it out.

 

Before I get into the apartment and neighborhood, if you don’t know what Kid & Coe is, it’s like an AirB&B, VRBO, etc but specifically for families. Each listing tells you what makes it family friendly, amenities for kids, why kids like the neighborhood, etc.

There are also things like toys & books for kids, playrooms, kids cups & plates, etc in the apartments/homes. For families, the properties are truly like a home away from home.

 

Now onto why this was the perfect spot to stay…

Where to Stay in Venice with Kids

1. Easy to Get to: Let’s start by getting there and getting around the areas of Venice. The apartment is about a 1 min walking distance to the Biennale stop on the Vaporetto. So when we arrived at the train station, we hopped on a Vaporetto right outside the station and arrived easily at the apartment.

2. Vaporetto & Getting Around: Staying right next to a major Vaporetto stop made getting around so easy. If you want to go to the beach for the day, Lido di Venezia (the best beach) is 1 stop away. We also took the Vaporetto to Burano for the day (more on that in another post). But staying near a Vaporetto stop is key with kids because remember… you’re not renting a car or dialing up a taxi (or water taxi) in Venice!

 

3. No Crowds: Yes, Venice was super crowded in the summer but only near the main attractions & in the very touristy areas like Doge’s Palace, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Campo San Polo, or the Museo Correr in Piazza San Marco. The neighborhood we stayed in wasn’t a bit crowded.

Often when we were enjoying coffee and letting the kids run around the piazza in front of the apartment, we were the only ones there! Staying in a non-crowded area made the trip for us. We didn’t mind the summer crowds around the sites because we knew we were going back to our nice quiet neighborhood to run and play after. One thing that boutique hotels can’t compare to.

4. The Playgrounds About a stone’s throw from the apartment were two fun little playgrounds side by side. The kids LOVED them. The playground is in between the apartment door and the canal, so we’d stop on the way out in the morning and on the way home. There was a water fountain they’d cool down in and lots of kids to play with. Having a playground right outside the apartment was key with 4 little kids.

5. Best Restaurants : One thing everyone will tell you about Venice is that it’s SO expensive to eat there. Well, it is… in touristy spots. We noticed that the same dishes were more than double at spots near St. Marks Square than they were at the areas in the neighborhood we were in. The restaurants near the apartment were the most reasonable, had the nicest staff and the best food we had in Venice!

• Dinner Favorite: Osteria da Pampo –  this was one of our favorite spots for dinner the whole time in Italy. The food was wonderful and the staff was so kind to the kids. It’s quiet and in the park.

7. The walk to St. Mark’s Up until here might have you thinking this nice “quiet”neighborhood away from the crowds is far away from everything in Venice that you’ll want to do… it’s not. You can see the canal from the apartment. Then, if you walk along the water, you’ll run right into St. Mark’s Square. We did the walk multiple times and Tommy (age 3) was able to walk there & back. It’s an easy walk because the bridges along the water here all have ramps. We only needed to take the Vaporetto when we went to Burano, otherwise, we walked everywhere from the apartment.

8. Stroller Friendly: One thing I heard about Venice is that it’s not stroller friendly. Staying in this location, I found it to be very stroller friendly. Yes, there will be times when you have to carry the stroller over a bridge. If your child is small enough, a carrier/baby wearing IS easier. If they’re a wild & crazy 2-year-old that still gets tired and still won’t walk holding your hand… like ours… bring a stroller. 

It was so easy having one and not once did I say I wish we left it home. As I mentioned above, all the bridges on the walk from the apartment to St. Mark’s have ramps. The area around the apartment is the park (stroller friendly) and the waterfront, which is flat and stroller friendly too.

9. HUGE perk of using Kid & Coe in Venice was that the family we rented from gave us the most family-friendly “insider tips” ever. The family that owns the apartment we rented takes great pride in both their apartment and their city, Venice. Our apartment host told us the best “nontouristy” spots to hang out too – it helped tremendously with avoiding crowds.

10. Exploring a more “local” neighborhood: If we hadn’t stayed in this location, we would not have discovered this neighborhood. If we had stayed right in a touristy spot, we would have done all the activities there and I’m not sure how far we would have ventured, not knowing the city so well. 

I’m so thankful we found this apartment and therefore found this neighborhood in Venice. It was quiet, beautiful, and had a real “local” feel. I would highly recommend this apartment and this spot in Venice if you have kids with you.

Disclosure: We did receive a discount on 1 of the nights in exchange for an honest review of renting through Kid & Coe. The rest of the trip was paid for by us as was the job of finding the specific rental we chose. I did not have to write this extensive review of the apartment but we were honestly so impressed I wanted to share all of the details! 

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