If you're visiting Venice during the warmer months, consider staying in one of the many family hotels on on the Lido. This resort island is just a few minutes from St. Mark's Square by water bus, yet it offers Adriatic beaches where you and the kids can relax when you (or they) tire of sightseeing. Campgrounds with bungalows and beach access are another possibility.

In the city proper, consider renting a vacation apartment where you and the kids can truly make yourselves at home. Our family stayed in a three-bedroom apartment with a washing machine and private garden for about the same price as a room in a three-star hotel. More recently, we've rented several apartments at competitive rates through HomeAway, which lists nearly 500 properties in Venice.

Eating out

If your kids are open-minded eaters, you're in luck. Italian restaurants tend to be more child-friendly than their counterparts in Northern Europe and the U.S., and your children may find themselves being pampered by doting waiters.

Parents of fussier diners can retreat to pizzerias throughout the city. And if your kids like spaghetti, you expect to find pasta on most restaurant menus. (Menus are normally posted outside restaurants, so you can check to see if there's anything the kids will eat before you go inside.)

Ice cream--gelato in Italian--is a popular treat, especially during the summer months. Finally, North American kids with a longing for fast food should be happy at McDonald's on the Strada Nova, near the Ca' d'Oro vaporetto stop.

For more information on Venetian sustenance, see our Dining in the Veneto feature.

Toilets

Nearly all museums have convenient (and clean) lavatories; in a dire emergency, buy something at a bar and hope that its WC isn't of the Turkish hole-in-the-floor variety. Better yet, know where the city's official public toilets are and consider buying the Venice Connected card, which will let you go to the head of the line.

Romantic Venice - With Kids Along
Teresa Plowright of Travel With Kids suggests things for families to do and see together in Venice.

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Venice for families - Introduction

Accommodations, dining, fast food

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Hotel Advice:

Location can be important in a car-free city with 400+ bridges, especially when you're walking with luggage. Before you book, see:

Hotel Recomendations by Area
Find hotels that are handy to the airport, railroad station, cruise port, or Piazza San Marco, and in Mestre.

Aerial Venice Hotels
Read our tips on choosing the right sestiere or district. Then view individual hotels and their surroundings in large satellite photos and aerial close-ups.

MSC cruise ship in Venice

Venice for Cruisers:

Venice canal reflections

From our Venice Travel Blog:

A water taxi ride to Venice Airport
A warning about water taxis
Venice Railroad Station: a vaporetto view
Long lines at Venice Airport
Free boat trips to Murano
Need to pee? Prepare to pay
Crime in Venice
The perils of overpacking
Venetian daily life

Maggie in Venice

From Maggie in Venice:

A dog's life in Venice
A Beagle boards a water bus
Maggie in Venice video clips