Our Venice Holiday

Driving To Venice From Zürich

We spent a wonderful week in Venice during the April school holidays. From Zürich, we drove the 5 1/2 hours down to Venice with stops along the way. We especially liked the rest area right after The Gotthard Road Tunnel, a 17km tunnel connecting German and Italian speaking areas of Switzerland.

Where We Stayed In Venice

We found our hotel in one of my favorite books, 1,000 Places To See Before You Die, Hotel Flora. Hotel Flora is off the beaten trinket path of masks and touristy shops. The hotel is kid friendly, small, and quiet. We enjoyed the buffet breakfast, which included chocolate croissants, pancakes, and Nutella! There is also a nice garden courtyard for the kids to run around. We booked the family room, which had a large bed and two smaller beds for the girls.

Take A Cooking Class

The highlight of the trip was the cooking class. We started the morning with Isabella, our tour guide and chef. She took us through the open air farmer’s market to get all our fresh ingredients. Then, we walked to Isabella’s beautiful home in the heart of Venice. Isabella even had the girls collect herbs from her rooftop garden where we enjoyed the amazing views of the canals and the churches. The tiramisu and gnocchi were beyond spectacular.

Where We Explored

With the help of a tour guide we explored Murano, Burano and Torcello with the ease of water taxis. The water taxis were quite entertaining for my 3-year-old, who loved getting a chance to drive. My 5 year was quite happy working on her Usborne Sticker Book (purchased at the Doge’s Palace gift shop). We had our guide for 2 hours the first day to get a lay of the land and tour of Doge’s Palace and 4 hours the next day to get a wonderful tour of the islands Murano, Burano and Torcello.

The first stop on our water taxi was the island of Murano, where we were given a special tour of a glass studio. Our 3-year-old, Heike, even tried glass blowing. Next, we took the water taxi to neighbouring Burano, famous for its lace, gorgeous colorful houses, and for yummy Venetian butter cookies, Bussolai Buranei. The girls got to watch a woman making beautiful dresses out of lace in a small shop. They each picked out a dress and wore them as we toured the beautifully colored houses. We stopped for an espresso and the famous cookies Burano is known for. Finally, we took the water taxi to Torcello and toured a beautiful church before having an amazing lunch at Locanda Cipriani. We ate outside in a beautiful courtyard overlooking the church and a large green space for the girls to run around after lunch.

Make A Mask

We went to Il Canovaccio, where Hadley made her own Venetian mask.

Final Thoughts

Venice is a wonderful adventure for the whole family. It is a very busy and touristy place. So, to get off the beaten path, plan ahead and take a cooking class or get in a water taxi and explore the other islands. Just getting out of the bustling city center will help you enjoy the trip with little kids a whole lot better.