Venice with a toddler: vaporetti, pigeons and a mother exploring alone

Getting around by vaporetto with a pushchair

The first thing we did was buy a vaporetto travel card for the public water buses, valid for one or more days. It looked expensive, but we used the boats so often that a multi-day pass paid for itself. You cannot always cross a canal on foot, so plan your stops with the map.

Boats were sometimes full, but whenever I went to the crew with the pushchair and my daughter, they helped us on board. Venetians were warm and helpful; it was always “bambino” and a smile, and locals often helped me on and off the boat.

Where can a toddler play in Venice?

Venice is not a city of playgrounds, but there are places small children love. St Mark’s Square was Zofia’s favourite: early in the morning, before the crowds, she ran across the square and chased pigeons, and we came back several times a day.

Close by, the Royal Gardens (Giardini Reali) have paths and benches where you can sit while a child runs. It was one of the few quiet corners near the centre.

Crowds, and who will actually help

The honest difficulty was other tourists, who sometimes pushed past a mother with a pushchair. Local people were the opposite: they stopped to chat, showed us photographs of their own children and offered help. Staying close to residential streets made the days much calmer.

Planning Venice with small children now

• Check the city’s access fee calendar: day visitors may have to pay on certain dates, and overnight guests have their own registration rules. 1
• A light, foldable pushchair or a carrier is easiest on the many stepped bridges.
• Go out early and late; the middle of the day is the most crowded.
• Keep a hand on small children near canal edges and on boat landings.