Venice had been on my bucket list for years, but I wasn’t completely sure how it would work with three kids and only 48 hours to explore. Over two days, we saw two completely different sides of the city. 

Our first full day was wet, very wet. It rained almost all day, but somehow it didn’t spoil Venice at all. We wandered through tiny streets, crossed countless bridges, walked over the Rialto Bridge, took a gondola through the canals and explored St Mark’s Square. 

The following morning, the weather completely changed. The sun came out and we headed onto the Venetian Lagoon for a boat trip to Murano and Burano, which became one of the highlights of our Italian road trip. 

By 4pm, we were back in the car and heading towards our next stop: Lake Garda. So, if you’re wondering whether 48 hours in Venice is enough with kids, this is exactly how we spent ours. 

Venice at a glance 

Duration: Two nights / approximately 48 hours 
Who we travelled with: Two adults and three children 
Best for: Exploring, boat trips, gondolas and colourful islands 
Budget: €€ 
Getting around: Walking, trains and boats 
Where we stayed: a&o Hostel Venezia Mestre 
Next stop: Lake Garda 

Our 48-hour Venice itinerary 

• Arrival evening: Drive from Alpe d’Huez → Check into a&o Venezia Mestre → Pizza at Pizzeria Da Michele 
• Day 2: Train into Venice → Self guided walking tour → Rialto Bridge → Gondola ride → St Mark’s Square → Bridge of Sighs → Dinner at Manolo Bernardi
• Day 3: Murano and Burano boat tour → Lunch → Back to Mestre → Leave around 4pm → Drive to Lake Garda

Arrival evening: Alpe d’Huez to Venice

Venice was the next stop on our European road trip after three days in Alpe d’Huez, so our first experience of the city was actually arriving in Mestre after a long day on the road. 

We deliberately chose to stay outside Venice itself in Mestre. With three children, a car and everything we needed for a multi-week European road trip, staying in Mestre made life considerably easier and very cost effective!  

Luckily, Pizzeria Da Michele was just down the road from the hostel, so our first night in Italy’s most famous canal city was spent exactly as it probably should be: eating pizza (and steak!). Total price €99.  

Then it was back to a&o and an early night before our first proper day exploring Venice.

Day 2:  Walking Venice in the rain and a gondola ride  

The hostel is around a 5 to 7-minute walk from Venezia Mestre station, and the train into Venezia Santa Lucia takes roughly 10 minutes, costing around €1.50 each way. Trains run very frequently, so staying outside Venice never felt inconvenient. One minute you’re on the train, the next you’re looking out over boats, bridges and palazzos. 

We got into Venice and it started to rain, and it didn’t really stop. This was not quite how I had pictured our big day exploring Venice, but it actually ended up being one of those days that reminds you that family travel doesn’t always need perfect weather. 

We brought €2 ponchos and an umbrella up and got on with it!  

Exploring Venice on foot 

We decided that our first day would largely be about walking. Venice is one of those cities where getting from A to B is half the fun. Tiny alleyways suddenly open onto squares, bridges take you over canals and every few minutes you seem to stumble across another view that makes you stop.

With children, I actually think this works really well. We meandered in and out of lots of souvenir shops, looked at beautiful views and took it all in! We walked towards reached one of Venice’s most famous landmarks, the Rialto Bridge.

It’s worth walking across the bridge but make sure you also head down towards the Grand Canal afterwards. I preferred the view from water level, where you can watch the gondolas, boats and vaporetti travelling underneath it. 

From Rialto, we continued wandering through Venice towards the part of the day the children had really been waiting for.

A gondola ride through Venice – would you do it? 

We couldn’t come all the way to Venice and not go on a gondola. I did wonder beforehand whether it would be one of those very expensive tourist experiences that we would immediately regret paying for. It wasn’t. For us, it was one of the highlights of Venice and it even stopped raining for some of it!  

One particularly useful thing for families is that a gondola is charged per boat rather than per person, and one gondola can carry five people. That meant the five of us could all go together. Total price €90.  

We travelled through the smaller canals before heading onto part of the Grand Canal, passing underneath bridges and alongside buildings that look completely different when you see them from the water. 

St Mark’s Square and the Bridge of Sighs 

After our gondola ride we continued towards St Mark’s Square, home to St Mark’s Basilica, the Campanile and Doge’s Palace. 

We walked around the outside of Doge’s Palace and headed towards the waterfront, where you can get the classic view of the Bridge of Sighs from Ponte della Paglia. 

We headed back to Mestre for a quick chill, before having a drink in the bar while the kids played in the kids corner.

Dinner in Mestre 

That evening we ate at Ying Di Sun Aixiong. It was further than we needed to go, but hey, my husband loves picking restaurants. The restaurant we were heading to was closed and this was near by – it was lovely with very few reviews. Total price for five people €54 with drinks.  

Day 3: Murano and Burano in the sunshine

Here is the link to the trip we did on Viator (Aff) – Murano and Burano trip

The next morning, Venice decided to show us its other side. The clouds had gone and the sun was out.  

We had booked a five-hour Murano and Burano tour through Viator, which cost us £86.39 at the time of our trip, and it was brilliant, I’d do this again! The boat journey itself was part of the experience and was stunning. 

Murano 

Our first stop was Murano, famous throughout the world for its glassmaking. 

We had the opportunity to see the island and learn more about its famous glassmaking tradition, wandered the streets crossed over the bridges and got an ice cream.  

I was mildly on edge a few times in the glass shops, the glass is beautiful but expensive. I spent the time holding my four-year-olds hands, making sure he didn’t pick up anything he shouldn’t.  

We then headed back to the boat for Burano.  

Burano was gorgeous. If you’ve seen photographs of the island, you’ll know it is famous for its rows of brightly coloured houses and it really is that colourful. Pink, yellow, blue, orange and green houses line the canals, with little boats moored outside and washing hanging between buildings. It was somewhere you could simply wander without needing a particular plan. It was easily one of my favourite parts of our time in Venice. 

We ate Pizza here for lunch, there’s still some bargain places with great pizza – we paid €28 for two very large pizzas to share, a beer and a bottle of coke. We ate at Devil Pizza.

Is a Murano and Burano tour worth it? 

For us, absolutely. With such a short amount of time in Venice, booking a tour meant we didn’t have to spend our morning working out different boats or connections. We just turned up and enjoyed it. I’m really glad we didn’t spend both days solely in central Venice.

In less than 48 hours we’d experienced rainy backstreets, the Grand Canal, a gondola ride, St Mark’s Square, Murano’s glassmaking and the incredible colours of Burano. 

After the tour, we headed back to Mestre, collected the car and at around 4pm we were back on the road, this time heading towards Lake Garda for the next part of our Italian adventure. 

Where to stay in Venice with children

We stayed at a&o Hostel Venezia Mestre, just outside Venice itself. 

For us, Mestre made a lot of sense. We were travelling with three children, a car full of luggage and were in the middle of a European road trip, so staying somewhere we could easily park was a big advantage. 

We paid £203 for two nights for our family room. The room was large, clean and perfect for a family of 4, 5 or 6. There were plenty of families staying here, a big benefit was it has a kids corner in the bar with some toys and a place for the kids to play, while we got a nice drink.  

The location was great, plenty of restaurants within walking distance and there is parking on site.  It also meant we didn’t need to haul all our luggage through the streets of Venice. 

What our 48 hours in Venice cost 

Venice has a reputation for being expensive, but we found there were ways to keep the cost down. 

Expense	Cost for a family of five
Accommodation	£203
Gondola	€90
Viator trip to Murano and Burano	£86.39
Trains	€24
Supermarket	€12.30
Coffee, ice cream and drinks	€55.50
Meals	€202.50
Total	£289.40 +€360 = approx. £597

Approximate cost per person: £119pp 

Prices were correct at the time of our visit (Aug 26) and may change. Always check current ticket prices and opening dates before travelling.

Our favourite things to do in Venice with kids 

• Take a gondola ride – Yes, it is touristy, but we loved it. One of the best things for families is that you pay for the gondola rather than per person, so the five of us could all travel together.
• Walk through Venice –  Some of our favourite moments were simply wandering. Venice is full of tiny streets, bridges, canals and hidden squares, so even getting from one major sight to another feels like part of the experience.
• Visit Murano and Burano – This was probably our favourite part of the whole Venice stay. Murano was great to see the glassmaking, but Burano was the real standout for us. The colourful houses, canals and boats made it feel completely different to central Venice. If you only have 48 hours in Venice, I would still try to make time for the islands.
• Eating pizza and pasta – the food was great, fresh pasta and pizza was superb everywhere we ate.
• Drinking Aperol – needs I say more!  

Things to know before visiting Venice with kids 

• You will walk a lot. Venice is incredibly walkable, but there are bridges and steps everywhere, so comfortable shoes are essential. We did 27,000 steps on day one, though it honestly didn’t feel like we did!
• You don’t have to stay in central Venice. Mestre worked brilliantly for us, particularly because we were travelling by car. The train into Venice only took around 10 minutes and you don’t have to haul your luggage down the little streets.
• Rain doesn’t have to ruin the day. It rained for almost our entire first day and we still managed to see everything we had planned. Venice actually felt surprisingly atmospheric in the rain and it was much quieter!
• Do the experiences that matter most to you. With only 48 hours, we chose a gondola ride and the Murano and Burano tour rather than trying to visit every museum and major attraction.
• You don’t need to over-plan. Venice is one of those places where wandering is part of the experience. Leave some time simply to explore the streets and canals. 

Is Venice worth visiting with kids? 

For us, definitely. I had wondered whether Venice might be one of those cities that was better suited to a couples’ weekend than a family trip, but the children enjoyed it far more than I expected.

There are boats everywhere, endless bridges to cross, tiny streets to explore and plenty of little shops to go in! In just 48 hours we managed to experience two very different versions of Venice. We had a rainy day exploring the Rialto Bridge, gondolas and St Mark’s Square, followed by blue skies and colourful houses on Murano and Burano. 

It felt like we packed a huge amount into a short stay without needing to rush constantly.

Take a look at the next part of our European road trip – Lake Garda

Next reads

• See our full 18 road trip for 2026
• Check out Lake Garda and out 7 day itinerary
• Follow on Instagram and see videos of this trip.

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