Venice or Amsterdam?

[Deleted]

We'd probably do 4 days at Christmas time.

Which would you do with kids? 

I was thinking of saving Amsterdam until summer because I want to do a bike holiday there on one our summer trips to England. 

[Deleted]

Four days in Venice is a long time. We were pretty done with Venice after 2 1/2, but we had no kids in tow.

[frlcb]

I love Venice but think 4 days is a long time there.

[chicago]

Agreed that four days in Venice is a lot.

[Deleted]

Amsterdam

4 days is too much in venice
im not a huge venice fan either

[smock]

Four days in Venice is great! Spend one day taking a boat out to some of the islands (Murano, Burano, maybe Torcello); one day to go up the Campanile, into the Basilica di San Marco, and maybe the Doge's Palace, one day to explore the big park at the south-east end of the island (lots of kids down there), and one day to just eat gelato. Maybe I'm biased because I lived in Venice for a few months, lol.

[LoveTrains]

Amsterdam is beautiful at Christmas.

[Deleted]

Sept 2, 2013 22:57:21 GMT -5 @sfgal530 said:

I'll agree with PPs who say 4 days is too much in Venice. After two days there, I was good.

I love Amsterdam. It's maybe my favorite city in all of Europe (at least, the ones I've visited). That being said, I've been to Amsterdam when it is cold/rainy and when it is gorgeous/sunny, and it certainly is a much nicer city when it is gorgeous/sunny.

Are you set with just Amsterdam or Venice as options?

I still really want to do Lapland. I hope DH comes around to it.

[Deleted]

4 days in Amsterdam is a long time too

Amsterdam is lovely, but I'd probably hold out for nicer weather too.

[Deleted]

I think DH wants Amsterdam because he ice skated on the canals when he was younger.

[frlcb]

Why don't you do some Christmas markets? I think you said you have done them before but they are so great for kids.

[Deleted]

Sept 3, 2013 7:40:39 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Why don't you do some Christmas markets? I think you said you have done them before but they are so great for kids.

Partly because I think we are going to fly over a couple days before Christmas, spend Christmas with the family and then travel the week after Christmas.

[frlcb]

What about the Baltic? We loved it. It would be cold though.

[anna7602]

Venice is the most perfect city on earth for kids- no cars, no traffic, lots of "magic" (masks, gondolas, palaces). I found it incredibly easy to navigate by foot, but going at a kid's pace, 4 days does not seem like too long. Here's a blog post I wrote about things to do with kids in Venice:

malangababy.blogspot.com/2013/03/if-you-only-travel-to-one-new-city-with.html

That said, we did the Christmas markets last year with DD- Bruges and Colmar/Strasburg. They were both lovely places to be with a child. It just depends on what kind of experience you are looking for.

[travelingjen]

Sept 2, 2013 14:32:16 GMT -5 smock said:

Four days in Venice is great! Spend one day taking a boat out to some of the islands (Murano, Burano, maybe Torcello); one day to go up the Campanile, into the Basilica di San Marco, and maybe the Doge's Palace, one day to explore the big park at the south-east end of the island (lots of kids down there), and one day to just eat gelato. Maybe I'm biased because I lived in Venice for a few months, lol.

This. We spent four days in Venice when we visited about two years ago and really enjoyed our time. In addition to doing a day-trip to the islands, also spend lots of time exploring the many neighborhoods of Venice that most tourists skip. That's where you'll find the most enjoyable parts of the city!