Pagebreak -The best family foodie half-term breaks

Nothing prepares you for your first trip to Venice; the miracle of the buildings on the water, alleyways bursting onto sun-beaten squares and the glow of Aperol spritzes. The best and cheapest way to get about is walk, so if taking the family, be prepared, but Venice is a joy for children with lots of bridges to cross and ice cream to eat. Good food can be hard to come by here, so hop off the beaten track. In Campo San Polo find La Corte Birraria where you can sit in the square and eat pizza made from 72-hour dough for £7 to £13, or linguine with cuttlefish costing £12.Pasticceria Rosa Salva has several sites in Venice. Head for Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, and sit outside with brioche or tramezzini (sandwiches) and coffee. Gelateria Nico on the Zattere serves fine ice cream – their speciality is gianduiotto, a creamy chocolatey confection, but a cone of pistachio is a simpler pleasure. Buy at the counter then walk in the sunshine to the tip of Santa Maria della Salute for the best view in Venice.

How to do it:

Stay at the Sina Centurion Palace, with deluxe rooms with one extra bed available from £559, including breakfast. We got a good deal by booking through British Airways.

Review by Lulu Grimes

Tromsø, Norway

Best for seafood and midnight sun

Situated on a small island well within the Arctic Circle, Tromsø is surrounded by breathtaking mountains and fjords, and the locals are extremely proud of the world-class produce from the region. The cuisine is highly driven by seasonality; in summer, a cold beer and a hard-boiled seagull egg is a midsummer night’s snack, and in winter, skrei cod, stockfish (dried cod) and clipfish (dried and salted cod or bacalao) are common. Don’t miss out on cold-water prawns – eat them straight off the boat on the pier – or the delicious local king crab.Fiskekompaniet on the harbour has the best the Norwegian seas have to offer. For a cheap snack, local fishmongers sell hot Norwegian fishcakes – try Dragøy Fishmonger in Kystens Mathus on the main square for the best. Or opt for a reindeer hot dog at Raketten Kiosko, Norway’s smallest bar. You could also enjoy halibut or strawberry salmon roll at Rå Sushi. Drink at Ølhallen, one of the world’s northernmost breweries with rows of craft beer to choose from.

At Mathallen, the restaurant's head chef Gunnar Jensen fuses modern and traditional Norwegian food using everything from king crab to reindeer. Smak is one of the best restaurants in Norway – head chef Espen Ramnestedt uses locally sourced products from beef and seafood with home-grown herbs to make it a true culinary gem (booking is essential).

How to do it:Stay at Scandic Ishavshotel on the scenic harbourside and wake up to an excellent breakfast each morning. Standard family rooms start from £257 per night during half term. Tromsø Camping may feel like the wilderness, but it’s a half-hour walk to the city centre. Traditional cabins with four bunk beds are available from £142 per night.

Review by Jocelyn Sowden