A Perfect Day Trip to Burano And Murano From Venice

Burano and Murano – two of the most charming islands near Venice.

The former became famous mostly thanks to its colorful houses whereas the other one is renowned for its glass-making tradition.

If you’re heading to Venice and have enough time, I recommend you plan a day trip to Burano and Murano as well. They’re both not that big and thus easily visitable in one day.

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When my sister and I planned our day trip to Burano and Murano, we weren’t sure which island to see first.

After a short discussion, we agreed on Burano as it’s been high on top of both our bucket lists. Plus we’d seen so many colorful pictures of it already and had quite some expectations!

It doesn’t really make a lot of difference which island to see first and the decision is completely up to you.

However, Burano is the more touristy one so I highly recommend you to go there in the morning.

First Stop: Burano

Welcome to Burano – the most colorful island in the entire world!

You may think that’s an overstatement but it’s 100% true, I swear.

I can still remember the first time I saw photos of this place. It looked almost unreal with the small canals and all the cute houses in the brightest colors.

Back then, I already knew I would see them with my own eyes one day.

At the end of July this year, the moment had finally come and it was even better than expected!

How to Get to Burano

Before I start going into raptures about this wonderful island, it’s better and probably more helpful for you to find out how to get there 😉

As you may know, public transport in Venice mainly consists of water buses – the so-called vaporettos.

The only water bus that goes to Burano – and Murano as well – is route 12 which departs from Fondamente Nove (Ft. Nove).

This stop is in the northern part of Venice and a 20-minute walk from St. Mark’s Square.

For the exact ferry times, check out the ferry schedule from Venice to Burano.

A one-way ticket costs €7.50, which means a return trip costs €15.

It depends on the duration of your stay and how often you use the vaporetto but you may even want to buy multi-day tickets.

Roaming Around The Colorful Streets of Burano

No matter what favorite color you have, you’ll most likely see (at least) one house painted in it.

You may think it’s only a small part of Burano which is colorful. At least that’s what I thought. However, I quickly discovered that colorfulness can be found off the main route as well!

With only 0.2 square kilometers, Burano is a very small island and every point can be reached within 10 minutes from the waterbus station.

The best thing you can do is simply stroll around and see where the path leads you.

Make sure you explore both, the main route along the canal and also the hidden places. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the cutest courtyards like the one pictured below.

Next to the main canal are quite a few souvenir shops selling typical stuff like handcrafted jewelry, postcards and magnets in the form of houses.

They’re really cute souvenirs to buy but there’s something more extraordinary and special you can get.

Burano & It’s Wonderful Tradition

Besides its lovely fishing houses, another thing Burano is known for is the long tradition of needle-lace making.

The real and iconic Burano lace can take a long time to make – sometimes even weeks for just a small piece! So it’s no wonder that the beautiful lace is quite pricey and a tablecloth can cost €500 or even more.

A great address for authentic lace is Emilia Burano. Another good shop is the atelier Martina Vidal with three floors of clothing, housewares and gifts.

If you want to learn more about this interesting tradition, plan a short visit to the lace museum Museo del Merletto.

Even if you plan to visit all the places I mentioned above, you’ll still have enough time to eat lunch or have a nice cup of coffee before heading to Murano.

Some good restaurants in Burano are Trattoria Al Gatto Nero and Ristorante Pizzeria Principe.

Both offer traditional Italian dishes with vegan options including vegetable pizza without cheese and pasta with tomato sauce.

Second Stop: Murano

Burano and Murano – two islands with almost the same name and yet they’re both so different.

Like Burano has its lace, Murano is known for its old glass-making tradition. I’m getting into detail about it later in this blog post but now let me tell you how to reach this island.

How to Get to Murano

If you went to Burano first, take line 12 again back to Venice. After around 25 minutes get off at the stop called Murano Faro.

In case Murano is first on your itinerary, take line 12 from Fondamente Nove – same as for Burano – but leave the ferry earlier.

The ride from Fondamente Nove to Murano Faro is approximately 10 minutes.

What to See in Murano

Murano is not only one island but consists of seven individual islands connected by beautiful bridges.

This might sound a bit overwhelming but the island actually measures only 1.5 km across and is thus easily walkable in less than 20 minutes.

Exactly like Venice, Murano has its own Canale Grande running down from one end of the island to the other. Although it’s not as big as the original one it’s still nice to see all the old buildings on each side of it.

One place you shouldn’t miss in Murano is the Church of Santa Maria e San Donato.

Apparently, this basilica contains bones of a slain dragon that can be found behind the altar.
Myth or truth – I can’t tell because I didn’t even see the bones, unfortunately.

What I did see tho was the amazing mosaic pavement leading from the entrance to the altar.
Whether there are dragon bones or not, the church is worth a visit simply because of this Byzantine mosaic!

The main reason many people visit Murano is neither the church nor the smaller Canale Grande.

It’s the long tradition of glass-making. Visitors from all over the world come to this island to purchase the most gorgeous things made out of the iconic Murano glass.

The Art of Murano Glass

To understand this tradition a bit better, I recommend a visit to the Museo del Vetro. There you’ll learn the story of glass through many centuries.

What makes this kind of glass so special is the unique glassblowing process that’s more than a thousand years old.

It enables extraordinary creations with the most beautiful coloring and sometimes almost surreal patterns and shapes.

Creating this kind of glass is massive work so it’s no wonder that some glass pieces can cost up to a few thousand dollars.

In case you can’t and don’t want to spend a fortune on a piece of artwork, I have some good news for you!

While walking around Murano, you’ll see many art galleries and glass & mirror shops selling more inexpensive stuff made of Murano glass such as small animal figures or jewelry.

If you’re lucky, you’ll even have the chance to watch glassmakers at work.

When we entered one of these shops we saw a woman working on tiny glass figures. The technique she used was seriously so fascinating so we stood there for a while and watched her create these art pieces.

Of course, I couldn’t leave without buying something from her.
I decided to go for a small Panda figure which was way too cute to resist!

Besides animal figures, she was also selling various decoration stuff and the most wonderful handcrafted jewelry.

To end your day trip to Burano and Murano, sit down in one of the many cafés for a coffee or a refreshing drink.

Two that I can recommend are Bar Gelateria al Ponte and Crema & Cioccolato.

Aaaaand it’s a wrap! Here’s la fine of this blog post.

I really hope you found it helpful and I wish you a wonderful time exploring the two fantastic islands Burano and Murano! 🙂

Check out:
– 20 Beautiful Photos of Burano to Inspire Your Trip
– Bucket List Experience – Gondola Ride in Venice
– 10 Best Things to do in Venice For First-Timers

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