Venice, Italy is made up of over 100 small islands in the venetian lagoon in the Adriatic Sea; some are only accessible by boat, and each island is made of smaller islands separated by canals and connected by bridges. Some of the islands include the main city of Venice, Torcello, Murano and Burano, all of which are very popular tourist destinations.
Getting there: You should take a vaporetto (ACTV public water bus) from Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop. The vaporetto is the cheapest and easiest way to get around the Venetian islands. The other option is to hire a private water taxi, but that is much more expensive. Vaporetto's cost 6.50 euros per person, while a private taxi would cost over 100 euros. There are plenty of signs saying where each vaporetto is going, so it is not hard to figure our which line to go on and when it will arrive; lines 4.1 and 4.2 both go to Murano. It takes about 15 minutes to get to Murano from Fondamente Nove, and another 30 minutes to get to Burano. If you'd like to see both islands, I recommend going to Murano first, and getting back on a vaporetto to get to Burano. From Burano, you can take one back to the main island of Venice.
Burano
Burano island is known for its lacemaking and its brightly colored buildings.
Burano was originally a fishing village - it is said that the houses were painted such bright colors to guide the fisherman back home from the foggy lagoon late in the day. If you go to Murano first, and feel yourself getting hungry, I would wait until you arrive in Burano to eat so you can have a meal in the colorful square shown below. It has some amazing seafood, and the freshest fish in Venice!
There is a very interesting legend regarding where Burano lacemaking came about. The legend says that a fisherman was on his way back to the island after a long day, when he was met with a siren attempting to lure him into the water to be with her. He rejected her and resisted the sirens enticement to stay faithful to his true love waiting for him on the island. Because of this, the Queen siren gifted him a wedding veil made of foam from the waves that he went home and gave to his love. Her friends were jealous of the beautiful veil, and all began trying to recreate it, thus beginning the long history of lacemaking.
Burano island offers lacemaking classes, where you can see how the lace is made and create a piece of your own! Since lacemaking is very intricate and time consuming, you must book in advance and be ready to spend more time here than in a glassblowing class on Murano!
Here is an option if you'd like to participate in a lacemaking class:
Murano
Murano island is known for its glassmaking. While it is less colorful than Burano, it is still a worthy trip. This island offers glassblowing classes to see how the locals make the glass, and you could make a piece of your own!
Here are some options if you'd like to take a glassblowing class:
While wandering the island and going in and out of the many glass shops, you may find a wonderful piece of glass that you want! If you do and it is too large to take with you, (I fell in love with some chandeliers) many places will ship it to your home. The chandelier was over a thousand euros, so I just purchased some beautiful pieces of jewelry including a bracelet, two necklaces and two sets of earrings.
There is jewelry, decorative pieces both large and small, vases, chandeliers, cups, and so many more options.
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