tncricket

I am looking for info about The Islands of the Venetian Lagoon as mentioned on another post.
What do you know about it?
Or can we do about the same on a 24 hour vaporetto ticket.

Eloise

What did the other post say?

The two principal ones are Burano (colorful, noted for lacemaking) and Murano (interesting church, Glass Museum, center of glassmaking).

The most interesting, as far as I'm concerned, is a third island, Torcello, where the first settlement of the lagoon was located (11th-c. cathedral with moving mosaic of the Virgin, tiny 11th-c. church of Santa Fosca).

Some people visit the island of San Michele (cemetery of Venice); a few go to San Lazzaro degli Armeni (Armenian monastery).

Oh, and lots of people go the Lido (beach, casino in summer).

And there are probably several others that I don't know of.

I doubt that you could do all of them in a day, but you could certainly take a crack at Murano, Burano and Torcello.

tncricket

Author Chels said"
I must say that the day trip to Morano, Torcello, and Burano, 3 small islands off of Venice, was well worth the inexpensive price. (Length, around 2 - 6 p.m. - You can pick it up outside the Danielli hotel on the dock.) Because of our short stay, it was easier to have transpo already arranged, and we experienced a nice flavour outside of the hustle and bustle of Venice. Granted, the 3 islands consist of a visit to a glass factory (yes, they want you to buy), an island with a church to view, and an island that boasts its lace making (again, buy!). But, the travel between islands and the whole flavour were well worth it for time considerations. We did the Venetian sights (what we could) on our own. But sometimes it is worth letting someone else take over simply for time considerations. Not everyone likes guided tours, but you cannot beat some of them for time considerations.
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I copied this from a post:
When you need a break from walking in Venice, take the 3-hour tour of The Islands of the Venetian Lagoon which leaves at 9:30am and 2:30pm from the pier at Riva degli Schiavoni. The boat goes past San Giorgio and San Francesco del Deserto, then makes stops and brief tours at Murano, Torcello and Burano. Take along your camera; you'll want to shoot lots of pictures of colorful Burano. About $15./person. If you're not a tour person, hop onto the boat that leaves every hour from the Fondamenta Nuove heading for Burano and Torcello. Plan to have lunch in one of the great trattorie on Burano, or pack a picnic for enchanting Torcello, where there's lots of room for the kids to play.
~~I am just reading over my notes and want to know more.
~Thanks!

Eloise

Frankly, if you have the time, I think you might be better off doing it on your own rather than with a tour. The tour mentioned probably uses motor launches; the vaporetti are slower and will take longer. But if you do it independently, you will spend less time being encouraged to buy glass and/or lace. (The glass selection in Venice itself is as good as on Murano; I understand that a lot of the so-called Burano lace is now made in China.)

Your 24-hour vaporetto ticket will take you to all the islands; the vaporetti leave from Fondamente Nuove. I would see them in the order they come up: Murano, then Burano (have lunch on Burano; many people recommend Gatto Nero; I personally liked Da Romolo), then Torcello (the cathedral on Torcello closes between about 12:30 and 3:00 - check with the tourist office).

I think Santa Fosca on Torcello is only open in the morning; if you want to see it, then do the islands in reverse order: Torcello, Burano, Murano. (I've done it both ways at one time or another.)

ronnie56

I was in Venice a week ago and my vote is to simply take the vaporetto from F. Nove, as mentioned above. In my case, I visited Burano first(maybe 30 minutes on the vaporetto --it stops first in Murano, but I wanted to go to Burano first, have lunch there, and then visit Murano on the way back).

Burano is stunning...beautiful, colorful houses, due to its history as a fishing village, I think. We were not interested in buying lace, although we did visit the lacemaking museum, which was tiny and not all that interesting. We had a delicious lunch ( you will see plenty of restaurants) and mainly we just enjoyed walking around (it's not that big) and taking lots of pictures. I just found it a refreshing change of pace after the bustle of the main part of Venice where we had been for the previous few days.

Anyway, we stopped at Murano on the way back. I loved looking at all the beautiful glass in the shops. I did not take a factory tour but I happened to enter a shop where someone was making glass, so I appreciated seeing how it is made. I bought a few gifts in the shops that I liked most, but was under no pressure to buy anything because I was not in a factory or on a "tour". I stopped in a little cafe for a yummy cappuccino, took a lot of photos, and felt it was all very lovely and quite worthwhile.

I did have a friend who recommended Torcello, and in particular a very special restaurant there, but I wasn't really interested in visiting. It is interesting to read the history of Torcello, though, and as you see these flat and natural looking islands in the lagoon you realize what Venice must have been like at the very beginning...it is quite a contrast to the Venice we see now.

Just wanted to mention that since I had the 72 hour Vaporetto pass I just chose to go that way (even though my hotel offered "free" water taxi and tour on Murano, I didn't want to be beholden to any tour), and the vaporetto transportation was frequent enough and worked out fine.

Enjoy.

SHADRACH

Last year, I visited Murano, Burano, Torcello and Lido by myself in one day.

I bought a 12 hour ticket. I spent the morning on Murano, had lunch and wander around a little on Burano, visited the two churches on Torcello, and finally ended up my daytrip on Lido.

I didn't do much on Lido because I was kind of tired when I got there. However, the beach was disappointing and the stores on the main commercial street didn't look attractive at all. I think Lido is a "reality check" isle, because after being bewitched by Venice and the other isles, the minute you set foot on Lido, you realize that Italy is like any other country with beautiful and ordinary places.

Murano, Burano and Torcello are just lovely.

Other isles are La Giudecca, San Giorgio Maggiore, San Lazzaro degli Armeni, San Francesco del Deserto and Sant'Erasmo. I've never been to any of them, though.