Pete1222

Hi,
Any thoughts on which island off the coast of Venice to wander around and see?
Burano or Murano seem to be the most often mentioned. Shopping is not a priority.
Thanks,
Pete

jody

There's no reason you can't do both on the same day. They are not that far from Venice or each other. Of the 2 I prefer Burano. There are a few good restaurants there for lunch and wandering the back streets and canals give lots of photo ops!

ira

Hi Pete,

Burano is a pleasant little village with colorful houses and colorful characters.

On one visit we saw a man walking along the canal with a fishing pole. He had a fish, in a little harness, that he was taking for a walk.

Murano is also nice to visit. It has the Glass Museum as well as the factories.

Reeder

Burano (definitely) a much more charming town. We saw both and really were not into shopping either. If you have time do see both for a comparison at least. H

adrienne

Since shopping is not a priority I would recommend Torcello. It's 5 minutes from Burano so you could easily do both.

Burano has brightly colored buildings which make great photos and the lace museum. You can have a good lunch at Da Romano in the main shopping area (white building with aqua awing and the name is in red letters on a green background).

Torcello is so special. It's very quiet with a couple of restaurants (most notably Locando Cipriani which is very very expensive). The jewel is the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with its exquisite mosaics and fabulous floor. The admission fee includes an audio explaining the frescoes and mosaics. The back wall is stunning with the Last Judgement mosaic. There is also a church and a small museum.

It wasn't until my third trip to Venice that I got to Torcello and I wonder why I waited so long.

ThinGorjus

Burano. Stop and have lunch at Gatto Nero.

beth23

We did all three in one day. Torcello was my favortie by far; it is the most charming of the three.

ms_go

Another vote for a Burano/Torcello combination, for all the reasons stated above.

Pilchard

Hi.

No one has mentioned this yet, but if you go to Murano avoid the glass factory and shops as if they were the Ebola virus. The glass-making IS interesting but the final products are ghastly (Tony and Carmella would love them) and the pressure to buy is substantial.

And lace does not break; go to Burano.

Have a nice trip.

dibaby

Burano. It's very charming with its little colorful houses and old ladies sitting outside knitting lace. A tour guide told me the houses were painted different bright colors because fishermen who went out to sea wanted to be able to see their house from a great distance.

Murano has the whole glass thing, but there are places in Venice where you can watch glass being made, too.

clevelandbrown

Perhaps it was just the day we were there, but Burano was very crowded and touristy, while Murano was much more laid back. Still, I would visit both, as each has its attractions, and they are adjoining stops on the vaporetto.

I had heard that the pressure to buy on Murano was extreme, but that was not our experience, and we found some glasses that we prize as reminders of our visit at what I though was a reasonable price.

RichardBloomfield

ttt

elaine

I'm with the Torcello crowd, it has an otherworldly feeling to it, as if most people have forgotten about it (which they have) though it was the first inhabited island in the lagoon I've been told. But it's a place to stroll, have lunch, visit the cathedral, glory in its mosaics and that's about it,though that's been plenty wonderful for me. Combining it with "next door" Burano is a good plan. Spend an hour or two on Torcello, then on your way back get off on Burano.

mr_go

Burano. Everyone (including, apparently, Ms. Go) seems to like Torcello more than I did. So it's probably just me.

Pete1222

Wow---great response!
Thank you all for your valuable insight.
(I did not even know about Torcello.)
I think that Torcello & Burano are about our speed.
Thanks again,
Pete & Wendy

capo

Hi Pete. We never walked around Murano but got a look at it as the Alilaguna -- the water bus from the airport to San Marco -- passed through. I'm sure it's nice but, compared to Burano, the look is more like Venice. Burano, with it's colored houses, is more unique and, if you're a photographer, I'm sure you'd love it.

HappyTraveling

Hi,
How do you get to Burano and Torcello from Venice?

Also, how long does it take
1) from Venice to Torcello?
2) from Torcello to Burano?
3) from Burano to Venice?
...and costs per person?
...frequency of the transportation ?

Is there a website where we can find more information on these islands?

Thanks!

rfb

If you start early in the day, you can do all of them.

BowenLinda

I enjoyed Murano, Burano even more so, and am looking forward to visiting Torcello and San Michele, the cemetery island.

What are your thoughts about
San Michele?

L

Eloise

This is the Web site for the Venice transportation system, including vaporetti and buses.

http://www.actv.it

There used to be a line that went all the way from Fondamente Nuove in Venice to Torcello, but now you have to go to Burano and change to another vaporetto there. Venice-Burano is around 45 minutes; Burano-Torcello is only 5 minutes, but there is a wait of a few minutes in Burano.

You can easily go to Torcello in the morning, visit the (ex-) cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the tiny church of Santa Fosca next to it (they close, as I recall, at noon or 12:30), and go to Burano for lunch at Da Romano
(I recommend the risotto alla crema di scampi -- risotto with cream of scampi does not sound terribly appetizing, but it is very good).