Day Trips to Murano and Burano from Venice

If you are staying several days in Venice, I strongly recommend that you set aside half a day to visit the other most important and beautiful islands of the Venetian lagoon: Murano, Burano and Torcello.

The most complete option

Murano, Burano and Torcello Islands Day Trip from Venice

Explore Murano, Burano and Torcello and visit a glassblowing factory.

Visit these mythical islands with an expert guide and learn interesting facts about their monuments and streets. Visit a glass factory and be amazed by the talent of its artisans.

From £21 at Hellotickets

This 4 and a half hour excursion from Venice is an ideal opportunity to visit these beautiful islands and get to know their corners and charms. You will travel by shared boat, like a real local.

Together with the tour guide who will accompany you during the trip, you will visit monuments such as the Cathedral of Torcello (the first cathedral of Venice). You will then visit a glass-blowing factory and enjoy watching the artisans working the glass.

In Burano, you will enjoy admiring the colourful fishermen's houses and their traditional lace, which you can also buy in the shop to take home as a souvenir.

Recommended if... you are looking to make the most of your stay in Venice and are interested in its surroundings, as well as its glassblowing tradition.

If you have more time to visit the surroundings of Venice, I recommend this guided tour in English to visit not only Murano, but also the wonderful islands of Burano and Torcello for a really cheap price, from £21. With this half-day excursion(4.5 hours) aboard a cruise ship and departing in the morning or in the afternoon from Venice you will discover:

This is the most economical way to discover how the famous Murano glass is worked. This activity includes a half-hour glassblowing demonstration in English. However, you'll have to get to Murano and then return to Venice on your own, aboard one of the many vaporettos that make the journey several times a day (you can get your Venice transport pass that includes the trip to Murano, among other nearby islands).

What you'll do at the factory

This is the most complete and personalised excursion of all, and also the most expensive, as it includes a half-day private tour of the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello with pick-up from your hotel and private cruise on board a typical Venetian motorboat.

You will have a guided tour in English to visit the three most important islands of the Venetian lagoon: Burano, Torcello and Murano, with a visit to an artisan glass factory with a demonstration of how Murano glass is worked by a master glassmaker, the entrance to the Basilica of Santa Maria and San Donato and a tour of the exterior of the 17th century Church of St. Peter Martyr.

Vicky's Traveller Tip

If you want to buy a Murano glass souvenir, compare prices in the shops or buy it in Burano, it is usually cheaper.

If you are interested in visiting the island of Murano in a more complete, comfortable and personalised way, choose this private tour with hotel pick-up and water taxi ride on the Grand Canal. You will do the whole tour with a professional guide in English and you will get to know the most iconic sights of Venice in a totally exclusive experience.

What you will do in Murano:

You'll tour its historic centre hand in hand with your guide, seeing sites such as the 7th century Basilica of St. Mary and St. Donatus, with three naves and apse in Byzantine style and housing the remains of St. Donatus, Bishop of Ebria, and the supposed remains of the dragon that killed him, plus several exquisite polychrome marble mosaics with allegorical representations of animals and geometric motifs

You will visit a traditional Murano glass factory, the Vetreria Artistica Colleoni, with a demonstration of the making of two glass objects by a master craftsman, a tradition dating back to 1291.

You'll enjoy a 20% discount and take part in a curious Cinderella-style activity where you'll try on a glass shoe similar to that of the fairytale princess. If the shoe turns out to be your size, you'll take it home with you as a souvenir.

Please note that this tour ends in Murano, i.e. it does not include the water taxi ticket back to Venice, so you'll have to take one of the vaporettos that make the journey from Murano to various points in Venice, such as San Marco, the train station and Fondamente Nove, among others. (Check how they work on their official website).

Itinerary

Getting to the most beautiful and important islands of the Venetian lagoon, Murano, Burano and Torcello, from Venice is very easy thanks to one of the organised excursions I have mentioned or on your own, using the city's public water transport, the vaporetto.

You can take one of the vaporetto boats that run very frequently from Venice, every 20 minutes, and reach Murano, Burano and Torcello in about half an hour. The vaporetto leaves from the Fondamente Nove stop and has several lines, although I recommend taking number 12 as it stops at Murano and Burano on the same route.

Prices of the vaporetto

The price of a single one-hour trip on the vaporetto is 6.5 euros, so if you're going to use this means of transport to get around Venice and the surrounding area, I recommend getting one of the city's transport cards.

These cards include access to all the vaporetto boats that run around Venice and its nearby islands, with night rides on the Grand Canal, access to other interesting neighbourhoods such as Dorsoduro and even all the buses to Lido included, for a much more convenient price, as you pay for full days of unlimited use. The prices of the Venice transport cards, which can be used from 4.30am to 12.30am, are:

Murano

On the island of Murano you can stroll through a cosy and authentic town around wonderful canals, streets and unique shops, where you will discover the variety of glass objects that can be made by its glass artisans.

Seeing precisely how they create these unique pieces in one of the many factories in the centre of the island is one of the essential things to do in Murano, thanks to demonstrations by glass masters who preserve this tradition that made the town so prosperous between 1400 and 1500 as the centre of glassmaking in Europe.

You can go to Murano on any day, although it's best to avoid Saturdays, when the glassworks are usually closed. The churches of Santa Maria e San Donato and San Pietro Martir are also a must-see in Murano.

Torcello

Torcello is the oldest island in the Venetian lagoon, dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries. This town has a great historical heritage, full of ornate buildings among which its palaces stand out, such as the ancient Throne of Attila.

Its famous Devil's Bridge preserves the appearance of the old Venetian bridges and its churches, such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, founded in the 7th century, and the remains of the baptistery in the Church of Santa Fosca, a great example of Byzantine art and located in the main square of Torcello.

Burano

This picturesque town of no more than 4,000 inhabitants is famous for its biscuits, its prized seafood, for having produced the best lace in Europe, a tradition that dates back to the 16th century, and for its colourful fishermen's houses. Legend has it that the sailors painted each house a different colour so that they could distinguish them from their boats and in the distance on foggy days.

To admire Burano' s lace, head to one of the many local shops and craft stalls in its central square, Piazza Baldassare Galuppi, and visit the museum of the old Lace School. Burano has no major attractions, apart from the slightly leaning bell tower of the Church of San Martino Vescovo, which you can see from anywhere on the island, but just for wandering around its charming streets, it's well worth a visit.

If you want to explore the history and art of the city's main monuments as well as the small islands of Venice, don't miss the entrance to the Doge's Palace and a visit to St. Mark's Basilica. Also, don't miss the impressive St. Mark's Square or one of the most iconic activities in the city: the gondola rides through the canals of Venice.

Here are my articles on the subject so you can check out all the details: Doge's Palace in Venice Tickets and Tours, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice Tickets and Tours y Venice Gondola Rides.