Visiting Burano Island – Day trip from Venice
Burano is an old fishermen’s island in the Northern Venetian Lagoon dating back to Roman time. It is just 45 minutes away from Venice by Boat. The island is famous for the art of lace making and its vibrant multicoloured houses lining the canals. Currently, the island has about 4000 inhabitants.
The magical Burano Island is definitely a photograph’s paradise and IG worthy destination in Italy! If you are in Venice, you can plan a day trip to visit Burano.
Here is all you need to plan your day trip to Burano Island from Venice.
Murano and Burano Island
Despite sounding similar, Murano and Burano are two different islands in the Venetian Lagoon. Murano is the glass blower’s island where the furnaces for the famous Venetian glasses are still in use. It is closer to Venice. Burano is a fishermen’s island famous for lively colourful houses.
You can plan to visit both the islands on a day trip from Venice. Burano is perfect for a half day trip (2-3 hours of duration) and you have the afternoon to visit Murano on the way back to Venice.
The islands overflow with tourists by 11:30 AM during peak seasons. Start early to catch one of the first ferries to skip the crowd.
Getting to Burano Island from Venice
Use the public transport to get to Burano to stay within your budget. Comparing the private water taxi, the Vaporetto ferries are inexpensive. Additionally, it runs frequently and just takes 45 minutes of travel.
You can take the Vaporetti or Venice’s water bus number #12 from the Fondamente Nove Piere. The vaporetti also stops at Murano, making a day trip to the islands super easy.
You can buy a 24-hour pass which costs €20 or proceed with a one-way ticket that will set you back €7.50. Find the timetable of the Venice vaporetti at the official website.
The Vaporetti get really crowded at high season. Make sure you get to the stops well in advance of the boarding time.
Things to do and see in Burano Island
As you walk along the alleys in the charming island, you will admire the rainbow of colours reflected on the canals and evocative views of the lagoon with the typical fishing boats.
In addition to the colorful buildings, Burano is full of unique corners to see and small places to explore.
History of colourful houses in Burano
Have you wondered about the reason for the making the village vibrant and colourful?
Traditionally the coloured building originate from the times when the fishermen went for fishing in winter. The kaleidoscope of glistening swirl of colourful houses reflected on the sea and making it easy to identify anywhere in the Adriatic Sea, even on a foggy day.
It’s also said that the fishing boats were coloured to match their houses; in-order for their wives to identify the return.
Regardless of the myth, the rainbow hues make Burano one of the most magical fishing towns and walking around will make you feel like you are in a fairytale come to life.
Galuppi Square
The main street on the island is via the Galuppi square. It is where you will find the restaurants, bars and shops selling laces & souveniers.
The main square got its name from the composer Baldassare Galuppi born in Burano in 1706 and has the statue in the center of the square.
The Istrian stone well besides the statue of Galuppi dates back to 500 and gives fresh drinking water.
San Martino Church & Leaning Tower
The most prominent landmark in Burano is the leaning tower of the church San Martino. You can see the tower from the lagoon.
San Martino church is located on the Galuppi square. The 18th century neoclassical styled bell tower (Campanile) of the church is a leaning tower (slightly tilted 1.85 m out of perpendicular) similar to the one in Pisa.
The highlight inside the church are Giambattista Tiepolo’s painting of the Crucifixion, huge stone sarcophagus and its painting of ‘The Miracle of the Children’ and the Urn by Alessandro Zanchi.
Tre Ponti
The wooden bridge named Tre Ponti (three bridges) is the best place to capture some romantic photographs of colour houses reflected on the canals. This wooden bridge connects the three canals and the three beautiful streets of Burano (Giudecca Via, Via San Mauro and Via San Martino Sinistro).
CasaBepi
One of the well-known houses in the island is Casa Bepi or Bepi’s house whose former resident was Giuseppe Toselli.
Toselli worked as a cinema operator in Burano. After cinema got closed down, he had a candy stall on the island and called as Bepi Suà or Bepi Candy. However, he kept the cinema tradition by screening films in front of his house.
On leisure time, he tried new patterns and shapes pained on his house. The Casa Bepi has been left as it was when he died in 2002.
Venetian Lace
Apart from colourful houses and fishing, Burano is also famous for lace making. Burano started with the lacemaking tradition in the late 15th century. It’s said that the delicate white patterns on lace were inspired by the swish of a mermaid’s tail in the waves.
The Burano Lace Museum is well worth a visit. The museum have samples of lace made back in the 17th century.
You can buy lace in Burano from several shops around the island. The cost of laces are expensive. It is due the fact that it is a time-consuming process to produce the laces in a traditional way and only few people make them.
Visiting Burano in the beloved Venetian lagoon made of peace, serenity and kaleidoscope of colors will definitely make your spirits lifted.
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