This is a 3-part series on Venice. Read also about 5 Top Tips to Ensure You Don’t Hate Venice and 8 Must-Visit Places in Venice.
If you’re spending a number of days in Venice, we can highly recommend sparing a day to visit some of the surrounding islands. The most popular islands are Murano, Burano, and Torcello, which are exactly the islands we visited.
To get to, from, and between the islands, you can buy an unlimited 1-day (24-hour) vaporetto (water bus) ticket from ACTV for €20.00 per adult. We purchased our tickets from a ticket office, but if you’re visiting during high season, it may be better to purchase them from ticket machines or authorised retailers to avoid potentially long queues. Once you have your ticket, remember to tap in before boarding the water bus so that your ticket becomes activated.
We’ll go through the islands in the order that we visited them, and at the end of the post, we’ll explain why we chose the order that we did. Let’s dive in!
Burano
Known for its colourful fishermen’s houses and lace, Burano was our favourite island. Burano sits northeast of Venice and is approximately 50-60 minutes away by water bus. There was a lovely quaint feeling and you can really get a sense of the local life simply by walking around and observing the locals.
Fun fact: The house colours actually follow a certain system. If someone wants to paint their house, they need to first get permission from the government, who will then advise them on the permitted colours to paint the house!
Why are the houses so colourful? There’s one legend saying that because of the fog that can surround the island, having colourful houses helped the fishermen make their way back home. But we’ve also heard that the houses are colourful because the fishermen were always drunk and needed to find their way home!
Everyone knows about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but did you know that on Burano, there is a leaning campanile (bell tower)? This leaning bell tower is located at the Church of San Martino.
Torcello
Close by to Burano is Torcello. Torcello is the original Venice, with the first settlement in 452 AD. People fled to Torcello to get away from the barbarian invasions that were constantly happening, and soon, the island became a political and trading centre. Then, the Black Death came in 1348, and the plague killed approximately 50,000 people. From then on, large numbers of people left Torcello for Murano, Burano, and Venice. Now, there is a full-time population of only 10 people.
The most popular place to visit on Torcello is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. You can also walk up the campanile for €5.00 per person for views of Burano and beyond.
Many places in Europe have a “Devil’s Bridge”, and Torcello is one of them. Most of the Devil’s Bridges are stone bridges and represent some technological achievement. As well, there is some Devil-related legend associated with each bridge. You can find Torcello’s Devil’s Bridge on your way from the water bus stop to the cathedral.
Murano
The most popular of the 3 islands and the closest to Venice is Murano, famous for its glassmaking. Due to the risks and fears of causing fires on Venice, where most buildings were made of wood, all glassmakers were forced to move in 1291.
Similar to the multitude of tourist shops on Venice, there exist a ton of glass shops on Murano. And like Venice, it can be hard to tell what may be made in China and what was made in Italy. There are also a lot of museums available to watch glassmaking/glassblowing, but we’d read that they can be quite pricey and simply tourist traps.
However, we did come across a family-owned place that we can highly recommend! The Ex Chiesa di Santa Chiara (Former Church of Santa Chiara) is a restored church that not only offers glassblowing demonstrations, but also holds events.
Called The Glass Cathedral – Santa Chiara, we saw a 20-minute demonstration by a “Glass Master”. As we went in the “low season”, the cost was just €5.00 per person. In the high season, this rises to €7.00 per person and the demonstrations are 30 minutes long.
What we really enjoyed about this place was that it truly felt authentic, and after the demonstration was over, nobody was ushering us into a salesroom to try and force us to buy items.
Address: Fondamenta Daniele Manin 1, Murano – Venezia
Hours: 10:00 – 11:20 and 13:30 – 16:30
Now, let’s delve into why we decided to visit the islands in the order of Burano, Torcello, and Murano. It seems that tour groups and tourists typically visit Murano first, and then Burano and Torcello (or vice versa). By following the opposite route, Burano and Torcello were relatively quiet when we arrived in the morning. As well, when we arrived at our last stop of Murano, we saw a queue for the vaporetto to leave the island that was well over 100 people long! By the time we decided to leave later in the afternoon, there was no queue.
Hopefully this gave you some insight into a few of the islands surrounding Venice! There are many other islands as well, but Burano, Torcello, and Murano are the ones we chose to visit. Which one sounds most interesting to you? Have you been before? Let us know in the comments!
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I love this! I’ve always wanted to go to Itlay, especially Venice and had no idea of the islands of Venice. I had heard of Murano and own several pieces of Murano glass but had no idea it was a separate island. I agree that Burano looks to be the most beautiful. I love the colorful houses and the story behind why they are painted the way they are. I can’t wait to one day visit this beautiful place.
I have always wanted to visit Venice, it looks like such a beautiful city. The photos you’ve shared make me want to go even more!
I’m not sure which i like best, the colorful houses, the Devil’s Bridge or the glass blowing. For certain, it made these islands something that has made my bucket list. And the tips you gave were very helpful. I really enjoyed the history that you included.
Oh excellent tip of starting at the other island first, I like to avoid busy touristy moments if possible! Thanks for your post it def on my bucket list!
I’ve always heard about Venice but I’ve never had a chance to visit the place. hopefully, I’ll get that chance someday.
Your photos are beautiful in this post, you’ve captured these amazing places so well. I love the colourful houses of Burano and I think it would definitely help me locate my house if I was stumbling home after a few too many 😉 come to think of it…my house does need a new paint job! Great post, thanks for sharing these beautiful places with us!
Venice is on my must-go-someday list, and after reading your blog I think I’d go straight to the islands. I love the colourful fisherman’s houses, and the glass-blowing.
What an interesting and lovely part of the world Venice and the surrounding islands are! I have always been keen to visit the Murano glass factory and the region as a whole. Interesting that only 10 people now call Torcello home and I love the colourful homes on Burano. Very smart the way you figured out the tourist flows and worked your travels against this for a less crowded experience. Definitely, the way to go!
I plan to visit Italy one day soon, and this information has just intensified my yearning to go to Venice. These islands are so stunning! And each one has such a rich and unique history and energy. I’ve just saved your post to Pocket in my travels folder. Thanks for sharing these inspiring images.
Italy has been a favourite and easy-to-reach travel destination. I have been to Venice but not Burano. I wish I could be there right now, possibly on a colourful balcony enjoying the view over freddo! Lovely photos and interesting fun facts.
Venice is on my travel list. Would like to see Burano in person. The colorful buildings are definitely picture worthy 😍
This was a nostalgic trip for me. Had visited Burano, Murano & Torcello in 2016 and spent a day enjoying the thrills of the islands which are so very different from each other. Thanks for taking me through once again.
Every time I read what you write about Venice, I keep asking myself why I haven’t been there.
Looks beautiful. I could spend forever on that river.
Venice has been on my bucket list for years, but I’d never thought about the islands nearby. After reading your descriptions, I know I’ll need more time so I can visit them as well.
These colors are spectacular! My, my– what a beautiful trip!
I need to visit Italy, especially Venice! Every time I read your blogs about it, I’m reminding myself that this needs to be at the top of my travel list. The story behind the colorful houses is really fun too. Maybe I need to paint my house a brighter color! Lol.
If ever I get the chance to go to Europe…Venice is definitely on my list. Amazing photographs!
Blowing glass is truly an art. These islands are more interesting than Venice.