Wanderlust Traveler: Islands of the Venetian Lagoon (Burano, Murano, & San Giorgio Maggiore)

Beautiful Burano.

We were fortunate enough to have four days to spend in Venice during our trip to Italy in September of 2011. I had heard numerous wonderful things about the surrounding islands of Venice, including Burano and Murano. Since we had so much extra time in the city, we chose to spend one of the days touring the islands. The best way to reach the islands is by vaporetto. Even if you are only in Venice for a few days, I would highly recommend purchasing a vaporetto pass versus using single tickets. It will save you a lot of money!

If you plan your day carefully using the vaporetto schedules, you can visit the islands of Cimitero, Murano, Burano, and Torcello. We had initially planned on visiting all four but on our way to Cimitero we realized that we had left our Museum Pass at the hotel. This pass enabled us to visit both Burano's Lace Museum and Murano's Glass Museum for free. We got off on a random island in the lagoon so that we could turn around and get back to Venice. Unfortunately, not fully understanding the vaporetto schedules we had no idea that the vaporetto we chose took us all the way around Venice, and we didn't reach St. Mark's Square for over an hour. Needless to say, in hindsight, that was a very stupid waste of our time as I would have much rather paid to visit the museums out of our pocket as we ended up having to cut Cimitero and Torcello out of our day. We were both surprised with the length of time it takes to go from island to island; they are not as close as you think they might be!

We also visited San Giorgio Maggiore on a separate day, as it is located directly across the lagoon from St. Mark's Square, via a quick five minute vaporetto ride.

Burano:
This incredibly beautiful island is famous for its production of lace and its picture perfect pastel buildings. Most of our visit happened to coincide with the golden hour (last hour of sunlight) so the buildings shined vibrantly in most of my photos. Burano is great place to stroll through and explore its many lace shops and quiet canals, but it does have one interesting sight: its Lace Museum, which is described further below.

Burano

Shyawn walking through Burano.

Burano

Lacework for sale in Burano.

Burano

Burano is filled with so many vibrantly-painted buildings, like this one.

This was one of the restaurants where Anthony Bourdain ate the famous goh risotto on his Venice show. Unfortunately it was closed when we visited.

Burano

We happened upon this bride and groom as we wandered through Burano.

Burano

A friendly cat on Burano.

Burano

The bride and groom continuing their photo shoot on Burano.

Burano

My favorite place in Burano.

Our attempt at a self-portrait in Burano.

Cruising through Burano.

Burano

It's a cat's life in Burano.

Cat in Burano.

A cat relaxing on a boat in Burano.

Burano

Lace for sale in Burano.

Burano

Lace Museum:
Beginning in the sixteenth century Burano became known throughout Europe and the world for its lace making. There was a small decline of the industry in the seventeenth century but in 1872 a lace making school was set-up on the island to teach young women the local tradition and help revive the industry. The school lasted until 1970 and the building was eventually transformed into a museum. Although small, I found the recently reopened museum to be very interesting and informative. They even had a local woman sitting in one of the rooms doing lacework for all to watch, which I found fascinating. The museum also had many examples of lace to look at as well as old clothing (including a wedding dress) to view.

Lace Museum in Burano.

Murano:
This island is famous for its production of venetian glass. Back in the late 1200's all of the glass makers within Venice were forced to move over to Murano due to the risk of fires as much of Venice at that time was built of wood. Over the centuries the Murano glass makers perfected their craft and as a result had the most sought-after glass in all of Europe. Today Murano is still filled with many glass making factories and shops that sell the colorful goods. I had read that many of the glass factories offer free 20 minute glassblowing demonstrations but, unfortunately with the short amount of time we had on the island, we didn't get the opportunity to see any of the demonstrations as we instead chose to wander through the streets and shops and pay a visit to the Glass Museum.

Aside from visiting the famous glass shops, many visitors also stop in at the Glass Museum. I found the museum to be rather dull and uninteresting. Additionally, I was surprised by the lack of glass exhibits. Unless you are a glass aficionado or have a lot of time to kill, I wouldn't bother on stopping in.

I found Murano to be a much smaller and less chaotic version of Venice. It was definitely beautiful but simply could not compare to colorful and gorgeous Burano. If you only have time for one island, I would definitely recommend Burano over Murano.

Murano

Shyawn enjoying the views from a bridge in Murano.

Murano

Glass for sale in Murano.

Glass blowing shop in Murano.

Dining in Murano:

We had a quick but relaxing lunch in Murano at B Restaurant alla Vecchia Pescheria. We ordered a margarita pizza and spaghetti with red sauce. Both plates were surprisingly tasty. We later learned that this restaurant is one of the most popular in Murano and well-known for its fish dishes.

Piazza from B Restaurant alla Vecchia Pescheria.

Pasta dish from B Restaurant alla Vecchia Pescheria.

San Giorgio Maggiore:
This tiny island is the most accessible from Venice and located just a quick five minute vaporetto ride from St. Mark's Square. The island is most well-known for its Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Andrea Palladio and built between 1566 to 1610. The interior of the church is refreshingly light, bright, and clean, which was a nice change from the heavily ornate and dimly-lit churches we had visited throughout Italy. We eventually made our way up to the top of the bell tower where we were rewarded with an incredible view of Venice and the lagoon.