Murano Burano island tour: half day tours
Dedicate a few hours of your stay in Venice to discovering the marvellous little islands of the lagoon: the glass-maker island of Murano, colourful Burano, Torcello and its glorious past! If you are traveling to Venice and you have very little time, but you would still like to take a trip to the most famous Venice islands, join this boat tour of Murano, Burano and Torcello!
WHY DID WE LIKE THIS EXPERIENCE SO MUCH?
- Get a flavour of the Murano, Burano and Torcello Islands!
- You can see the master blowers at work in a Murano glass factory!
- Visit the lace shops of Burano and take photos of colorful houses!
Price
Morning 2 islands tours
Departure Piazzale Roma/train station, Zattere/Canal Giudecca
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- Full price: 30 €
- Children between 4-10 years: 15 €
- Free up to 3 years
Departure St Marsk Square/ Cornoldi
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- Full price: 20 € (until 31/03/2023)
- Full price: 25 € (from 01/04/2023)
- Children between 4-10 years: 10 € (until 31/03/2023)
- Children between 4-10 years: 15 € (from 01/04/2023)
- Free up to 3 years
Afternoon 2 islands tour
Departure only from St Marsk Square/ Cornoldi
-
- Full price: 20 € (until 31/03/2023)
- Full price: 25 € (from 01/04/2023)
- Children between 4-10 years: 10 € (until 31/03/2023)
- Children between 4-10 years: 15 € (from 01/04/2023)
- Free up to 3 years
Availability
Look at the updated calendar
Duration
from 4.5 to 5 hours
Features
- Pet Friendly
- Child Friendly
- Accessible with public transport
These half-day trips offer the possibility to visit Murano, Burano in an half day (5 hours). It is perfect if you do not have so many time at your disposal!
In our experience, doing 2 islands in half a day is a real tour de force! In this case, we invite you to consult our page Torcello Murano Burano Islands Tour: Full-day Venice Lagoon for a one day excursion. This tour includes a stop in Torcello, to breathe the ancient air of the origins of Venice and visit cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. You can also choose the option including lunch. Click on the image for more information:
There are three departure options for tour 2 islands:
- one is near Piazzale Roma and the Railway station Santa Lucia. It is therefore very convenient if you sleep in Mestre/mainland, if you arrive by train or if you stay in Cannaregio area.
- the second – Zattere/Canal Giudecca is close to the San Basilio terminal (convenient for those arriving by small cruise ships and hydrofoils, catamarans from the Slovenian and Croatian coasts)
- the other is next to St Mark Square (Cornoldi)
These different tours are available in the morning or afternoon throughout the all year!
Venice Islands: what to see?
A multilingual guide will give explanations during the boat trip and you will have around 1 hour 15 minutes in each island. You will visit a glass factory in Murano, where you will see a free glass blowing demonstration. The rest of the time on the island is free. In the island of Burano, you could visit renowned lace shop where you can see demonstration of the production of the precious Burano lace.
Murano Burano island morning tour
- 10.30 am – Departure Piazzale Roma – train station
- 10.45 am – Departure Zattere / Canal Giudecca
- 11.00 am – Departure Cornoldi, San Marco
- Navigation to Murano. Free time in Murano (1 hour 15 min), including a glass blowing demonstration
- Navigation to Burano with free time to explore Burano (1 hour 15 min)
- 3.30 pm – Arrival in St. Mark’s Square and end of tour. The tour ends at San Marco.
- Between the return to San Marco and the departure for the return to Piazzale Roma/ S. Lucia there is approximately 2 hours of free time available
- 5.30 pm -Departure to Piazzale Roma / S. Lucia station
- 5.45 pm – arrival a Zattere/Canal Giudecca
- 6.00 pm – arrival a Piazzale Roma – train station.
Murano Burano island afternoon tour (1pm -5.30pm) only from S. Marco
- 1 pm Departure Riva degli Schiavoni (near San Marco).
- 1.30 pm Arrival in Murano, visit to a famous glassworks for glass demonstration and free time (around 1 hour on the island).
- 3 pm Arrival in Burano famous for its lace and colorful houses – (around 1 hour 30 min on the island)
- 5.30 pm Arrival in San Marco/Cornoldi
Venetian Lagoon Day Tour: the highlights
The island of Murano is synonymous with the art of blown glass. In fact, from the thirteenth century, Murano is the centre of the Venetian glass industry, whose techniques have been handed down from generation to generation. The tour includes a demonstration by master glassmakers of Murano glass and the creation of beautiful objects.
Burano is certainly the most picturesque place in the lagoon with its brightly coloured houses. Local legend has it that the fishermen of Burano painted their houses in bright colours to recognize them when they returned from the sea in the days of thick fog.
The Venetians deny this legend, however Burano has certainly become a unique place in the world, a joy for the eyes and for photographers, as can be seen from the many Burano photo galleries. Burano is also known all over the world for the production of artisan lace, increasingly rare due to the difficulty of the technique. Here, in fact, the lace is worked on the pillow, which allows the creation of the finest laces with the most complex designs.
Historically probably only the kings and queens of Europe could afford this precious lace. Today the scarcity of lace is due more to the limited number of lacemakers. Visit the Lace Museum, next to the grandiose church of San Martino to retrace the history of this unique art in the world!
Islands of Murano Burano and Torcello are some of the most famous islands in the Venetian Lagoon. The small island of Torcello will take you back in time to the origins of Venice. It was in fact the first island to be inhabited and was once much more active than it is today. In the past it served as the hub of commercial traffic in the lagoon and was inhabited by thousands of people. Today there are only 12 left!
What can you see in Torcello? Certainly the centre of the island is really exceptional, it is the site of the Basilica of Santa Maria Dell’Assunta, with its Byzantine mosaics, the Church of Santa Fosca, and, a few steps away, the legendary Throne of Attila. On the way to the complex you will also cross the Ponte del Diavolo (Devil Bridge), with its peculiar structure without parapets. Also with stories to tell. You can visit it on our tour of the 3 islands!
Transportation to the islands: is it better to go on a tour or to use your ACTV passes?
ACTV (public transport) passes allow unlimited travel to the islands of the Venice lagoon for 24, 48, 72 hours or longer. They can be a good solution to visit the islands independently, especially if you want to take the time to visit museums and artistic sites (which we certainly recommend). However, ACTV passes are risky in the summer months and weekends, when the queues at ACTV landing stages are really long and the boats are crowded.
You might get stuck on an island waiting for a boat and waste hours at the end of a day for not choosing an organized tour. That’s why, for the same price with a 24 hour ACTV pass (20 Euro), to visit Murano Burano Torcello it may be advisable to opt for an organized tour, especially if you are in a group!
Are you interested in a similar tour but in the morning instead? here we are:
Murano Burano Tour from Venice half day morning tour.
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