Visit the Lagoon Islands of Venice | Murano | Burano

VISITING THE LAGOON ISLANDS

If you have an extra day to spend, why don’t you visit the lagoon islands? Venice shares its lagoon with several other islands. Opposite Piazza San Marco and Dorsoduro is La Giudecca, a tranquil working-class place with mostly residential neighborhoods. The Lido di Venezia is the city's sandy beach; it's a popular summer destination and holds a concentration of seasonal hotels. Murano, for glass; Burano, a fishing island with colorful houses is known for lace & their distinctive biscuits; Torcello, to view the oldest Basilica in the lagoon. These three are popular destinations northeast of the city and easily accessible by public transport vaporetto. (You'll do better by using the public waterbus to these islands for a fraction of a tour charge, and you'll also have more time to explore these other lagoon islands.)

Murano, Burano and Torcello: If you are well organized, these islands can be visited in one day; if you want more time, you can dedicate one day to Murano and Burano, go back to one of the hotels in Venice that you have chosen to stay in and then visit Torcello the day after.

Tip: Along the grand canal around Saint Mark's, you'll be offered a free boat ride over to Murano (the glassmaking island). This is a sales gimmick. Feel free to take the offer; however, be sure you have your vaporetto ticket handy for a way back (assuming you're not in the market to lay down major bucks for some glass). These folks are earning an honest living and the are offering you a service; but, if you don't intend to buy some major glass, just take a vaporetto when you want to visit.

Murano
The island of Murano became famous in 1291, the year in which the glass production was transferred here from the old city center due to fear of fires in the kilns. To get to the “glass island” you must go to Fondamenta Nuove where you can take a motor boat no.s 41 or 42 that reaches the glass island in about 10 minutes.

CIRCULAR 41 and 42 LINE

No. 41 is a counterclockwise circular route that runs from Murano to the San Michele cemetery, Fondamenta Nove, the railroad station, Piazzale Roma, Giudecca, S. Zaccaria, then back to the Fondamenta Nove and Murano.

No. 42 covers the same route in a clockwise direction.

Note: Early in the morning and late in the evening, the routes are abbreviated. See the timetables at the boat stops or the Actv Web site for details

On the way over, you will catch a glimpse of the San Michele Island while traveling between le Fondamenta Nuove and Murano. You will probably also see women carrying chrysanthemums on this boat to the island. This is Venice’s cemetery where famous people such as Stravinsky and Diaghilev are buried. An orderly red-brick wall runs round the whole of the island, with a line of tall cypress trees rising high behind it. Beyond are the cool cloisters of the restored monastery, whose brothers look after both church and cemetery.

At one time in Venice the dead were buried in the churches' courtyards, but due to hygiene and space reasons, eventually San Michele and the islands nearby were assigned to be cemeteries. However, today the island is saturated. The bodies in each row of graves are allowed to decompose for twelve years, at which point they're dug up. Occupants whose families can pay for re-interment are transferred to small metal boxes for permanent storage in smaller quarters. The less well-heeled get tossed into a nearby boneyard. The vaporetto only takes a couple of minutes, stopping at the elegant Convento di San Michele in Isola (open 7.30am-12.15pm, 3-4pm, daily

Death may be permanent, but San Michele is so crowded that graves are on short-term lease.

Murano
Once you get to Murano, get off at the Colonna stop and walk along the Fondamenta dei Vetrai, where you can see the famous kilns lined up one after the other. Some of these are open to the public: choose one to watch the expert master glass blowers creating an object in glass. You can also buy blown glass things at the kilns directly. One of the oldest glassworks is Venini, a company that exhibits its own work in many Museums of Modern Art around the world.

Murano Glass Factory

Just before the Vivarini Bridge you will see the Church of San Pietro Martire on your left. Its well worth a look if its open with its lovely chandeliers and a glass (of course what else on Murano!) baptismal font plus paintings by Tintoretto, Bellini and Veronese. Note though that the churches here are usually closed between 12-4pm. In the sacristy, reached through a door in the north wall, is a small room lined with near life-size wood carvings of Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Nero, and Socrates.
Cross over the bridge and walk along the Fondamenta Cavour, where the Glass Museum is located, housing 4,000 pieces that shown the development of glass blowing techniques over the centuries. One of the items on shown is the wonderful Barovier cup, made from enamel-painted blown glass and decorated with allegorical figures.

Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato

Just a short walk from the museum there is also the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato, which was built in the 8th century. Here you can admire the Vergine Orante, a splendid mosaic that depicts the Virgin Mary. It's reputed to be the oldest church in Venice with its foundations going back to the 7th century and its striking bell tower dating from the 12th century. It was dedicated to Saint Donato after his bones were brought back from Cephalonia. Along with Saint Donato came the bones of a dragon that he killed. These "dragon bones" can be seen hanging in the church. Pop inside if its open and also admire the marble and moasic floor depicting peacocks, griffins and eagles etc.

Murano, which actually consists of 5 islets linked by bridges has its own Canal Grande winding its way through the islets. Strolling around here admiring its palaces and smaller canals branching off is quite delightful - Venice in miniature without the crowds in fact. Note there is just one big iron bridge which crosses the Canal Grande!

What made Murano's glassmakers so special? For one thing, they were the only people in Europe who knew how to make a mirror. They also developed or refined technologies such as crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass. Their virtual monopoly on quality glass lasted for centuries, until glassmakers in Northern and Central Europe introduced new techniques and fashions around the same time that colonists were emigrating to the New World.

Tip: Original Murano glass has a seal in the glass. Be sure to check to make sure you are getting an original. And make sure that you take your purchases with you. It seems there has been a lot of problems with breakage, over-charging and actually sending the merchandise COD after it was paid for in full.

Burano

Burano can be reached from the Fondamenta Nuove or from the Murano Faro stop, taking the LN line.

LN LINE: Several types of boat operate on this route. From the Fondamenta Nove, large motoscafi-style boats run to Murano, Burano, and Treporti, with occasional through service to Punta Sabbioni.

From Burano (the main tourist destination on the route), you can return to Venice by the way you came or continue to Venice Pietà (near the the Piazza San Marco and the Doge's Palace) by way of Treporti, Punta Sabbioni, and the Lido. You may need to change boats at Treporti and/or Punta Sabbioni, but this is easy to do and will give you a chance to ride several types of vessels--including the large two-deck boats that run on the Punta Sabbioni-Lido-Venice Pietà commuter route.

Burano is one of the prettiest islands in the lagoon:. It is a miniature Venice where all the houses are painted in bright colors. Burano is famous for its lace work, an art carried out since the sixteenth century and which is famous worldwide.
As soon as you get off the vaporetto, walk along Via Marcello and then turn right to the Fondamenta di San Mauro: You will soon come to Via Baldassare Galuppi that opens onto the square with the same name. Here you will find the Lace Museum, where you can see old pieces of lace and can watch the various stages of work carried out by the experts. In the square there is also the Church of San Marino, which houses the “Crocefissione” painting by Tiepolo and also Palazzo del Podestà. We also advise you to pop into a cake shop on the island to taste the famous bussolai buranelli. (butter biscuits made in a round shape that are wonderful when dunked in sweet Vin Santo.)

Torcello
It is possible to reach the island of Torcello from the Fondamenta Nuove, taking the line N vaporetto , or by taking the line T motor boat from Burano. The large T vaporetto-style boat runs twice an hour and takes only five minutes to cross the narrow strip of water between the islands.

T LINE
Use this boat to reach Torcello and its historic basilica from the island of Burano. (The boat normally runs twice an hour in both directions during the day.)

There was a time, nearly 1,500 years ago, when Torcello was the largest and most important settlement in the Venetian Lagoon. Those days are long gone: As silt from rivers on the mainland filled up the shallow waters around Torcello, trade became more difficult and malarial mosquitoes bred. The 20,000 or so inhabitants gradually made their way to Venice, and today only a few dozen innkeepers, farmers, and other hardy souls live on the largely abandoned island.

Still, it's obvious even from the Burano waterfront that Torcello is worth a visit: A magnificent Byzantine-Italian cathedral dating back to 639 A.D., the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, looms over the island with the Bell Tower and Church of Santa Fosca alongside.

From the wharf, walk along the pleasant Fondamenta dei Borgognoni where you will immediately see the famous Ponte del Diavolo (the Devil’s Bridge). Further on there is Piazza Torcello, with its original grass flooring where you can see the wonderful, ancient Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. A whole part of the interior of the church is a wonderful mosaic showing the Universal Judgement. There is also a pretty church, the Church of Santa Fosca in the square, and in front of it there is the famous sedia di Attila, the throne on which the tribunes once sat to administer justice.

A short distance away we find the Estuario Museum that contains some interesting archeological finds from the Roman, Byzantine and Medieval periods. If you have the time, we recommend a romantic dinner at the Locanda Cipriani, one of the places that Hemingway loved most.

Allow 45 minutes or an hour to visit the religious buildings around the central piazza, which is a short walk along a canal from the Actv pier. Tickets are sold individually for the Basilica, the Bell Tower, and the small Archaeological Museum, but the best deal is a combination ticket that includes all three plus the use of an audioguide in the Basilica (still called the "Cathedral" by many, and still in use for weddings and religious festivals).

Don't let claustrophobia or a fear of steep stairs keep you from ascending the Bell Tower: The climb is easy, via a series of gentle well-lit ramps, and from the top you'll get a fine view of the church buildings, the island, and the Lagoon.

If your exertions leave you hungry or thirsty, head for one of the indoor-outdoor restaurants around the piazza or along the path to the boat dock. (A kiosk also sells bottled drinks and other refreshments.)

Torcello is an extremely romantic and charming place. Venetians love to go there once in a while as they are attracted by its calm and the greenness of the island. Unlike Murano and Burano, Torcello is practically uninhabited and still has a lot of archeological proof of its glorious past.

The Giudecca

Giudecca opposite the Zattere shore and across the 400m wide Giudecca Canal. he Giudecca is a long thin island that is part of the city of Venice. Separated from the rest of the city by a wide body of water, the Canale della Giudecca, it is slightly too far for a bridge, so it must be reached by boat. Like the rest of the city, it consists of houses, pedestrian streets and canals, but there are no major sights to see.

The Lido

The Lido forms the main land barrier between Venice and the open sea. It is the long thin island which separates the lagoon from the sea and is about 15 minutes from the city by vaporetto. For many years a succession of Doges made their way out to the shallow waters of the Lido to celebrate a the Ceremony of Venice's marriage to the sea by dropping a ring into the waters. Acknowledging the important role the sea has played in the history of Venice, and illuminating how Venice depends on the mercy of the sea for its continued survival.

It has an expensive resort dating back to the 19th Century. There are hotels, a casino, restaurants and a long beach. Many parts of the beach are privately owned by the hotels. Cars are allowed on the Lido, which will come as a shock after a few days on the lagoon. The Venice Film Festival is held here each year.

The main attraction for many to the Lido is the famous beach celebrated in Thomas Mann's “Death in Venice," and frequently mentioned in many publications ( mainly Venetian) as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. The public beach is not well-maintained and quite often covered in litter from the large numbers of both locals and tourists that use the beach in the summer months. The water is also very polluted and typical of the beaches that line the Adriatic coast of North-East Italy you have to walk quite some distance into the sea until the water reaches an ideal level to swim and relax.

An alternative to the public beach is to hire a cabana or a post on one of the private beaches attached to some of the more prestigious hotels of the Lido . As a cheaper and probably more enjoyable alternative we would recommend either travelling out to Sant' Erasmo, a small idyllic island with a well maintained beach, or perhaps catching a water-bus from the Lido to visit Pellestrina.

Pellestrina is another long and narrow piece of land similar to the Lido in its physical character, but a lot less commercial where you find a stretch of beach waiting to be discovered. As always try to avoid visiting the beaches at the weekend when they are often crowded by the locals as well as the tourist hordes.

For fans of Golf, the Lido boasts the only golf-course in Venice . Also, it's the only Island that allows cars and mopeds on its roads. The long roads that seem that follow the islands coast are ideal for cyclist and bikes can be rented on the Island near the main water-bus station coming from central Venice .

The Lido continues to be a popular destination for holiday makers as its hotels offer great value for money to visitors vacationing in Venice. Only twenty minutes by water-bus from St. Marks (water-buses operate 24 hrs a day), the money you'll save staying at a hotel on the Lido will make up for the hassle of having to travel in and out of Venice by boat. Also, if you are travelling with kids, many hotels on the Lido boast swimming pools and in the warmer summer months provide a pleasant compromise for parents who want to introduce their children to the history and culture of Venice.

The Lido is at its most popular during the first week of September when it hosts the famous Venetian film festival. During this time the whole island is besieged by Hollywood and film-makes and press from around the globe. Among the famous movie stars that make their annual homage to Venice for the film festival are Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and a host of other stars who make Venice their home during the week.

How to get to the Lido:

A number of water-buses service the Lido , from Venice you can take either the 1, 6, 11, 52 or 82. And from the Lido you can catch a boat to continue your journey down to Chioggia , via the wild beaches of Pellestrina.

You can avoid paying to use the beach by getting the bus from the main Lido waterbus terminal to either end of the Lido island - access is free to the public at both the northern and southern ends. If you've bought a waterbus ticket with unlimited travel, then it'll be valid on the 'normal' bus as well. Otherwise buy one from one of the ticket booths at the waterbus terminal.

San Giorgio Maggiore Island

This island is beside the Giudecca, opposite the Schiavoni, and is the location of the S. Giorgio Church.

The island has been home to a Benedictine monastery since 982. These buildings were built by Palladio and Longhena ( designer of Santa Maria della salute) in the 16th & 17th centuries. The facade is enclosed in scaffolding and white protective coverings while it is being restored.

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