And this is just a guest post from a person who was impressed by the island of Burano and advises everyone who happens to be nearby to go there.
Burano is a fantastically beautiful small island located near Venice. If you have at least 2-3 days in Venice, then Burano, along with the island of Murano, is on the must-see list.
The island of Murano is on the way to Burano. Murano is a fairly large island famous for its Murano glass. Burano has very beautiful houses and, of course, the world-famous Burano lace. Ordinary tourists go first to Murano, then to Burano, in order to see both islands in one day.
We were not attracted to Murano glass, so we headed straight to Burano. It was decided to go in the late afternoon so that in the evening we could return to Venice and sit over a cup of crazy expensive cappuccino in the oldest cafe on Piazza San Marco under the enchanting sounds of one of the orchestras. This decision played into our hands. In the evening there were almost no tourists on Burano; Local residents began to meet, who immediately after the tourists left poured into the streets.
Burano is a stunning island. We walked around it from all sides and tried to find a note of falsehood in it. The island remained true to itself - still cheerful, colorful and endlessly attractive.
1. Wander around the entire wonderful island, carefully choosing routes that no one has taken before. Well, or didn’t walk for at least the next hour. It's impossible to get lost on Burano. You can walk through the entire island from embankment to embankment in any direction in just 7-10 minutes.
2. Sit on the sea promenade, enjoying the view of distant Venice. This is especially great to do at sunset.
3. Visit the world-famous lace museum. If you are a fan of lace, then you can score souvenir Buransky lace from 1 euro to several thousand euros per item. The main thing is to make sure that there is no “Made in China” inscription.
4. Find a monument to Galuppi Baldassare (“Buranello”), a famous Italian composer who staged court opera performances in St. Petersburg for several years in the 18th century, and also at that time created a significant number of choral works for the Orthodox Church.
5. Find the most unusually painted house on the streets of Burano. Hint, this house is multicolored.
6. Find swans swimming in the canals of Burano.
7. Taste sweets in a family-run confectionery, which is not hidden at all and is located right on the central canal.
Sunset on Burano. Venice is visible in the distance on the left.
Where to eat in Burano
A strategy for finding places to eat that usually pays off is to move a little away from the tourist streets and deeper into the neighborhoods, and then depending on your luck. This strategy does not work on Burano, since the island is very small. One or two rows of houses - and there it is, the sea.
Walking along the main street of Burano, we discovered many cafes with... not very tasty smells. By this time, we had been tasting Italian cuisine for more than one week, so we trusted our sense of smell 100%.
But then we came across a cafe with beautiful-looking ice cream. But the prices turned out to be close to astronomical. Just a small bottle of water costs 4 euros.
As a result, I found a home-made confectionery, where an angry-friendly (that’s right) elderly gentleman sold very, very tasty sweets by weight and, as a result, confidently entered with his desserts into our top-3 best desserts in Italy. By the way, a 1.5 liter bottle of delicious water cost him only 2 euros.
The conclusion is simple: in Burano you need to have picnics right on the sea promenade, buying homemade sweets on the spot or bringing something with you.
How to get to Burano
Burano can only be reached by sea. With a tour or by water bus, Vaparetto.
Vaparetto route 12 departs from Fondamenta Nuove station. A 60-minute ticket costs 7 euros. Or it will be free if you bought a Venice Card. If you purchased your ticket on shore, be sure to present it to the magnetic reader on shore before boarding, otherwise the ticket will not be valid. The green light will light up - everything is fine. It is better to buy a magnetic card for each person, since only one trip is written off, no matter how many times you bring the card to the reader.
We still haven’t figured out how to write off two trips at once - all the instructions are in Italian.
You can also buy a ticket on the Vaparetto itself. The cost is the same. In this case, it is advisable to have small money with you, since a steward is still not a cash desk on the shore.
Fines for traveling without a ticket are said to be very impressive.
Vaparetto runs approximately twice an hour. Burano is the 3rd stop, which will be in about 40 minutes. Time will fly by instantly, because around you is the picturesque Venetian Lagoon. There is no need to worry, as the steward will diligently shout that here he is, Burano.
We arrived in Venice at the bus station. From the station you can walk quickly to the pier in 25-30 minutes. If you go there by vaparetto, it may take longer and one ticket to Burano will not be enough (vaparetto routes No. 4.1, 4.2 and 5.2 to the Fondamenta Nuove stop). And you will need to buy additional tickets for 7 euros.
How does the lace museum work?
The museum is located in Plaza Gallupi.
Museum opening hours from April 1 to October 31: from 10-00 to 18-00 (tickets sold until 17:30).
Museum opening hours from November 1 to March 31: from 10-00 to 17-00 (tickets sold until 16:30).
The museum is closed on Mondays, December 25, January 1, May 1.
Tickets - 5 Euro. 3.5 Euro for children 6-14 years old, students under 25 years old, citizens over 65 years old.
If you are a citizen of Venice, then entry will be free for you.
How to leave Burano (a little secret)
Near Burano there is the island of Mazzorbo, which is connected to Burano by a bridge. If there is a long queue to board the Vaparetto in Burano or you just don’t want to be in the crowd of people waiting, then in less than ten minutes you can walk to the pier in Matsorba (marked on any tourist map) and board the Vaparetto all alone.
It seems like you are in a fantasy fairy tale film. The fact is that all the houses here are painted in different colors, rich and bright. But not only the colorful buildings amaze - people come to admire the exhibits of the lace museum and look at the leaning tower of San Martino. Just wander through the picturesque streets with souvenir shops or have lunch at one of the best fish restaurants. Everything here is interesting and original.
History of the island of Burano.
Until the 6th century, the island was part of the Ancient Roman Empire. People here lived and worked peacefully - men were mainly engaged in fishing, women - in housekeeping and raising children. But raids by barbarian tribes forced residents to leave their homes. They began to look for quieter places protected from enemies and settled in the most remote corners of the Venetian Lagoon. One of these places turned out to be an island located seven kilometers from.
Why Burano.
Why it was called Burano is not precisely established. It is assumed that representatives of a noble family with the same surname once lived here. Until 1923, the island had the status of a city, then it became one of the quarters of Venice, the area of the territory is slightly more than 21 hectares. Now it is permanently home to about 3,000 people. Located on islands separated by narrow channels that have access to the Venetian Lagoon.
Sights of the island of Burano.
Since the 16th century, the city has specialized in the production of lace. Weaving technology, according to one version, was imported from the Eastern Mediterranean, from the island of Cyprus, which in those distant times was a colony of the Roman Empire. At first, ready-made lace products were brought from there, then the island’s residents learned how to weave themselves. But here they believe that lace was invented by the women of Burano. In the warm season, they helped their husbands weave nets for fishing. In winter, trying to decorate their homes and clothes, they began to weave lace, which soon became famous throughout Europe. The peculiarity of Buransky weaving is that it is made using a unique technology - not with the help of bobbins, like, for example, Vologda, it is embroidered with needles.
"Museo dei Marletto".
One of the main attractions is dedicated to this craft - the lace museum “Museo dei Marletto” (“marletti” is how lace is called in Italy). It is located in Piazza Baldassare Galuppi in a former lace making school. The school closed in 1979 because young girls did not want to engage in painstaking and tedious work, and the ancient craft was becoming a thing of the past. The museum has an interesting program; first they show a video about the history of Venetian lace, its production, then visitors can view an interesting collection of the best products.
Lace craft in Burano.
On the island you can buy things made by local craftswomen, but the prices are very high. If it is not possible to purchase original lace, they buy a fake made in China at quite affordable prices. There is a romantic version of the emergence of lace craft. One fisherman was engaged to a girl whom he loved very much. One day he went fishing. At sea, a siren tried to seduce a handsome guy with her bewitching singing, but the young man did not succumb to the seductress’s charms. For his perseverance and loyalty, the siren gave him an amazing lace woven from sea foam. The Lace Museum is located in Piazza Baldassare Galuppi. Opening hours are from 10.00 to 18.00, ticket price is 5.5 euros for adults, and 4 euros for children from 6 to 14 years old, free for children under 6 years old.
Tower of San Martino.
On the main square of the island there is another attraction that locals are proud of - the Leaning Tower of San Martino. The tower began to be built in the 10th century with donations from townspeople. Inside, the walls are decorated with frescoes by the artist Tiepolo. Due to the collapse of the ground, the bell tower began to deviate from the vertical. Now its slope is 1.8 m, it seems that it is about to fall. The tower is saved from final destruction by the wall of another building on which it rests. When the bell tower began to lean, the city administration decided to restore it and correct the situation, but residents asked to leave everything as it is. Now it is a symbol of the quarter; the most beautiful view of it opens from the canal bridges.
Piazza Baldassare Galuppi.
It only takes a few hours to explore the islands. And wherever the tourist goes, all roads will lead to the main square of Baldassare Galuppi (Piazza Baldaccarre Galuppi). The square is named after the famous native of this place - Galuppi. Now few people know his name, but in the 18th century he would have been a famous master of Italian comic opera, conductor and organist. He was respectfully nicknamed "buranello". Grateful residents erected a monument to the composer on the square named after him. Italy is famous for its cuisine - everyone knows risotto, lasagna and pizza, as well as fish dishes. It is believed that the best fish restaurant in Venice is on the island of Burano. It is called “Al Gatto Nero Da Ruggero”. Excellent cuisine, but you need to know that the cost of one dish is from 16 to 30 euros. True, the portions are very large - two people can get enough of one.
What is the origin of the tradition of painting houses different colors?
When they started painting houses with multi-colored paint, historians cannot say; only funny legends talk about it. One of them, not very plausible, is very popular with tourists. The island is surrounded by sea; naturally, many of the inhabitants were sailors. Finding themselves in their hometown after long voyages, the sailors went to taverns and other drinking establishments, where they heartily celebrated their safe arrival. In order for a sailor drunk to the point of insensibility to be brought home, the wives made a mark on their forehead that matched the color of the house. So the sailor was taken home.
Colorful houses of Burano.
Another version is that each clan or clan was obliged to paint their houses the same color. If noble people have a family coat of arms, then this is the color of the home. What was the root cause of the appearance of multi-colored buildings is not known for certain, but the tradition is maintained to this day. Now they do this to attract numerous tourists. When visiting Venice, they usually come to Burano for a few hours to see the riot of colors. Now, according to the law, no one has the right, without special permission, to repaint a house a different color (even shutters, roof and doors) at their own discretion, only in agreement with the city administration.
How to get to Burano.
The island can only be reached by sea by water bus - vaporetto from the Fondamenta Nuove pier, located in the center of Venice. There is route No. 12 to the island, travel time is 45 - 50 minutes. Ticket price for 1 hour is 7 euros. You should know that trams depart from several houses in Venice. In order not to confuse the landing place and not go to another island, you need to look at the board where the route number and final stop are indicated.
You can purchase a ticket on shore or on board from the conductor; their cost is the same. If tickets were purchased on shore, they must be presented to a magnetic device, otherwise they will be invalid. And the fines for unpaid travel in Italy are impressive. A trip to the island of Burano, as well as to other nearby islands of Venice, does not leave people indifferent - beautiful houses with traditionally hung laundry, obligatory flowers on the windowsills, a wonderful view of the Venetian lagoon - all this will be remembered for a lifetime.
One of the days of our week-long stay in Venice fell on our daughter’s birthday. She was turning 4 years old. We wanted to make this day bright, colorful and memorable, so we decided to visit probably the most colorful island in the world - Burano.
How to get to Burano from Venice?
The most popular way is:
Vaporetto N12 sails from the Fondamente Nove stop in northern Venice to Burano. Departs every 20 minutes. The journey takes about an hour. Makes several intermediate stops.
We lived a stone's throw from the Zattere stop in the southern Dorsoduro district of Venice. From there we took the N6 vaporetto and sailed to Lido Island. There we boarded a boat on line N14 to Burano. The journey takes approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. There is no vaporetto from the Lido, but a fairly large ship. He also makes several intermediate stops.
Because We lived in Venice for several days, so we bought vaporetto passes in advance on the Venezia Unica website. Travel to Burano is included in these passes. And so, a one-way ticket per person costs 7.5 euros.
Burano is a small island and you can explore it quickly enough. There are only a couple thousand local residents on the island. The main historical occupations: fishing for men, lace weaving for women. Now, probably, they are painting their houses in bright colors so that the flow of tourists who want to see and capture this beauty does not dry out). At the same time, all the exterior details are perfectly matched to the color combination: curtains, flowers, pots, doors, shutters...
Among the attractions in Burano are the Lace Museum and the Church of San Martino with paintings by Tiepolo. The island is also notable for its tilted campanile.
When approaching the island, our daughter perked up, because... As we approached the pier, bright, unusual houses were already visible.
Already quite tired of the concentrated beauty of Venice and the daily 20 km long walks, the unusual island attracted her.
It turned out to be easy to interest a little traveler in exploring the island - we went to look for a pink house of the right shade and thus walked around the entire island)
In advance, I identified several places for different tastes that I liked based on the description, menu and prices.
Fritto Misto (at the pier)
Devil Pizza Via San Mauro, 24, 30142
Trattoria al Gatto Nero Via Giudecca, 88 - 30142 [link]
Pizzeria Trattoria Leon Coronato, Piazza Baldassarre Galuppi, 314, 30142
We ended up going to the last pizzeria-trattoria for lunch.
We ordered 2 pastas, one with vongole, the second with bolognese. My daughter ate a little bit of everything + French fries + grissini breadsticks. We also ordered a decanter of mezzo litro white house wine and a liter bottle of water.
The food is simple, homemade, but tasty and a little cheaper than in Venice.
My daughter remembered this day and the island, which stood out as a bright spot in the general stream of Venetian beauty. As a souvenir of the island, we bought her a colored house and a pink magnet in the right shade)
I travel and take photographs a lot. In my reports, I try to tell about the country in such a way that you get the impression that you were there with me.
Burano and Murano - small islands close to Venice. One is famous for its colorful houses, and the second is famous throughout the world for its Murano glass. On the last day of the cruise we visited both of these islands...
Burano looks like a fairytale town. I don’t know what made its residents use such a bright palette when decorating their homes, but it all looks very exotic:
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There are no roads with cars here and all supplies are transported by boat and unloaded manually:
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The courtyards look as colorful as the canals:
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Wet underwear swaying in the wind adds color:
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Most doors and windows are curtained with fabric:
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Often the door behind the rag is open and the house is ventilated in this way:
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In addition to the colorful buildings, tourists are attracted to Burano by the Museum of Venetian lace and the Church of San Martino with a sloping 52-meter campanile:
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Murano is much larger in size than Burano. Previously, there was nothing on this island, but in the 13th century all glass production from Venice was moved here in order to avoid fires in the city itself and preserve the secrets of glass production:
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Murano canals are similar to Venice:
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There are several factories on the island where tourists are gladly allowed in, in the hope that they will buy something:
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Real masters put on shows for tourists. Watching a decanter or a horse grow from a red-hot, shiny pig wound around a tube is a fascinating sight. Hot glass is very viscous and resembles burnt sugar before it hardens.
First, the master blew into the tube and inflated a small bubble:
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After that, he clamped a piece of the flask near the tube with giant tweezers and made a neck out of it. It should be noted that the master constantly rotated the Turk so that the product did not have time to “sag”:
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Another master helped ours, dragging him additional pieces of hot glass from which handles or other decorations of the decanter would then grow:
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Literally in 2 minutes the product was ready:
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We put the tip on a special plate and the maestro continued his performance. This time he made a horse for us. First, he wound some glass around the tube and cooled it down:
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And then, constantly rotating the tube, he began to remove the horse from the glass pig:
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Unfortunately, photographs cannot convey the full mystery of the birth of a glass horse. Good that Marat I filmed the whole process and soon promised to post it on my blog:
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In the end they sold it to us for 10 euros. It’s a pity that then I saw the same ones in most souvenir shops in Murano for 6. The realization that I was deceived spoiled the memories of what I saw:
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Although the horse costs 10 euros, it is not 10 thousand, as we saw in Las Vegas:
There is a store at the factory, which is 5 times larger in area than itself and consists of a huge number of halls:
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Oh, how I liked the left vase and was ready to buy it until I saw the price. Of course, I knew that Murano glass was expensive, but not that expensive! How much do you think this vase costs? Answer at the end of the post:
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And this is the road to the airport. It's fun to come to the airport by boat:
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Surprisingly, but true, I’ve been living in Padua, which is an hour’s drive from Venice, for about a year now, and I only got to the famous island of Burano, which is part of the Venetian island system, last weekend.
Although the vast majority of our compatriots know only two Venetian islands: Murano, where the famous glass factories are located, and colorful Burano, in fact, there are much more islands near Venice.
Each Venetian island has its own destiny. For example, the island, where in ancient times there was a military fort protecting the Most Serene Republic from attacks from the sea, is now abandoned, but the island with the name Torcello, funny to Russian ears, on the contrary, is thriving.
Although only 18 people live on Torcello, the island does not give the impression of being uninhabited. In the gardens of Torcello, roses are grown and grapes are cultivated, numerous restaurants with luxurious summer verandas are open on the green lawns (residents of the Veneto province love to have weddings here), and the local Basilica of Santa Fosca is constantly crowded - tourists rush to see the famous Byzantine mosaics.
And yet, the most beautiful island near Venice is Burano. It is famous for the fact that all the houses of the island are painted in such bright colors that from the shore the panorama of Burano seems to be a revived page from a coloring book, which a five-year-old child decorated with all his favorite felt-tip pens at once.
By the way, traffic between the islands of Venice is strictly regulated. If you have been to the city of Casanova, you probably noticed the large wooden pillars rising near the piers and looking like bunches of asparagus.
In the photo: road markings in the Venetian lagoon, the speed limit is indicated on the posts
These structures are nothing more than an analogue of road markings; it is with their help that the water roads in the Venice lagoon are divided into first, second, third, and so on; among the water roads there are their own highways and narrow paths.
In the photo: road pillars near the island of Murano
At the berths, the road numbers are indicated on an electronic board, so those curious can get acquainted with the transport system of the Venetian lagoon, by the way, at the same time you will be sure that you are sailing to the island you need.
However, in the case of Burano, “getting the wrong island” is very problematic; the colorful embankment is visible from afar. In addition to houses the color of “lipstick Barbie”, buildings blue like the azure sky, or yellow like ripe Sicilian lemons, there are also two-tone structures on the island, that is, half the house is painted red, and the other half is painted in contrasting green.
“What did they use on Burano, since they were so carried away by painting the walls in different colors? Or is it for the love of art? - the surprised tourist will ask. In fact, everything is more prosaic. It’s just that the island of Burano at dusk and dawn is shrouded in very dense fog, and the brightly colored houses served as a guide for sailors, that is, they essentially served as a lighthouse.
Again, in the fog, it’s easy to confuse your own home with your neighbor’s, and when the houses are multi-colored, the task of identifying your home without outside help becomes much easier, and you don’t need to shout like a Hedgehog through the fog: “Little Bear! Horse!
Unlike Venice, which today is almost completely at the mercy of tourists, and therefore there are many times fewer local residents in the city than pigeons on San Marco, on the island of Burano Italians still live a completely normal life.
The main local craft is weaving precious snow-white lace. Saleswomen in Burano workshops swear that all the lace sold on the island is made the old fashioned way, by hand, but I find it hard to believe.
In the photo: a workshop where lace is made
I think that tourists still get, even if they are hand-woven, the simplest crafts, and all the best are bought by famous Italian fashion houses. For example, Dolce&Gabbana, not a single collection of which is complete without lace dresses, purchases lace in Burano.
In the photo: workshop for the production of lace and tapestries
The process of creating lace looks like this. First, a design is created on special paper, and then the craftswomen of Burano apply stitches to it with their own hands using a simple needle. So it takes a craftswoman a couple of hours to create, for example, one lace collar.
In the photo: lace collars and gloves in the Burani workshop
If you decide to bring home a lace souvenir from Burano, then you should immediately say that the cost of Burano lace is quite reasonable, for example, a collar that can be worn with a little black dress will cost around 60 euros.
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The only thing is, before you decide to make a purchase, ask to show you the workshop in order to make sure that you are purchasing Buranovsky lace and not a Chinese analogue.
By the way, in my opinion, creating exquisite lace for the natives of Burano is a very logical activity: you live near Venice on an island with colorful houses, you weave lace - a beautiful story turns out, just like in a fairy tale by Charles Perrault. The main thing is that in the finale, a handsome prince comes to the craftswoman on a boat, principe azzurro, as the Italians say.
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Yulia Malkova- Yulia Malkova - founder of the website project. In the past, he was the editor-in-chief of the elle.ru Internet project and the editor-in-chief of the cosmo.ru website. I talk about travel for my own pleasure and the pleasure of my readers. If you are a representative of hotels or a tourism office, but we do not know each other, you can contact me by email: [email protected]
