Visiting Burano island: how to get there from Venice? + What to see, photos & tours

Burano is an enchanting fishing island, famous for its many colorful houses that adorn the small town. It is a wonderful oasis of welcome rest after a day in busy Venice.

The cutest colorful houses in Italy

The colorful houses are Burano’s main eye-catcher. Be aware, however, that you don’t confuse the Burano island with that of Murano. The latter is famous for its gorgeous glass and is definitely worth visiting. Burano is an island where a lot of fishermen used to live. According to a local legend they chose to paint their houses in different colors so that they could see them from far awat while they fishing. This way they could always get home safely in case of dense fog. The colorful houses usually are square shaped and consist of two or three floors. When you check out Airbnb, you even can stay in one of these beautiful buildings!

Getting to Burano island

If you are planning to spend a few days in the vicinity of Venice, it may be a better idea to stay in Burano instead of the busy (and pricey) center of Venice.
From the Marco Polo airport, you can take public and private transport to reach Venice and/or Murano.
If you really on public transport, you’ll have to take the Vaporetto (water bus) to get there. A ticket costs you €7,50 for a single ride or €23 if you want to use it 24h.
From San Marco Square, it’s easiest to walk to Fondamente Nove and take boat 12 there direction Murano and Burano.
If this all sounds a little difficult: Google Maps (or any other map application) is your friend!

If you prefer to take a day trip from Venice to Burano with a guide, you can arrange that already for €20 per person. 

Burano’s best things to do

When people are thinking of colorful houses in Italy, they immediately think of Burano. A lot of tourists who travel to Venice just come here to visit this island. They often skip the other sights of Burano, because they are only interested in a selfie with a colorful house or two. That’s a pity, because this beautiful island has a lot of other interesting attractions that I would like to share with you.

• Piazza Galuppi – The most beautiful (and only) square of Burano where there are plenty of restaurants and shops. The perfect place to unwind and relax with an Aperol Spritz after a busy day of walking and sightseeing!
• The lace museum and the old lacing school – Here you’ll find out more about this particular fabric. Murano is famous for its decorative glass, Burano was especially famous for the beautiful lace that was made here.
• Statue of Baldassare Galuppi – This composer was from Burano, which prompted Remigio Barbaro to devote a statue to him. If you’re a real fan of this composer you should also visit his house. You can visit it in Via Terranova.
• Istrian water well – This well dates back all the way from the year 1588, but it still contains fresh water! An ideal stop for travelers with on a budget!
• Burano’s leaning tower – No, I didn’t make a typing error, because Burano has its own leaning tower! Certainly a lot less known than the one in Pisa, but definitely equally charming.
• Tre Ponti – In theory, it’s only one bridge, but it connects three channels and three of Burano’s most colorful streets (Via San Martino Sinistro, Via Giudecca and Via San Mauro), making this one of the most romantic places of the island!
• La casa di Bepi (the house of Bepi) is without doubt the most colorful house of Burano and you shouldn’t miss it!
• La Pescaria Vecia is the place to go to if you want to see the sun set over the Venetian lagoon.

The best places to eat in Burano

You’re visiting Italy. That means that you’ll find amazing food on pretty much every street corner.

• Al Gatto Nero (The Black Cat) offers delicious and fresh pasta served with fresh fish.
• Risotto de Gò is, as its name suggests, the place to be for delicious risotto.

In addition, you must try a Buranoello, the famous cookie in the form of a ring. It’s a local specialty and it’s a lot cheaper than buying it in Venice!

Burano, Murano and Torcello

If you don’t have a lot of time and for example you just have a weekend in Venice, then you can choose a boat excursion that visits both Burano, Murano and Torcello. You spend about 45 minutes on each island and you’ll get to see all the best places with your guide.

Take a look at these tours:

Five fun facts about Burano

1. Burano was very important in the sixteenth century because of its refined lace production. The best known user of this lace was undoubtedly Leonardo da Vinci, who used it for the main altar of the Duomo of Milan.
2. If a resident of Burano wants to paint his or her house, they must submit a special request to the government. Then they get a number of colors available from which they can choose.
3. In total, almost 3000 people live in Burano. Not much if you know that the total number of inhabitants of Venice and the surrounding islands is about 60,000.
4. If you think about living in this picturesque village after your visit, keep in mind that this island isn’t always so quaint… Every year they are dealing with aqua alta, or in other words: floods.
5. If you still can’t get enough of these colorful houses, you must head to Guatapé in Colombia. This beautiful village is even more colorful than Burano! Other colorful houses in Italy can be found in Cinque Terre. And if you love the color blue, you should really visit Chefchaouen.

Burano is one of the most beautiful and nicest villages to visit in Italy and the ideal place to unwind. Although more and more tourists find their way to this fairytale island… So you’d better visit it before it’ll become a second Venice!