There is a lot to see in Venice, enough to spend several days exploring this fascinating place. However, many more interesting attractions are located around the city, and can be easily visited with a day trip from Venice. Among these, some of the most beautiful and popular destinations around Venice are a few of the islands of the northern Venetian Lagoon: Murano, Burano, and Torcello.
These three destinations can be easily reached from Venice with a vaporetto, the local waterbus that serves the city and the surrounding islands. The most direct route is No. 12, which departs from the Fondamenta Nove stop on the northern coast of Venice and reaches Murano, Mazzorbo, Torcello, and Burano, sometimes also continuing to Treporti and Punta Sabbioni. Another route linking Fondamenta Nove with Murano is No. 13.
Route No. 3 instead directly connects Piazzale Roma and the train station of Venice with Murano. Other routes linking Venice with Murano are No. 4.1 and No. 4.2, with stops either near the train station or at Fondamenta Nove. If you are near San Marco, there are seasonal links with Murano through route No. 7, and once every hour a connection with Burano with route No. 14. There are also two night vaporetto lines departing from Fondamenta Nove, the NMU to Murano, and the NLN that also continues to Mazzorbo, Torcello, and Burano.
Location of Murano, Burano, Mazzorbo, and Torcello north of Venice (edited from a work by OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL).
Our day trip starts from Murano, the closest one to Venice out of the three destinations. Murano is located on a group of small islands just north of the cemetery island of San Michele. The town is famous all over the world for its long tradition of glassmaking, which dates back to the 13th century.
Glassmaking in Venice became popular in the Late Middle Ages, thanks to its role as a flourishing trading center with the Eastern Mediterranean. As glass factories often caught fire, it was decided in 1291 that all glass production had to move from Venice to Murano, to avoid a major fire in the city. Over the following centuries, Murano became the most important glassmaking center in Europe, known especially for its many innovations and luxury products during the Renaissance. Due to competition with other European glassmakers, the importance of Murano later declined and was almost completely lost with the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797.
Glassmaking in Murano experienced a revival after the Italian unification and now numerous glass factories are still in operation in the town. However, this long tradition is still in danger of disappearing as cheaper imitations are more and more common, and the difficult profession, that exposes glassmakers to high temperatures, does not attract enough young workers.
Various glassmakers in Murano allow tourists to visit their factories, and there are numerous souvenir stores that sell a wide variety of glass products, especially along the Rio dei Vetrai canal. Following this canal to the north, there is a small square hosting a clock tower. Just across the canal from this square is the Church of San Pietro Martire, dating from the Renaissance.
After crossing the only bridge connecting the northern and southern side of Murano, and following the promenade to the east, you can reach the Murano Glass Museum. This rich museum displays the long history of glassmaking in Venice and Murano, and features one of the largest collections of glass products in the world, ranging from the ancient age until today.
A hall inside the Murano Glass Museum (Derbrauni, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0).
Not far from the museum is the Basilica of Santi Maria e Donato, or Duomo, the main religious site in Murano. This church dates from the Early Middle Ages and it is one of the greatest examples of Romanesque architecture in the Venetian Lagoon. The apse of the church is decorated with an elaborate colonnade, while its facade is simple. The interior of the church houses some artworks and mosaics, as well as various ancient relics. Behind the altar there are a few rib bones which, according to legend, belonged to a dragon slain by Saint Donatus of Euroea. These are likely the bones of a large prehistoric mammal.
A morning should be enough to visit Murano and do some shopping in the souvenir stores, so it’s time to take the vaporetto to Burano. There are various restaurants in Murano and Burano, and also bars and other places that sell food if you are looking for a quick lunch.
The Basilica of Santi Maria e Donato in Murano (Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).
Burano is another popular tourist destination, mostly due to its numerous brightly painted houses, but also for its traditional lace work. The town has been inhabited since the Early Middle Ages and it came to prominence in the Renaissance for its lace, that was exported all over Europe. Now mostly a tourist destination, it is best known for its colored houses. Just walking around the town and looking at the many painted houses located all around the town is already a really nice experience, especially along the main canal that crosses Burano.
The main square of Burano hosts its main attractions, the Lace Museum and the Church of San Martino. The Lace Museum displays the history of the production of delicate handmade lace in Burano, which dates back several centuries. This museum is located inside a former lace school and houses various examples of the local lace work. The 16th-century Church of San Martino is on the southern side of the square and it features a leaning bell tower. Visiting Burano should take two or three hours, with enough time to take a walk around the town.
Burano is linked to the island of Mazzorbo with a bridge near the vaporetto stop. Once the site of one of the earliest settlements in the Venetian Lagoon, Mazzorbo used to house various churches and monasteries, but now only one, the Church of Santa Caterina, survives. While there is not much to see in Mazzorbo, if you have some spare time you can take a nice walk around the island.
Colorful houses along a canal in Burano, with the leaning bell tower of the Church of San Martino in the background (Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0).
The last destination of this day trip is Torcello, easily reachable with a quick vaporetto ride from Burano. There is also a dedicated route, No. 9, that goes back and forth between the two islands every 15 minutes.
Torcello is among the most fascinating islands in the Venetian Lagoon. It was the site of one of the first settlements in the area, founded by refugees that were fleeing from the barbarian invasions of the 5th century, especially after Attila the Hun destroyed Altinum in 452. In the Early Middle Ages Torcello was the most important town in the area, a flourishing trading center, and the seat of a diocese. Over time, Torcello was overshadowed by Venice, and it started being abandoned in the 15th century after various plagues hit the town. A worsening environment, that made the area around the town more swampy, also contributed to the decline of Torcello. Now almost uninhabited, many of the historic buildings of Torcello have been demolished, but some of its most prominent attractions still survive.
After arriving in Torcello with the vaporetto, you can enjoy a walk along the canal that crosses the entire island until its main square, where all the most important attractions are located. The large church here is the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, one of the greatest works of Late Paleochristian architecture. Originally founded in the 7th century and later reworked, this was once one of the most important religious sites in the Venetian Lagoon. Now its interiors feature some magnificent and huge Byzantine-style mosaics, the oldest still preserved around Venice. Adjacent to the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta is the Church of Santa Fosca, built around the 12th century and a great example of the Venetian-Byzantine architectural style.
Huge Byzantine-style mosaic inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello (Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).
The Torcello Museum is located in front of the two churches and it hosts a rich collection of archaeological findings that showcase the long history of the island, with artifacts dating from prehistory to the late Roman age. The museum also includes a separate section which instead mainly houses works of religious art that range from the Paleochristian era to modern times.
A peculiar attraction located in front of the museum is the so-called Attila’s Throne. This is an ancient stone chair built in the Early Middle Ages and, despite its name, it has nothing to do with the King of the Huns, as it was likely the seat of a local governor or bishop.
Visiting Torcello should take less then two hours. From there, you can take a vaporetto back to Burano and then Venice. After this day trip, you should be back in Venice in the late afternoon, just in time to enjoy an aperitivo and eat some cicchetti at one of the many bacari, the traditional Venetian taverns.