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Venice
Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Fri February 29, 2008 04:14 PM UTC
We'll be in Venice for the first time in May and would like to spend some of our 2 days there doing Murano and Burano. Viator does a half day tour, that includes Torcello but reviews say that it feels rushed. Has anyone does this tour? Any alternate suggestions to for Murano.
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 akash510 7 replies

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Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Fri February 29, 2008 04:36 PM UTC
i think 2 days in venice are very short if you are also considering going to murano and burano,im not sure if i would bother going to either of them,perhaps it would be better when more time is available.
if i were you and you really wanted to leave venice for the day i would go to treviso, a very nice town,with normal italian prices,30 mins by train, cost about 4 euro.
when in venice if you would like to go out in the evening try hanging out at campo margerita which is lively and beautiful(as is 95% of venice) you wont get ripped off there either,there are still bars which serve wine for 1 euro.standingup.
an interesting part to visit is the original ghetto near the cannereggio quater,this was the original ghetto where the jews were walled in.there are also nice bars around here.
anyway have a nice time

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Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Fri February 29, 2008 04:46 PM UTC
As mentioned above, 2 days is very little time for Venice. If you want to get away from the main island and are interested in glass, Murano would make a nice half-day trip. Treviso is a very nice place that most people miss but you will have more than enough to do without leaving town. I spent a whole week in Venice and there were tons of places I never got to. Be sure to do something in Venice that isn't the main tourist sites. Also as mentioned above, walking around the Cannaregio district is very interesting and quiet.

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Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Fri February 29, 2008 07:03 PM UTC
I think I only got 2-3 days in Venice, and cant wait to go back again. I of course didnt even scratch the surface, but was determined to get out to Murano. Dont worry about a tour, just get a vapparetto over there and just wander. We saw a glass blowing at a factory that was very interesting. Spent a couple of hours on the island, and could have spent more time there, plenty of things to see and buy.

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Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Fri February 29, 2008 08:06 PM UTC
Hi! What time do You arrive in Venice, and What time do You leave? Have You sorted Your Accommodation yet?
If You arrive Venice early and leave late, and are staying in Cannaregio area, it might be possible to see Murano, Burano and Torcello as well as some other sights of Venice.
Buy a 2-3 day ticket for unlimited travel on the vaporettos (waterbuses)at the airport/ train station

From Fondamente Nuova (in Cannaregio sestiere) You can get a vaporetto to Murano, then to Burano and Torcello, or head for Burano and visit Murano on your return.

The vaporettos run day and night.

Probably best to head straight for Burano, so if You don't get to visit Murano on your first day, you can take the 10 minute crossing the next morning- (Very regular route), then return to see some of the sights of Venice before returning home.

Are You intending visiting Venices other attractions? If so, probably best to limit yourself to Murano, and then book another trip to see the other islands at a later date.

Have A Great trip, and please feel free to contact me for further info. Also, check out mine and other VTers pages for their experiences, tips and pics of Venice.
Best Wishes,
Sue x

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Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Sat March 1, 2008 10:49 AM UTC
Don't do a tour, you'll be stuck most of the time in shops being convinced you need to spend money. Just take a vaporetto, there is one that goes all the way to Torcello with stops at Murano and Burano along the way.

Torcello is beautiful and remote, almost empty of houses and people, with Venice's first cathedral. You can get up close to the frescoes there with none of the crowds like St Marks. You can climb the bell tower too for a great view. There is a small local museum with some artefacts, worth a few minutes. Altogether you can see everything in about an hour.

I can't remember offhand which is the lace island (Burano?), but it also has gorgeous colourful houses and is worth a wander to see how 'real' Venetians live.

We didn't bother with the glass blowers. Most sound like tourist traps, but if you fancy a look go yourself instead of part of a group so you can decide your own itinerary and don't feel hassled into buying anything.

All told you can do this in one afternoon. It does give you a fresh perspective on Venice and I would highly recommend the trip - Venice itself can be a bit disappointing with the crowds and noise in its busiest quarters. We did three days in Venice and thought it was plenty, though we would like to go back at some point to explore some more, maybe in winter.

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 jayhawk2000 [Reply]
Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Sat March 1, 2008 09:23 PM UTC
I agree don't do a tour - water bus yourself is really easy and you can go at your own pace. I would definitely visit Burano and then just nearby is Torcello - amust to climb the bell tower here for the views over the lagoon. Visit Murano on the way back for glass blowing factories if you have time - usually possible in a day ...but mainland Venice has so many treasures to offer.

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Venice
Re: Murano/Burano without a tour/guide?
Posted: Sat March 1, 2008 10:01 PM UTC
Ditto - tour not necessary. You can easily get a vaparetto to Murano/Burano/ Torcello on your own and just walk around. You visit the Lace Museum on Burano - very small - on your own in about and hour depending on how much time you want to spend there. However, again, for such a short trip, it may take away a lot of your "Venice time" - at least a day to do all three of these islands. I didn't have enough time to go to any of these islands on my first visit to Venice.

One little trip I recommend is to take the #82 vaparetto from San Marco out to the Island of San Giorgio. There is a beautiful Palladian church and the view from its Campanile is fantastic. I understand from something I read that the Campanile in the Piazza San Marco is under renovation and not available for sightseeing.

re: "Buy a 2-3 day ticket for unlimited travel on the vaporettos (waterbuses)at the airport/ train station" - tickets are actually timed by hours not days, so best to buy it before you first need to use it. If you buy it sooner at the airport and don't use it the first day, you've lost time. And contrary to the old myth - they do check tickets. These passes are available at any vaparetto stop that has a ticket booth. Not all stops have a booth but the main ones do, i.e. Ferrovia (train station), Piazzale Roma (bus station), Rialto, San Marco- Vallaresso, Accademia, etc.

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