Murano, Burano & Lido
The Islands of the Lagoon
Murano Glass • Burano Lace • The Lido Beach
Explore → Get Early Access🚤 Your Perfect Venice Experience
🧭 Why Visit
Venice is not one island but a lagoon full of them, and the day trip out to the others is worth making. Murano has blown glass for seven hundred years, Burano paints its fishermen's houses in every colour and stitches fine lace, and the long Lido carries the city's only beaches and, each September, its film festival. A vaporetto pass and half a day covers them all.
🏛 A Little History
In 1291 the Republic ordered every glass furnace out of Venice and onto Murano, afraid of fire in the packed wooden city, and the island has been the centre of Venetian glass ever since. Burano grew up as a fishing village, its houses painted bright so a returning fisherman could pick out his own through the lagoon haze. The Lido, a thin barrier of sand, became Europe's smart seaside resort in the late 1800s.
💡 Did You Know?
The colours of Burano's houses are regulated. To repaint one you write to the council, which tells you the shades allowed for your particular house. On Murano, a piece of real glass carries a trademark seal, your guard against the cheap imports that flood the souvenir stalls. And the Lido's film festival, begun in 1932, is the oldest in the world.
Murano and its Glass
The glass island, where every furnace in Venice was sent to burn safely offshore.
Venetian Masks
The other great Venetian handcraft, made for Carnival and sold in the island shops.
The Lido
The long barrier island of beaches and grand hotels, and every September the film festival.
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Visiting the Islands
- For Murano and Burano take the vaporetto from Fondamente Nove on the north side of the city. Murano is close, ten minutes out; Burano is a longer forty-minute ride further into the lagoon. Do them together in one loop.
- On Murano you can watch a glassblower work, often free in the hope you will buy. Look for the Murano trademark if you want the real thing, and ignore the pushy touts near the landing.
- Burano is the prettiest and the most photographed, so go early or late to beat the tour boats. Beyond the colours, look for the hand-made lace, and try the local bussola biscuits.
- The Lido is a different mood, a proper beach with cars and bicycles. Take Line 1 or the fast boats from St Mark's. The public beaches are free; the grand hotels rent their striped cabanas by the row.
Frequently Asked Questions
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