Burano: Venice's island of lace and painted houses

Burano is the island of painted houses and lace: a fishing village in the northern lagoon, about 41 minutes by vaporetto from Fondamente Nove, where every façade is a different colour and the canals are as narrow as alleys. Anyone looking up “Burano, Italy” on a map finds a small island you can walk round in an hour, but it deserves a slow visit: the Lace Museum, the leaning bell tower of San Martino, Bepi’s House, the bridge to Mazzorbo and a plate of risotto di gò.

In this guide you will find how to get there on line 12, what to see, the museum prices, how to combine Burano with Murano and Torcello and, above all, when to go so you are not caught in the crowds.

Getting to Burano

The line to know is 12, which leaves from pier A at Fondamente Nove and stops at Murano Faro (9 minutes), Mazzorbo (about 33 minutes) and Burano (about 41 minutes), before continuing to Treporti. In the daytime it runs every 20 minutes, early morning and evening every 30; the first boat from Fondamente Nove is around 04:20 and the last around 22:25. Timetables change with the seasons, so check the line PDF on the ACTV website.

To reach Fondamente Nove from the station or Piazzale Roma, take the 4.1/4.2 or 5.1/5.2; from Rialto it is about a 15–20-minute walk. From San Zaccaria, some line 14 runs reach Burano via the Lido and Punta Sabbioni: a longer route, useful if you are already on the Lido.

An ACTV ticket costs €9.50 for 75 minutes; a return trip already comes to €19, and with a stop on Murano or Torcello the €25 24-hour pass is the better deal. By water taxi the official fare is €115 from the historic centre and €140 from the airport, for the whole boat. Full details are in the ACTV vaporetto guide.

What to see on Burano

The Lace Museum

The Lace Museum (Museo del Merletto) occupies the former Palazzo del Podestà of Torcello at Piazza Galuppi 187, the same building that housed Burano’s Lace School from 1872 to 1970. It displays around 200 original pieces from the 16th to the 20th century and tells how Burano needle lace became a luxury sought after by the courts of Europe. In the rooms you can sometimes see lacemakers at work, and watching them shows how long even a small doily takes.

• Hours: 10:00–16:00, last entry 15:30; closed on Mondays. In summer (roughly May to late September) it opens until 17:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, last entry 16:00.
• Official prices: €7 full, €3.50 reduced (ages 6–14, students up to 25, over-65s, Rolling Venice), free under 6. On Tiqets entry costs the same €7, non-refundable.
• Combined tickets: with Island Museums (€20, reduced €10, valid three months) you also get into the Murano Glass Museum and the Torcello Museum; the Civic Museums’ €50 Museum Pass includes it along with the Doge’s Palace.
• Accessibility: the museum has recently reported the lift temporarily out of service; the building has uneven floors and steps. Check the notices on the website before you go.
• Bags: suitcases and trolleys are not allowed; backpacks and medium-sized bags go in the free cloakroom.

The painted houses

Burano’s great sight is its painted façades in red, cobalt blue, green, yellow and violet, with washing strung between the windows and boats moored at the front door. Tradition has it that fishermen painted them this way to recognise their own home coming back across the lagoon, even in fog; it is said that anyone wanting to repaint still has to agree the colour with the municipality. The most photographed quays line the main canal between the vaporetto stop and Piazza Galuppi, but two alleys away you will find identical views with nobody around.

Remember these are people’s homes: no photos through the windows, no sitting on doorsteps, and keep your voice down in the courtyards.

Bepi’s House

On Via al Gottolo, near Corte del Pistor, stands the island’s most original house: Bepi’s House (Casa di Bepi), covered in coloured squares, triangles and circles. Its owner, Giuseppe Toselli, known as Bepi Suà, kept repainting it with new geometric patterns. It is a private house and can only be seen from outside.

The leaning bell tower of San Martino

From the square you can see the bell tower of San Martino, visibly leaning: it is Burano’s classic photo, especially if you frame it from the wooden bridge towards Mazzorbo, where the tilt looks even more pronounced. The church, on the main square, is usually open to worshippers and visitors.

Mazzorbo: the bridge and the vineyard

A long wooden bridge links Burano to Mazzorbo, a quiet island of vegetable gardens, a few houses and the Venissa estate, where a walled vineyard has been brought back to life in the middle of the lagoon. Mazzorbo has its own line 12 stop, about 8 minutes from Burano: one idea is to get off there on the way out, walk through the vineyard and over the bridge, and reach Burano from its quieter side, away from the crush at the main stop.

What to eat on Burano

• Risotto di gò: the island’s dish, a creamy risotto made with a broth of gò, the lagoon goby, a small, bony fish used only for the stock. Some trattorias serve it for a minimum of two people.
• Fried fish and schie: the small grey shrimps of the lagoon, often served with polenta.
• Bussolà and esse: Burano’s biscuits, made with butter and egg yolk, shaped like a ring (bussolà) or an S (esse). You buy them in the island’s bakeries and they keep well, so they make a good souvenir to take home.

The trattorias on the main street are convenient but pricey; in the side alleys and on Mazzorbo you can eat at a gentler pace.

Burano lace: buying the real thing

Burano needle lace is worked stitch by stitch and takes a very long time: a genuine piece is priced accordingly. Many doilies and tablecloths sold in the shops in the centre are machine-made or imported. If you want an authentic piece, ask whether it was handmade on the island, look at work in progress and be wary of prices that are too low. Seeing the museum rooms first helps you tell the difference.

Crowds and timing: when to go

Burano is small and visits are concentrated in the same hours.

• Early morning (before 10:00): low light on the façades, empty quays, bakeries open. The best time for photos. The 08:30 line 12 from Fondamente Nove gets you there just after 09:00.
• 11:00–15:00: the boat tours and groups arrive; the main quays are packed and restaurants run double sittings.
• Late afternoon: the groups leave and the light turns warm again. Beware, though, of the return boats between 16:00 and 18:00, which are often crowded: if you can, wait for the next one or head back later.
• Mondays: the Lace Museum is closed, and so is the Torcello Museum. Pick another day if the museums matter to you.
• Access fee: not charged on Burano or Mazzorbo; the historic-centre rule does apply if you cross the centre on a charged day. Details on the access fee page.

Half a day on Burano, step by step

1. 08:30, Fondamente Nove, pier A: line 12. Get off at Mazzorbo (about 33 minutes) rather than Burano.
2. Mazzorbo, 20 minutes: a walk past the vineyard and gardens, then the wooden bridge with the leaning bell tower in the background.
3. Burano, before 10:00: the painted quays still empty, Bepi’s House on Via al Gottolo, a warm bussolà from a bakery.
4. At 10:00, the Lace Museum on Piazza Galuppi, about an hour at a relaxed pace; the church of San Martino is next door.
5. Lunch: risotto di gò in a side alley, before the trattorias fill up.
6. Back on line 12 towards Fondamente Nove, or onwards on the line 9 shuttle to Torcello or line 12 to Murano Faro.

In winter the plan works just the same, but bear in mind the museum closes at 16:00 and fog can slow the boats: more advice on the Venice in winter page. In the fog, though, Burano has an atmosphere you never see in summer, and photos of the painted houses in the mist are among the most beautiful.

Burano with Murano and Torcello

Burano pairs naturally with the other northern islands. The most logical route is to go to Burano first, as the furthest island, then take the line 9 shuttle to Torcello (5 minutes) for the basilica and its mosaics, return to Burano for lunch and finish the afternoon on Murano with line 12 (about 32 minutes to Murano Faro). The full hour-by-hour itinerary is on the Venice islands page.

If you would rather not organise anything, on Tiqets the Murano and Burano tour with a glass demonstration costs €25 (3.9 out of 5, over 1,200 reviews) and the one that adds Torcello €20 (4 out of 5, over 1,300 reviews); both are non-refundable and give fixed free time on each island, usually enough for a walk round Burano but not for a relaxed museum visit. For a calmer experience there is the traditional bragozzo boat tour at €73.50, five hours with a local skipper, departing from St Mark’s.