Multicoloured. More colorful. Burano! Perhaps you have already seen a photo of the colorful houses of the fishing village of Burano? The likeable island in the Venice Lagoon is rightly one of the most popular destinations in the region.
Burano covers the entire color palette: rusty red, violet blue, mint green – Burano is not considered the most colorful island in the world for nothing. In any case, the flair is completely different than in Venice, which makes a trip to Burano all the more attractive.
In this blog article we will tell you all the important information, that you need for a trip to Burano. We’ll show you the most important sights (spoiler: there aren’t many!) and provide you with a few important tips for your day trip.
1. Burano: Information for your trip at a glance Exciting facts about Burano at a glance Burano has just 2.684 Residents and is tiny – more precisely meters long and maximum 88 meters wide.The island actually consists of four islands, connected by eight bridges.Burano is particularly famous for two things: For the colorful fishermen’s houses as well as the traditional lace embroidery. Even today, the many lace souvenirs bear witness to this handicraft tradition. The crossing from Venice takes about 40 Minutes. You can find more travel tips further down in this travel guide.On the way to Burano you can also stop at Murano Island (home of the world famous glass art). What can I expect in Burano? Burano is tiny small, but all the more photogenic! Photo opportunities abound around every corner. It is the colorful house facades that give this fishing village its very special charm.
Those hoping for classic sightseeing will be disappointed by Burano. There aren’t any real must-see sights. The focus is clearly on strolling through this very special lagoon city.
By the way, Burano is not an insider tip (anymore) – you should definitely be aware of that. We found Burano to be very quiet on our trip in December, but it is quite busy here in the high season.
Why are the houses in Burano so colourful? According to a legend, fishermen once painted their houses in the brightest colors to provide better orientation. So they were said to be able to head for their home port more easily in fog or after a night of drinking . However, it was never really clear whether this is really true.
What you will definitely notice as soon as you walk through Burano: Adjoining houses are never painted in a similar or even the same colour. Azure blue meets violet or mint green meets bordeaux.
Nowadays, since people are of course aware of the tourist importance, the greater value is naturally placed on the overall picture of the house facades. Homeowners cannot simply paint their facade in any color.
How much time do I need for a trip to Burano? Burano is really tiny. To briefly illustrate how manageable the island village is: In 5 to a maximum of 10 minutes you can walk from the ferry station across Burano and end up on the other side of the river. Burano is just 88 meters long and never wider than 450 Meter. Tiny – we say yes.
We ourselves spent about three hours on site in Burano, which was more than enough. So we not only saw the most important corners several times, but also took a long coffee break and generally took a lot of time strolling around.
Since the ride with the vaporetto 40 minutes from Venice, we would plan at least half a day for your excursion . If you also want to take Murano with you on your trip, which is on the way to Burano, then we recommend a whole day.
2. The most beautiful sights in Burano Sight #1: The Colorful Houses The The most important sight in Burano can be found throughout the city: It is the colorful house facades that Burano is so famous for.
You’ll soon realize that there isn’t “one photo motif” here, but that Burano is photogenic at practically every corner. In this respect, we can only give one tip: open your eyes and simply stroll leisurely through the streets or along the canals.
A house, The Casa di Bepi Suà is definitely out of line. Its former owner, Giuseppe Toselli, gave the house a very special look with its geometric shapes and many colors.
A little tip: The houses around the Tre Ponti (more on that in a moment) are usually the busiest. It gets a little quieter if you walk to the right east of Burano – to the two canals Fondamenta Pontinello or Fondamenta Cao di Rio (e.g. at the Ponte della Vigna).
Tre Ponti: Burano’s famous photo spot From this (actually rather inconspicuous) bridge you can enjoy the Postcard view of Burano. The bridge is located right in the center of Burano and is hard to miss. If you spot a crowd of people with cameras/smartphones in hand, then you know you’re in the right place.
Tre Ponti means in German by the way “three bridges”, where we find the naming quite confusing. (In fact, there are a maximum of two bridges here, which are also connected, but good.)
When we visited in December, we found it here just before sunset particularly beautiful, but the light definitely falls differently in summer.
Chiesa di San Martino The most striking building in Burano is undoubtedly the Church of San Martino ( Chiesa di San Martino), more specifically its bell tower, the Campanile. This is so crooked, that we asked ourselves more than once how long it would be before it collapsed.
The church dates from 17. Century and was of course not always so wrong. Due to a subsequent raising of the tower, the construction may have become unstable. Since about 50 years now the church tower is leaning so much that the overhang of around 1,85 meters is hard to miss. Fascinating!
The Chiesa di San Martino is located in Piazza Baldassarre Galuppi, the main square of Burano, so to speak, but in our opinion not that Highlight of the island is.
Wooden bridge to Mazzorbo Mazzorbo is Burano’s quiet neighboring island. A 60 meter-long wooden bridge connects both islands, so that you can simply stroll across during your stay in Burano.
Mazzorbo is more influenced by agriculture and not quite as colorful as Burano. But if Burano gets too crowded for you, then it is definitely worth visiting the quite authentic Mazzorbo.
If you are interested, you can visit the Venissa winery, which is located around the historic bell tower – a very great location. Incidentally, the winery also includes the recommended restaurant Venissa (in case you are hungry). And last but not least: You can also stay overnight here. We will tell you more about our hotel tips at the end of the blog article.
Pescarìa Vecia at sunset Our little insider tip for a great sunset in Burano is the old fish market, called Pescarìa Vecia. It is located in the south of Burano, near the Tre Ponti. There is now a café of the same name there, so you can hardly miss the place.
Here on the shore you can definitely watch the sunset – either you just make yourself comfortable on the low wall (on the first picture in front to see at the pavilion) or you visit the café and have an Aperol Spritz.
3. Eating & Drinking in Burano The offer of restaurants on the island is really quite manageable. Many restaurants (especially those along the “main routes”) are clearly geared towards tourists. Nevertheless, there are a few restaurants and cafés that are highly recommended.
Venissa: Are you looking for an extraordinary culinary experience? Then there is no way around this restaurant, which has been awarded a Michelin star. The Venissa is on Burano’s neighboring island, but can be reached quickly thanks to the bridge. The location surrounded by grapevines is something special. The slightly cheaper alternative to the restaurant is the osteria. Make a reservation!
Riva Rosa: Riva Rosa is a very popular restaurant in Burano. Outside, in front of the restaurant, you can sit very nicely directly on the canal. The menu features mainly fish dishes and seafood. Not quite cheap (as unfortunately almost everywhere in Burano).
In Pescaria Vecia: For an espresso or an aperol spritz at sunset, we can recommend this unassuming café. There are small Venetian tapas (“cicchetti”), but we would personally eat it go somewhere else. In any case, the view of the water at the Alter Fischmarkt is nice.
Panificio Pasticceria Garbo: This family-run bakery has a great selection of Venetian biscuits and pastries. If you want to buy some (sweet) snacks, this is the right place.
4. Where to stay in Burano Most visitorsinside (us included) visit Burano in the course of a day trip. Of course, this has the disadvantage that you tend to miss the quieter hours in the morning and evening . It is therefore a good idea to spend one or two nights on the island.
The accommodation offer on Burano is very manageable. Nevertheless, we can recommend two special accommodations .
Venissa This highly recommended accommodation is located on Mazzorbo, the quiet neighboring island of Burano, which you can reach very quickly via a bridge. You spend the night here in a very stylish Bed & Breakfast, that belongs to the Venissa winery of the same name and are therefore also surrounded by vines.
Those who want to treat themselves to something special should pay a visit to the associated restaurant Venissa, which has been awarded one Michelin star.
You can book accommodation here: Venissa
Casa Burano You want to stay overnight in Burano? Then Casa Burano might be something for you (which by the way also belongs to Venissa). The name is a bit misleading, because this is not just one house, but several locations. You stay here in one of the historical fishermen’s houses.
You can book accommodation here: Casa Burano
Our hotel tip for Venice Should you add a correct If you are looking for a great hotel in Venice, then we have a very special tip for you: Il Palazzo Experimental. We felt incredibly comfortable in this design hotel. In this blog article you will find our detailed experience report: Venice Tips & Sights.
You can book accommodation here: Il Palazzo Experimental
5. Getting to Burano: Our tips From Venice to Burano From Venice you get by vaporetto (line ) right after Burano. The port of departure (Fondamente Nove) is located in the north of Venice. The travel time from there to Burano is 15 minutes. Once you have arrived in Burano, you simply follow the road and you are already in the middle of the action.
A single ticket for the journey by vaporetto costs 7,50 Euro. A day ticket (15 euros) worth it. You can buy your ticket from the machines before you start your journey or on board.
Our tip: You can easily research the fastest connection from your location in Venice to Burano in the Google Maps app. The vaporetto connections are also displayed there – very practical.
Here you can find the network plan: Vaporetto Venice (official website)
From the mainland (e.g. Jesolo) to Burano The vaporetto line 12 then continues from Burano to the mainland to Treporti. You can also translate from there to Burano. This is particularly useful if, for example, you are on holiday in Jesolo and would like to take a trip to Burano.
The crossing from Treporti to Burano only takes 15 minutes. Here, too, a single journey costs 7,20 Euro. You can park in Treporti at the paid parking lot.
Guided Tour to Burano You may wish to travel to Burano (& Murano) accompanied by an experienced guide to learn a little more about the history. Then a guided tour might be something for you. There are countless providers – you can easily book such a tour via Viator or Getyourguide, for example.
The following tour has very good ratings, on which you are all alone with a guide and can look forward to a completely individual experience.
You can book the tour here: Private day trip to Mazzorbo, Burano and Murano
Transparency: Affiliate Links This blog article contains our personal recommendations in the form of so-called affiliate links. If you book or buy something through the links, we will receive a small commission. For you, this does not change the price at all. A thousand thanks from both of us!34458
Have you seen Burano before? How did you like the colorful fishing village? We look forward to hearing about your experiences and additional tips in the comments.
