This is a must visit if you’re in Venice! Burano island is about 1 square mile in size and home to about 2,000 fisherman and workers of its world renowned lace factories. Long ago, fisherman began painting their houses bright colors to make them easier to find when navigating through the lagoons fog after a long day at sea. Today, each house is painted every two years, and must be a different color than the one next door. It is also home to “S” shaped cookies called Bussolà that are only made here. You can get to the island by taking the vaporetto (ACTV) line 12 from Fondamente Nove. The ACTV offers a few ticket options: 7,50€ per regular ticket good for 75 minutes, 15€ for a round trip ticket, or 20€ for a day pass.
Travel hack!
Get off at the Mazzorbo stop instead of the Burano mainland one. When you exit the vaporetto, head left and enjoy a quiet stroll down the path along the water. You’ll pass two restaurants, one of which is Michelin Star rated called Venissa. There is a vineyard on the grounds with an outdoor art exhibit portraying humanity and the defense of animals. Continue down the path, round the corner, and walk over the pedestrian bridge to the heart of Burano. You’ll thank me later.
What to eat?
I had a wonderful bolognese pasta and liter of wine for lunch at Ciccheterria da Gigetto. The wait staff was great and service was timely. It is off the main road on the island and much less crowded than most other eateries.
Just in case you can’t handle the heat…
Because of its small size, there is no hospital on the island so if you need medical attention, you will be taking a boat ride. While I was eating lunch a woman was suffering from heat exhaustion and fainted. Being a Paramedic, when EMS arrived I was curious to see their setup. The captain was really friendly and invited me on board for a tour while the crew went to get the patient. I would work on that boat in a heartbeat!
