You must be thinking what I had been wondering before our trip to Italy. How many islands are there in Venice? To my surprise, there are 118 submerged islands in the Adriatic Sea. Not only that, there are 400 foot bridges and 170 boat canals!
So as you already know now, Venice is composed of a group of tiny islands. While some
are well known, some are not. By well known I mean frequented by tourists. Some
of the well known are Murano, Burano, Mazzorba, Torcello, Lido, etc. While some
are absolutely non motorable like Murano and Burano; Lido island even has buses
running on it! Our first day on our Venice itinerary had the islands of Murano
and Burano on it. However first it took uncalculated time to reach our resort
and then we spent more than the allotted time in the pool. Hence we had to cut
short our trip.
Reaching the main island of Venice from Marghera was a task
in itself. We had the 48 hour all transport pass hence getting on and off was not an issue.
After we reached Venice, we took instructions as to how to board the vaporatto
to Burano. It was already six in the evening as hence all the lace and glass
shops were closed; things that made those places famous. Also Burano was one
and a half hours from Venice so it was a bit too late.
If we left both the islands for the next day, then it would
have been risky. How can one possibly cover endless spots in a single day? So
we took the vaporatto to Burano. It was a really long ride. I mean the island
of Venice itself had so many stations before we actually left for no where
land.
How long does it take to get to Burano?
It took one and a half hours by water taxi or vaporetto. The ride on the sea was rather fascinating. Vaporatti and
water taxis operate all night long; so there are provisions of light in the
water too. Strange it is for us when we don’t even have light on the roads.
First we crossed Torcello and then Murano. Each island looked like mini Venice.
Finally we knew when we approached Burano. We saw the most beautiful of
colourful houses all around.
What is the island of Burano famous for?
Apart from the pretty colorful fishermen houses, Burano is mainly famous for its delicate lace. Although Burano glass is also famous.
I had mixed feelings. I was in joy as I had never been in
such a fairy land. Sad as it was already dark. These colourful dwellings were
fishermen’s houses. I jumped around the little bridges on the canals and took
pictures. We had no regret that the lace shops and museum were closed. We snuck
into a few shops from the windows and was satisfied. Though visit to the Museo
do Merletto would have been a cherry on the top.
