Visit on the Islands of Burano & Murano and other Venice, Italy Things to Do Tips

Murano is the most visited and the most famous of the Venetian Islands, courtesy of the famous glass-works that produce the famous Murano Glass. Like Venice it is an archipelago of individual islands joined by bridges and divided by canals.
During the Middle Ages the glass makers were settled on the island because of fire hazard from their furnaces.
The 16th century was known as the “great age” of Murano glass, when the island supported some 37 glass factories and a population of 30,000. Murano Glass was one of the few Venetian exports and as such, the secret of this skillful craft was tightly guarded.

The glass-factory's showroom full of magnificent glassware. However, the prices are not cheap here. Some items cost several ten-thousands euros! Prices are much more reasonable in the gift shop where you can buy plenty of souvenirs or simply enjoy the island without buying what you don’t need and don’t want.
Fans of Glass should also plan a visit on Fondamenta Giustinian 8, to the Glass Museum, which was the ancient residence of the bishops of Torcello.
Entrance tickets cost €4,00 or €6,00 for a ticket which combines entrance to the Glass Museum and the Lace Museum on Burano.
The nearby Church of San Mary & Donato has a beautiful mosaic pavement from the 12th Century.

The next stop is a 15-minute ride to the lovely fishing island of Burano. The island is the most picturesque of Venetian Islands of the Lagoon. The village is a scaled down version of Venice with small canals, and pastel coloured houses like in Nyhavn - Copenhagen. Burano is well known for its lace making; in the 16th century the industry was at its height and Burano was cited through Europe for having produced the finest lace.
Legend has it that lace-making began when a Venetian sailor, returning after a long voyage, brought his ladylove a gift of exotic seaweed called mermaid's lace. To while away the hours once the sailor was back at sea, the girl tried to re-create the intricate design of the seaweed in lace.
The Lace Museum, which opened in 1981, is situated in the old Lace-School (Piazza Galuppi 187). The only trouble is that few women are left on Burano willing to spend the time to make these fine artworks. Beware, however, of vendors selling items that are not genuine Burano lace.

Public Transportation: There is a direct boat, the DM, from Tronchetto, Piazzale Roma and the railway station (Ferrovia).
Murano's Faro stop is the first halt on the LN (Laguna Nord) ferry from the Fondamenta Nove on Venice's northern shore, which continues to Burano.

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Address: Burano & Murano
Directions: Murano is located in the Venetian Lagoon, approximately one kilometre to the north of Venice.
Burano is also located in the northern lagoon just over half an hour vaporetto ride from Venice
Website:http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/main.asp?lin=EN
Website: http://www.arsmurano.it/

Torcello is the perfect antidote to glamorous Venice. There’s time for quiet contemplation, which too often nowadays can elude you in Serenissima.
The island was at one time one of the Byzantine Empire's most important markets in Western Europe with splendid buildings, churches and monasteries, but today just a handful of monuments survive and holds only 100 inhabitants.
One of these is the famous Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral with its Byzantine-Roman mosaics and its imposing bell tower, visible from all over the lagoon; it is open daily from 10 - 12.30am and from 2pm until 6.30 pm
Another important architecture is the Santa Fosca Church, which is surrounded by a five-sided portico built in the form of a Greek cross. Outside, in the garden, stands Atilla the Hun’s marble throne carved from a single piece of stone.

Another main attraction is taking lunch at the Cipriani restaurant, a favourite of Ernest Hemingway, who stayed here in 1948 while writing "Across the River and Into the Trees".
The restaurant Al Ponte del Diavolo offers an alternative for tourists with smaller budget. (tourist menu 25 €).

In the end when you leave back to Venice for your evening meal, take a moment, turn, and watch the buildings of the island melt into the lagoon.

Public transport: The vaporettos (LN route) depart from the Fondamenta Nuove stop in the Cannaregio section of Venice to Burano and then change to the T line to Torcello. The T line normally runs twice an hour in both directions during the day.

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Address: The northern end of the Venetian Lagoon
Directions: 10km to the north-east of Venice, the ride takes about 55 minutes.
Website: http://www.tours-italy.com/venice/torcello_island.htm

The church of San Barnabas on Campo San Barnabas was completed with the brick campanile in the 14th century. The small church has a "Holy Family" depiction attributed to Paolo Veronese and a Tiepolo-style ceiling. It is more often associated with fact that impoverished members of the aristocracy lived here in state-provided apartments during the Republic's declining years.
The church and its surroundings has also gained a more recent distinction when it appeared in several films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade or in my favourite, Summertime starring Katherine Hepburn.
If you love the romantic Summer-Venice, you will love also the film Summertime. The story is about a lonely yet lovely American spinster who falls in love with a charming but married Venetian man who shows her that Venice is truly made for lovers.
You should watch this movie before your every trip to Venice, because you meet a Venice as you have never seen it before.

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Address: Campo San Barnabas
Directions: In the Dorsoduro district, right off the Ca' Rezzonico stop, between the Accademia/San Trovaso area and Campo San Margherita.

The art lover Peggy Guggenheim - venetians called her "the last Doge of Venice" - has collected a lot of modern art in her Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the bank of Grand Canal.
The neo-classical Palazzo itself is amazing, however, sometimes called as the Palazzo Nonfinito because of its one-storey construction. The collection includes masterpieces of cubism, futurism, abstraction, surrealism including famous painters and sculptors such as: Moore, Picasso, Mondrian, Kandinsky, Braque, Max Ernst, Miró and many more.
Sculpture Collection is exhibited in the garden where also the gift from Yoko Ono, a live olive tree may be seen.
In the new wing there is a Coffee shop where you can take a break for a snack or a drink.

Warning: Inside the gallery you are not allowed to take photos.
Opening hours Wednesday through Monday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m
Admission 10 €

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Phone: 041 240 54 11
Address: 701 Dorsoduro
Directions: Vaporetto stop: Accademia,
Fondamenta Venier dei Leoni Dorsoduro 704 (2nd entrance Calle S Cristoforo, Dorsoduro 701)
Website: www.guggenheim-venice.it

Art lovers will not want to miss the greatest existing collection of Venetian art, in the three buildings of the Gallerie dell’Accademia. If you have interest in five centuries of masterpieces, you should spend days in here!

Among the numberless masterpieces, you should not miss the Legend of St.Ursula, by Vittore Carpaccio, a cycle of eight magnificent paintings dating from the late 16th century, the Coronation of the Virgin, a bright polyptych painted in 1325 by Paolo Veneziano, considered the very founder of the Venetian school.
In addition to priceless works of art by the three Bellinis (Jacopo, Gentile and Giovanni), Mantegna, Lorenzo Lotto, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Veronese and Titian, there are paintings of 15th- and 16th century Venice, that show amazingly, how little the city had changed since then. The artworks are mostly arranged in chronological order and in each room there are information sheets in English.

One of the greatest treasures of the Accademia is the enigmatic Tempest by Giorgione, a painting in which the innovative use of the landscape influenced all the art of the following centuries. It has been called the first landscape in the history of European painting.

Because of fire regulations, entry is limited to a small number of people at a time; usually requires standing in line to enter. At the entrance are lockers where you can leave your bags, as they are not allowed.
You can find also a souvenir shop selling the usual things like books (60 to100$!!), postcards, etc. The prices may be expensive, but this is normal for a gallery shop.

Open: Monday from 8.15 am until 2.00 pm (last entrance at 1.15 pm),
from Tuesday to Sunday from 8.15 am until 7.15 pm (last entrance at 6.30 pm)
Admission 6.50€ adults, 3.25€ children 12-18, free for children under 12

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Phone: (+39) 041 52 00 345
Address: 1050 Campo della Carità, Dorsoduro 30130
Directions: By vaporetto line 1 stop Accademia, in the near of the Accademia Bridge
The Gallery is the number one destination in Dorsoduro, being considered the place to visit if the Piazza San Marco has been done.
Website: http://www.gallerieaccademia.org/

Front facade of the Basilica, showing the four gilded, almost pure copper (not bronze!) horses of the quadriga, the triumphal chariot, located on the porch over the main entrance . No one is sure where these horses came from and whether they are Greek (Lysippos?) or Roman. They could date from the 3rd century BC up to the 2nd AD.
The emperor Constantine acquired them by conquering Rome and they graced the hippodrome of Constantinople, what the Romans called Circus.
The horses, together with a lot of treasures incl. the precious-metal iconostasis from Hagia Sophia were looted by the Venetians during the Fourth Crusade, organized by Enrico Dandolo and moved to Venice in the 1200s.
Originally were located at the Arsenale, but someone, probably a later Doge, had the bright idea of putting them on the terrace of the Basilica.
The present day horses are copies. The orginals were restored and placed inside the Basilica, in a display area right behind the copies in 1977.

Entrance fee upstairs to the terrace incl. museum 4 €.
Open 9.45 am - 4.45 pm.

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Address: Piazza San Marco
Directions: To reach the Basilica by Vaporetto line nr 1 from Piazzale Roma takes 40-45 minutes.
On foot about the same but you save 6 €.
Website: http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/eng/index.bsm

The clock tower, a part of the Museo Correr, founded by Count Teodoro Correr, was built at the end of the 15th century.
On top of the tower are two (once dark brown, today already rather with a green shade) bronze statue, known as "Moors", by whom the bell is tolled quarter-hourly.
The main dial of the large Astronomical Clock has one hand only, for the hours, but shows the phases of the moon and sun as well as the signs of the zodiac. This is typical of early clocks: knowing the approximate time of day was enough precision for those less tightly scheduled times. The clock was the official timekeeper in the past centuries, and all other clocks of Venice were adjusted to it.
The facade of the tower with its symbols shows the powers that govern Venice, namely the scientific progress, civic authority and Christian faith.
Note that the clock is one of the worl'd first digital timepieces. As I recall, it was also accurate, and the time really was 1:40 in the afternoon.

Entrance fee 14 € incl. all facilities of the Museo Correr.
Open for guided tours only: Mon-Wed 9am, 10am, 11am; Thu-Sun 1pm, 2pm, 3pm.
English tours Mon-Wed 10am, 11am; Thu-Sun 1pm, 2pm, 3pm

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Phone: 041-522-4951
Address: On the western side of the piazza San Marco
Directions: From Piazzale Roma by Vaporetto line nr.1 takes 40-45 minutes.
On foot about the same but you save 6 €.
Website: http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/main.asp?lin=EN

The Piazzetta San Marco, a part of the square, is open to the Grand Canal, and is known for the two Byzantine columns: one surmounted by the lion of Venice, a bronze chimera, perhaps from Syria or China, to which the Venetians added wings and a book, the other bearing St. Theodore, one of the patron saints of Venice, showing him standing in victory on the pagan crocodile.

St. Theodore was an early Christian, who was martyred for destroying a temple of a pagan goddess somewhere in the East of the Roman Empire. The crocodile symbolises the goddess representing the Temple destroyed by Theodor.

The area was the site of public executions, according to ancient belief crossing the line between the columns means bad luck and superstitious Venetians avoid it even today.

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Address: Piazzetta San Marco
Directions: Vaporetto line nr.1 from Piazzale Roma, 40-45 minutes.
Other Contact: the site of public executions

There are innumerable sights that are left out from the program of most visitors in Venice.
Everybody walks out onto the waterfront being only few meters from San Marco and admires the silhouette of the church being located on the oposite island. But almost nobody get already there.

At the last stop of vaporetto before San Marco it is worthy to get out for half an hour.
This is that certain island, namely San Giorgio Maggiore. Its name sounds fabulously already, and so the ornament of the tiny island, the Benedictine monastery.
The church itself is worth the bypass; because two huge, five-metre paintings of Tintoretto decorate it. But the real experience is, to climb up into the campanile (there is an elevator for 3 €!) and from there to look across to San Marco.

The main square of uniquely beautiful Venice from here of the height, according to me, the most beautiful experience in the city. It is an extra reward only that we may arrive from the sea onto Saint Mark square by sailing over with the next vaporetto.

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Address: San Giorgio Maggiore