The enchanting islands of Murano and Burano are a refreshing escape from Venice’s busy streets and canals. The easiest way to reach them is by private water taxi. Faster and sturdier than a gondola, and far less crowded than a waterbus, it’s a premium Venice experience included in your tour, along with your expert local guide sharing stories of Venice’s trading past along the way. Your first stop is a specially chosen glassblowing workshop on Murano. In the Middle Ages, Murano's artisans alone held this craft's secrets, and sharing them was punishable. This stop, including boat transfers, guided time, and island time, lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes. You’ll see modern glassblowers using these once secret techniques, shaping delicate and dazzling works of art from molten glass. Then admire the workshop’s finest work in its gallery and perhaps take home a piece of your own -with a tour discount. Or explore more of Murano, including its peaceful canals and stunning Byzantine church.
The locals of Burano continue the island’s centuries old lace making tradition, producing some of the finest handmade lace in the world. You’ll see artisans at work before visiting the lace museum or enjoying time to explore at your own pace. The island is famous for its brightly painted houses, originally designed so fishermen could spot home from the sea. Your experience here, including boat travel, guided time, and free time on the island, lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes. As you return across the lagoon to Venice, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation of the craftsmanship that shaped the city’s history.
Islands were very different and interesting. The New Murono Glass Factory was very interesting and informative. Seeing the showroom opened a new appreciation for what can be don by master glass producers. Burano was such a colorful island and very friendly residents.
Nice demonstration of making of blown glass. They will ship to the US anything that you purchase, no extra charge, but prices are extremely expensive. On Burano there is a brief demonstration of lace making followed by lots of free time.
Excellent trip. Guide spoke wonderful English and was very knowledgeable.
Elly was nice! We did enjoy the tour!
You really can’t understand the tour guide. So you miss a lot of information about the two islands. It’s really a shame. People on the boat were just talking to each other because you couldn’t understand a word she said.
Great tour, Emanuela was engaging with the whole tour. She gave us a brilliant commentary along the way. Was a lovely way to spend a few hours. She was also helpful with food recommendations.
The private tour was perfect for us. The group was not very large, which was enjoyable. The guide gave plenty of good information without overloading us with a lot of facts. Glass blowing demonstration was excellent and Barreno was simple time to shop and see the town. We would definitely recommend this to others.
Great tour and guide was awesome.
Elly was a fantastic guide. Very friendly and knowledgeable.
Very enjoyable 5 hour tour of Murano and Burano with our guide, Elly. The glass glowing demonstration in Murano was very interesting. Burano is a colorful village.
We started the day by taking a private boat with a small group to the island of murano where we watched master craftsman hand blow glass I fro t of us. Along the way our tour guide Manuela gave us a lesson on the history of Venice, its geography & glass blowing tradition. She then took us to the island of Burano where we were able to eat, drink, relax & enjoy the charming small town. Manuela was an excellent tour guide who took the time to get to know each of us individually, answer all of our questions & give us great recommendations. 10/10 tour, 10/10 tour guide
We truly enjoyed watching the glass blowing. However, there was nothing really affordable in the store. We also had too much free time at Burano. Not much to do there, but it was nice to visit
We really loved the tour and would recommend it to anyone, anytime! It was well organized and structured. Among all the things we saw and learned, what really did the trip memorable to us was our guide Elena! She did an amazing job providing all the information in an educational but also fun way, that helped memorize everything said. You could really see how passionate she is about her job and everything related to Venice, Murano, Burano and all other islands. Her recommendations on the places to check while out exploring were also spot on! We couldn’t have asked for a better guide! Thank you!
Nice tour. We debated giving the tour 4 stars. I wish we had more time watching glass blowing demonstrations. The glass master was amazing. The glass demonstration is just to get you into their showroom. The prices were much too steep. The lace demonstration isn't worth the time. The Islands, especially Burano, are very nice. It was a fun boat ride and an enjoyable lunch on a beautiful island.
Incredible trip to view New Murano Gallery. Family owned and operated. Charismatic friendly staff that purposefully walked us through their gallery explaining multiple rooms of one of a kind art pieces. Something for everyone. Then on to the island of Burano. Breathtaking small island with brightly paint d houses and friendly locals. Great food, great shops. Our guide Elly with CityWonders was phenomenal. Great energy, knowledge, and advice for dining. Highly recommended.
Elly was fun and knowledgeable!
Elly is an excellent guide and resource. Great sense of humor. Highly recommend!
Great value, excellent experience. Elly host was excellent! Enough time in each place, to shop or eat!
Elly was great. She was very knowledgeable and helpful.
Elly Cavassoni is a fantastic guide full of life and fun stories. She learned all of our names within minute and made sure we were all safe and accounted for at all times. The boat ride was wonderful and gave us just enough time to learn, explore and shop.
Elly was amazing! She was very helpful. Loved the experience overall. Would recommend! Burano ❤️❤️❤️
A friend had recommended us this tour — and it was a wonderful recommendation! Murano and Burano were such cool, unique places! We thoroughly enjoyed the glassblowing and lacemaking demonstrations and getting to stroll the islands for a bit. Also, our tour guide, Carrie, was so knowledgeable and kind! The only thing that could’ve made this tour better was better weather, since it was very cold and rainy on our day. But you learn on the tour that the reason the Burano houses are so colorful were for fishermen to locate the island through the fog, so we honestly got that full experience — those beautiful colors really shined through!
Carie was so sweet and so knowledgeable! Our tour was an amazing time. In addition to the regularly scheduled tour, she brought me to a specific lace maker she knew on Burano to find the wedding veil I wanted to find. She has great recommendations all around Venice as well. Highly recommend!
I booked this tour for myself and my husband and we had an excellent experience! Our guide Alice Battistella gave great general knowledge throughout the day but also shared personal recommendations that were lovely. All communication and logistics were clear throughout the day.
Elena was a warm and engaging guide, with lots of knowledge of many of the Venetian islands, architecture, and history. Glass-making and lacemaking on the islands was interesting , with nice chance to also browse and have free time. Wonderful, recommend!
Elena was excellent love the trip Burano was my favourite
A great trip with a knowledgeable local guide, Susanna, who informed and entertained throughout. Well organised with time to investigate the islands. Burano is very pretty and definitely worth a visit.
Frankie was a wonderful guide. She was very knowledgeable and we learned much about Venice and particularly Murano and Burano. It was a great day.
The boat ride was pleasant. We visited during the shoulder season so the tour contained fewer people making the boat ride more pleasant. Tour guide was fully engaged and encouraged questions throughout the tour. She also shared pictures which helped envision life on the many islands. I would have preferred more time in Burano for dining, shopping and sightseeing vice the extra time at the Murano Art gallery although the gallery was wonderful.
Could have spent more time on Burano. Not much to see on Murano besides the glassblowing. It was more a glass display than a demonstration.
Rachelay was a fabulous, passionate, and incredibly knowledge guide on our Venice trip and for local recommendations (restaurants, gelato, transportation, cool Venice novels, and other tour experiences)!! Cannot recommend this tour enough! Our tour guide peppered in great humor throughout our island tour and Venice history and natural surroundings day long lesson. If you can request a guide for Venice tours including this one, do yourself a favor and request Rachelay (my spelling is likely wrong but request Rachel in British English name if I misspelled Rachelay). She was lovely!!!
Murano glass is stunning but I could have spent a whole day on Burano. Elly’s suggestion were spot on!!
Fantastic experience! Both the glass and lace were fascinating, with amazing work to peruse. Elly also made excellent food recommendations!
Great tour of Murano and Burano. Our tour guide, Helena, was excellent! Very knowledgeable and friendly. Would recommend and ask for Helena!
Great experience the and our guide Rachel was wonderful and answered all the questions we had and had great recommendations
Amazing tour! Loved the boat ride and the free time at both islands. Francesca(Frankie) was amazing. Our boat driver was amazing also. The islands were Beautiful. We loved Burano and all the bright colored houses.
We had a great time on the tours of Murano and Burano islands! Our group was small and intimate so it was easy to keep up. It was so cool to see the glass master at work and see so many beautiful pieces! Also the lace workers were so impressive and intricate. We had some free time to roam on each island too which really helped get the feel of the place. I would definitely recommend this tour!
Elly was an amazing guide! First time in Italy for me. Really wise use of tour time. Enjoyed the intimacy and attention of a smaller group.
Elly did a wonderful job on the experience! She was very knowledgeable and showed us some great locations. The glass blowing portion was beautiful, and it was great to see how everything was made. Overall; well worth the money!
This tour was an excellent way to visit Murano and Burano. Our guide Allesia shared information about each island during the boat rides. Then we were free to wander when we reached each island. The towns were uncrowded which was a nice break from the crowds in Venice. We were given clear information on the time and location for the start of the tour and each stop on the islands. The glass making demonstration in Murano was great, but I wish we had more time to observe it. The lace making demonstration was a bit disappointing. It takes place in a small shop and it was difficult to see the woman doing the lace making. However, I loved wandering around this picturesque town.
Everything went smoothly, from finding the meeting point to our wonderful guide Susan and exploring the two islands! Susan told us some very interesting information about Venice and the surrounding islands. Overall, loved and totally recommend the experience.
Great tour of murano and burano. Great recommendations and knowledge from our guide Elisa. Good split of more time in Burano. Elisa was very friendly and extremely knowledgable about the area.
A good introduction to the islands of Venice. Plenty of time and freedom to appreciate the beauty of Venice and it's islands. Murano and Burano are fascinating and great fun.
Great Tour, Elena went above and beyond my expectations was so cheerful and talked about the islands before we got there. Highly recommend went at 9 am was perfect before the large crowds. Elena receives 5 stars in my opinion. AnnaMarie
Elly was a great tour guide. Very knowledgeable and a true local. Highly recommend booking with her!
The tour was slow-paced (in the best way) and lovely! Elena was a wonderful guide and so knowledgeable about the islands, especially Burano. She gave us a lunch recommendation and the meal was delicious!
Excellent experience overall! Just the right amount of time. Our guide was very helpful and knowledgeable!
Wonderful experience, a must have if you stay in Venice more than a day Federica, the Guide, was fantastic and everything was perfect
Monica was an excellent private tour guide. 4 hours was perfect to enjoy the glass blowing demonstration and galleries in Murano. Burano was also quite stunning.
Wonderful tour and experience with Alexandria. Water taxi was clean and comfortable. History and information was great. Time spent in each location was great. Alexandria interacted with the group and the initial introduction of group members helped facilitate further interaction. I highly recommend this tour.
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