Venice: Murano & Burano Boat Tour with Glass Demo

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/19

Duration5h–6h

GroupUp to 80

LanguagesEN · IT +2

Mobile ticketAccepted

The Glass Master Shapes a Vase in Front of You—Then You're Off to Burano's Painted Houses

You board a panoramic boat at St. Mark's Square and visit Murano to watch a glass master at work in an active furnace, then Burano for 90 minutes of free time among the painted houses and lace demonstrations, with optional Torcello on the way back. A multilingual guide explains the lagoon's history and craft traditions throughout. The boat is covered, so the tour runs in rain, and you're back in the city by late afternoon.

5h–6h

Step-by-step itinerary

Venice Lagoon Islands Tour

Meet at St. Mark's Square
Visit Murano glass factory
Watch glass blowing demonstration
Explore Murano island
Travel to Burano island
Visit Burano main square and church
Enjoy lunch on Burano
Admire colorful houses of Burano
Optional visit to Torcello island
Return boat trip through Venetian lagoon

The Experience

You're standing in a Murano glass furnace watching a craftsman pull molten glass from the kiln, and suddenly it's not abstract anymore—it's a person, a tool, and fire making something that will last centuries. That's the first stop on this Venice lagoon boat tour, and it's the moment you stop thinking about lagoon islands as a checklist and start understanding why people have been living and working out here for a thousand years. The tour departs from St. Mark's Square and takes you by panoramic boat to three islands, each one different enough that you're not just repeating the same experience three times over.

After Murano, the boat heads to Burano, and the shift is immediate—instead of furnaces and craft demonstrations, you're walking into streets where every building is painted a different color: deep reds, bright yellows, ocean blues, all of them reflected in the canal water. You get an hour and a half to walk around on your own, which is enough time to find a quiet corner, grab lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants, or just sit and watch the light change on the water. A lace-making demonstration happens while you're there, so if you want to see how that craft works, it's part of the tour; if you'd rather just wander, you can do that too. The multilingual guide is there to explain the history and point out the Church of San Martino if you want to see the Tiepolo painting, but the island itself is yours to move through at your own pace.

The third island—Torcello—is optional depending on which option you book, but if you choose it, you're going somewhere genuinely quiet. This is where Venice actually started, before the city moved to where it is now, and the oldest churches in the lagoon are still standing here. On the boat ride back to the city, you're watching the whole northern lagoon spread out around you, and the guide is talking about how the water, the islands, and the craft traditions all fit together. The boats are completely covered, so rain doesn't stop the tour; bad weather that's truly exceptional might postpone it, but most days it runs.

Be at St. Mark's Square 10 minutes before departure. There's a €5 access fee for day-trippers on certain dates, which you can check before you book. Public transport gets you to the meeting point easily if you're staying outside Venice.

What’s included

Boat transportation by panoramic vessel between all islands, entry to Murano Island with a live glass-blowing demonstration at an active furnace, entry to Burano Island with a lace-making demonstration and 1.5 hours of free time to explore, optional entry to Torcello Island (depending on your chosen option), and a qualified multilingual guide throughout the tour who explains the history of the lagoon and local craft traditions.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by CITY TOURS CO. LTD

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the three most famous Venice lagoon islands without arranging separate boat tickets and timing each stop yourself—the guide handles the history and demonstrations, leaving you free to explore Burano at your own pace during the 90 minutes there.