Venice- Murano and Burano

[Hlitner]

How do you know the 'reputable' merchants? Do they have some kind of official seal in the window or anything like that?

 

If we had a good answer to that question we could publish a decent guide book. Buying Murano Glass is almost like buying jewelry.....unless you are a real expert or have a solid reference you are taking a risk. It is a darn shame that the Italian government has not seen fit to crack-down on shops and street venders selling conterfeit merchandise (a problem thoughtout the country). We used to think the smart way to buy Murano Glass was to get it directly from the factories on Murano, but have since learned that this is not even a guarantee. We do love Italy, but if we wanted to buy a valuable piece of Murano glass we would probably make the purchase in the USA.

 

Hank

[diane.in.ny]

WOW! Thank you hlitner and euro cruiser for two very enlightening posts.

 

Maybe I'll take Murano glass off my shopping list. Especially after reading the part about buying at the factories. :rolleyes:

[Earl Rosebery]

WOW! Thank you hlitner and euro cruiser for two very enlightening posts.

 

Maybe I'll take Murano glass off my shopping list. Especially after reading the part about buying at the factories. :rolleyes:

 

Borrow 'Through a glass darkly' to read about Murano glass factories.

[Hlitner]

Diane, We did not intend to dissuade you from shoppng, but rather to inspire a high degree of caution. Venice is still the place to find a huge selection of the highest quality Murano Glass but it is wise to educate yourself before making a major purchase. We recently found a website

http://www.fossilfly.com/collecting_Murano_Glass.htm

 

that has some good tips on how to shop. Some of the shops on the island of Murano have amazing pieces for sale so you need to keep an open mind along with a degree of skepticism.

 

Hank

[diane.in.ny]

Borrow 'Through a glass darkly' to read about Murano glass factories.

 

I'll check out my library for this one. Thanks.

[diane.in.ny]

Diane, We did not intend to dissuade you from shoppng, but rather to inspire a high degree of caution. Venice is still the place to find a huge selection of the highest quality Murano Glass but it is wise to educate yourself before making a major purchase. We recently found a website

http://www.fossilfly.com/collecting_Murano_Glass.htm

 

that has some good tips on how to shop. Some of the shops on the island of Murano have amazing pieces for sale so you need to keep an open mind along with a degree of skepticism.

 

Hank

 

Thanks, Hank....I'll follow up on the link and it looks like I've got some homework to do before my upcoming trip.

[margord]

There are several glass factories on Murano, many of them have glass blowing demonstrations and all of them sell a wide variety of glass objects, from inexpensive small pieces to very high end works of art.

 

There is a glass museum on Murano that you may want to visit, as long as you're not there on Wednesdays when it is closed.

 

Glass museum information: http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/frame.asp?pid=100&musid=12&sezione=musei

 

On Burano there is a lace museum, however, according to the web site it is closed until October 2010. We were able to watch lace makers at work there.

 

Lace museum information: http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it/frame.asp?musid=13&sezione=musei

 

 

Thanks so much.

[luv2travell]

when my son and i went to murano i just asked the hotel it was a complimentary then we saw the glass demontration and its free after that i took the # 5 water taxi to burano to see murano island i saw a few old ladys doing lace

[viranpooja]

Hi guys!

 

I am planning a trip to Murano and Burano from our cruise port in Venice. I was wondering what you guys thought about going first to Burano and then to Murano to avoid crowds? It seems like most people go to Murano first.

 

Any suggestions on how to get to Burano from Marritima cruise terminal, and then from Burano to Murano and then back to the cruise port?

 

Thank you in advance!

[Hlitner]

Hi guys!

 

I am planning a trip to Murano and Burano from our cruise port in Venice. I was wondering what you guys thought about going first to Burano and then to Murano to avoid crowds? It seems like most people go to Murano first.

 

Any suggestions on how to get to Burano from Marritima cruise terminal, and then from Burano to Murano and then back to the cruise port?

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Not sure what you mean. Venice is normally packed with tourists (during the main spring/summer/fall season and what folks on a particular cruise ship does has relatively little impact on a place like Murano....which has plenty of people all day long. That being said, DW and I will often take the long boat ride out to Burano (depending on connections this can take about 1 1/2 hours from the port) and enjoy lunch on the island. Then we grab a vaporetto from Burano to Murano and finally back to Piazale Roma or wherever else we want to go.

 

As to how you go, it usually pays to get a vaporetto pass (24, 48, or 72 hours). There are several routes but we normally take the #1 Vaporetto from the P. Roma to Fondamente Nove. Once at that stop you must walk to a different pier to catch the #12 Vaporetto which takes over 40 min to get out to Burano. You can later catch a vaporetto directly from Burano to Murano.

 

Hank