Travel time (navigation only): 3 hrs (day-trip)






Your itinerary starts from our offices, goes along Canale di Cannaregio and leaves Venice heading towards San Michele cemetery and Murano, the furnaces’ island, world-renowned for its centuries-old artisan activity of glass manufacture. A majestic alignment lighthouse overlooks the island, pointing at the sea, and even now shows the way to the ships entering the lagoon from the Bocca di Porto del Lido.
Beyond Canale Bisatto there are many small islands, such as San Giacomo in Palude and Madonna del Monte, currently deserted. The environment of this area is characterized by barene and their typical plants: limonium, glasswort, and cordgrass, which colours the landscape in purple.
Then you will pass through Mazzorbo, known for its restaurants fronting onto the lagoon, with the church of Santa Caterina, dating back to 300, and reach Burano which will welcome you with its leaning steeple and the joyful palette of colours of its houses, with the Cansiglio mountains on the background. The island is renowned for lace-making, fishing, and for its traditional biscuits called buranelli. We recommend a stop-over for fish-tasting here. In front of Burano, you will see Torcello, whose monuments preserve the history of the beginning of human history in the lagoon.
You will go on heading towards the island of San Francesco del Deserto, recognisable by its numerous cypresses and which dates back to Roman age. It is inhabited by Franciscans friars since 1230 (just a small group nowadays) and Saint Franscis of Assisi is said to have lived here in 1220. It can be reached only with private means of transport. Shrouded in a fascinating atmosphere, it is worthy of a stop-over and, possibly, a visit guided by one of the friars.
The route continues keeping close to Forte Sant’Andrea, the famous fortress which was part of the defending system of Venice lagoon. On the bastion there were eight embrasures and, from each arch on the walls, a piece of artillery surfaced to damage the enemy ships’ sides.
Finally, you will come back to Venice passing between the park of the island of La Certosa and the island of Le Vignole, running along the Arsenale crenellated walls.