Murano Island

#238−2016:
Anyone adoring jewelry (especially handcrafted glass rings) will most likely be well informed on the fact that the best specimens are produced on the Island of Murano. Located in the Venice Lagoon, this small series of little islands has specialised in the art of glass making pieces of art (ranging from little jewelry to lamps, vases and much else).
Worth visiting are those tiny stores that still carry on the centennial art of handcrafting said art by blowing hot glass and assisting to it coming to life… it may look easy when crafted by experts but, believe you me. an average Jane like me couldn’t even manage to move an inch of the material…
I am a sucker for murano glass rings (colorful and resilient) as well as earrings and pendants. But I am sure anyone will find something to their taste.
If you ever decide to hop on a ferry and commute to this island, try and avoid tourist traps which (unfortunately) may try and pass made in China replicas as the real deal… just ask around for those stores that still carry on the traditional handcrafted beauties I am sure you will deeply come to love.
And, whilst you are at it… why not educate yourself Andre bit more by clicking on the following link?

The truth about the islands around Venice must be spoken. After giving 2 stars to Burano for being overcrowded and not that overwhelming (there are colourful houses elsewhere too), Murano is really even less of a must-​do. I must point out that I am not rating those cute little islands as such — sure they are lovely — but the rating refers merely to the necessity of going there. For some excellent marketing reason, when in Venice you tend to believe that you must see those two. Trust me, you don’t have to. I admit that I don’t find the glass spectacular, not even pretty, but maybe if you are a fan of that, it will pay off for you after all. I only saw ugly souvenir stores next to each other, and the buildings are hardly interesting to look at, when arriving from Venice. You already have the main highlight where you are, so enjoy it, no need to get greedy. Because you will only end up disappointed, at least I did. After making our way through the crowds in the main souvenir zone, we tried to get some food at a restaurant that our guide book said was local and good. They simply didn’t want us. First they said they are full, then we ended up eating crisps on the square in front of it, and when we saw that some people left, we tried again. We got another no. The other restaurants did not speak to us and seemed just touristy, so we joined the flock waiting for Vaporetto to make our next mistake of the day — Burano.

nothing to see, without glass :-)
July 2015 on sunday, we’ve arrived on the island via vaparetto, many offers to see the factories, but nowhere an open factory,
so, we decided, to run through the channels, look for glass shops, there are perceived thousand stores to find.
In one of them, we have seen the specific art to create the special type of colors in the glass or shape figures, great. But in the great shops, close to everything looked exactly the same.
and without the glass, there is not so much more :-)
After that, a small memento for each of us and then hurry up, to go to Burano …

Lots of shops selling glass products made in Murano, but was expecting to see more actual glassblowing being done.
Not much good food in this area either that doesn’t seem to be overpriced tourist traps.
If you’re only looking to buy a trinket or two of glass, those can be easily found on venice without taking the vaporetto (water taxi) out to Murano.

Lots of tourist shops from what we saw — we were not too sure what all the fuss was about?

Quiet island right near Venice with not much to do but shop for glass art, watch a gallery of glass masters at work, have a cappuccino or gelato.
They had some glass exhibits outside like glass flower garden, and glass robot statue lady.
My mother in law suggests Burrano Island if you’re looking for more beautiful buildings, and more stores.
After chatting with the store owners I noticed the price differences in the glass art. She explained that the cheaper glass is from China.
** Ask for authentic Murano glass if you want local hand crafted art. They might be behind a glass door locked up, and expect to pay much more.

On dénombre quatre iles proche de Venise, complément idéal à une pleine visite de la cité.
La plus populaire est probablement celle de Murano et la foule afflue en masse à sa découverte. Une petite balade à préférer tôt le matin pour imprégner pleinement de l’ambiance du lieu. Elle est fort réputé et courtisé pour ses riches boutiques spécialisés dans l’artisanat verriers. Elle puise là son principal point d’intérêt. On se retrouve ainsi régulièrement devant de magnifiques pièces et c’est l’opportunité de ramener des petits objets du plus bel effet à exposer dans une vitrine chez soi.

This island is famous for glass making, from small knick-​knacks and jewelry to larger vases and obscure art objects. If you can control your shopping, you’ll get better prices as you move away from the vaporetto stop. I learned this the hard way.
To get here, take 4.2 located two bridges away from St Mark’s Square (on the left when facing the water). It’s a shorter route than 4.1 which runs in the other direction. You can also take the express Line 7, which only operates during the tourist season. If you are planning to take a lot of bus and vaporetto rides during the day, consider the unlimited day pass.