Venice: Lagoon Island Day Trips
The best day trips from Venice do not leave the lagoon. The outer islands are a short ferry ride, exempt from the day-tripper access fee that applies in the historic centre, and each is a completely different world from San Marco. A 24-hour vaporetto pass at about EUR 25 (verify on site) covers a full island-hopping day. For mainland trips into the wider Veneto, Verona, Padua and the rest, see the separate Veneto guide; this one stays on the water.
Murano, for glass
Fifteen minutes by vaporetto from Fondamente Nove, Murano has made glass since the 13th century, when the furnaces were moved off the main island for fire safety. Watch a furnace demonstration, then walk the quieter back canals and the Glass Museum rather than getting funnelled straight into a showroom. Real Murano glass carries a trademark; cheap “Murano” trinkets usually do not.
Burano, for colour
Forty minutes out, Burano is the island of painted fishermen’s houses and lace-making. The colours are the draw, strongest in morning or late-afternoon light, and the small canals reflect them beautifully. Wander off the main lane for cleaner photos and a cheaper lunch, and look in on the leaning bell tower and the lace museum.
Torcello, for quiet history
A few minutes beyond Burano lies Torcello, the lagoon’s first major settlement, now almost empty. Its cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta holds Byzantine mosaics well over a thousand years old, including a vast Last Judgment, and the climb up its campanile gives long lagoon views. This is the calm counterweight to Burano’s crowds.
The Lido, for the beach
The Lido is the lagoon’s beach island and one of only two here where cars are allowed. It suits a half day of sea, a bike ride along the seafront, and the dune reserve at Alberoni to the south. In late summer it fills up for the Venice Film Festival.
San Giorgio Maggiore and San Michele, the short hops
Directly across the Basin, San Giorgio Maggiore has a Palladio church and a bell-tower view back at the city that beats the crowded Campanile in the square. On the way to Murano, the walled cemetery island of San Michele is a quiet garden of cypress worth a short stop.
Sant’Erasmo, for farmland
For the least touristy day in the lagoon, Sant’Erasmo is flat farmland, vineyards and artichoke fields with a single small beach, reachable by vaporetto and blissfully empty.
Planning the day
Start early from Fondamente Nove to beat the tour groups to Burano, and do Murano last on the way back. The islands are exempt from the access fee, but the historic centre is not on the roughly 29 tagged days between April 3 and July 26, 2026 (verify on site).
Read more: the main Venice guide covers the central sights, the Venice nature spots guide goes deeper on the islands as landscape, and for mainland day trips see the Veneto day trips guide . If you would rather not read a ferry timetable, book a Murano, Burano and Torcello tour .