Our stay at Hotel Antiche actually included a private boat to take us to Murano, which is known for its glass making. However, since we were planning on visiting Burano afterwards, we decided it would be more economical to buy 48hr public transportation tickets, which covers the islands and was good for the vaporetto or public waterbus. Since our boat was picking us up at 9:30am, we woke up early to have breakfast in the hotel lobby, then walked over to the terminal to buy tickets first. 

Right at 9:30am we loaded onto the boat and we were jetting off towards Murano. I had actually wanted to splurge on a gondola ride in Venice, but considering how pricey it was at 90€ for half an hour, it didn’t seem like it was worth it. However, being on this private boat really made up for that experience so I was definitely soaking it in while we cruised towards Murano.

At Murano we had a tour of the glass factory. There were a couple artisans who demonstrated glass making at the studio, then we were lead inside their store and exhibit space. While I didn’t end up buying anything, it was great seeing all the products they had on display. Murano isn’t a huge island, so after doing a small loop around (and buying another gelato to help cool down from the heat), we took the ferry over to Burano. 

Burano is known for its lace making and its rows of brightly colour houses. We stopped a few times to take photos with the houses in the background. It was nice because there are way less tourists on the island, so you were able to leisurely take your time and explore. For lunch I had a plate of spaghetti alle vongole and I made the mistake of ordering an Aperol spritz. While I very much enjoyed it at the time, it wasn’t ideal for the rest of the afternoon as the alcohol made me feel worst in the heat. However I persevered and we toured the Lace Museum before we left Burano. 

Since we still had a lot of time, we ended up taking the ferry to nearby Torcello. Torcello was very much devoid of tourists. We walked all the way to the end to see the cathedral, then went inside the museum. I was dying from the heat by then, so we walked over to the ferry terminal to head back towards the main island. I wasn’t quite thriving, but after resting on the ferry ride, I was feeling more alive. Later we did a bit of souvenir shopping before we headed back to the hotel to rest.  

For the evening we debated whether we wanted to keep our original dinner reservations or not. Even though I had been eating seafood pasta non-stop, I had wanted to try more traditional Venetian fish dishes. We ended up chilling at the hotel until 8pm, then kept our reservations and headed over to Ristorante Al Vagon. I ordered their assorted grilled fish, which came with salmon, baby octopus, shrimp and a whole grilled fish. It paired perfectly with a plate of grilled vegetables because I had been eating way too many carbs by that point. After a really long day of ferry rides, plus the heat exhaustion, it was nice ending the evening on the patio overlooking the canal.