Where Hemingway Once Stomped

The outlying islands of the Venetian Lagoon: Murano, Burano, and Torcello

Ever wonder what Venice looked like before all the tourists, or even before the fancy palazzi and art-stuffed museums? Well the answer is just a 1.5-mile vaporetto ride away, on the fishing village islands of the northern Venetian lagoon.

There's a trio of main outlying islands you can visit in one long, perfect day: Murano with its glass-blowing factories (» Full Story); sleepy, colorful Burano where little old ladies still tat old fashioned lace by hand (» Full Story); and swampy, half-deserted Torcello, with its remarkable medieval church and where Hemingway was fond of tramping about (» Full Story).

Getting to Venice's outlying islands

Get up early in the morning since to visit all three islands takes a good 5-7 hours. The time you spend on Burano and Torcello is in hour increments (ferries leave hourly), and one hour is enough for each. Add in 35 minutes for the ride from Venice to Murano, 20 minutes Murano-Burano, 5 minutes Burano-Torcello, and 50 minutes Torcello-Venice. If you leave by 9 or 10am, you can be back in Venice by late afternoon. Time it just perfectly, and you ride back to Venice with the sunset sending orange sparklers across the water as you arrive.

Most vaporetto ferries to the islands leave from Fondamenta Nuova in Venice, which is way up on the north side of the Castello district. However, you can catch line 52 to Fondamenta Nuova from San Zaccharia (on Riva degli Schiavoni near Piazzetta San Marco). And if you're lucky, it will be the 52 that veers off at Fondamenta Nuova to continue chugging up to Murano.

Otherwise, from F. Nuova take line 12 or 13 to Murano. Line 12 will move you from Murano to Burano, and both 12 and 14 go from Burano to Torcello. From Torcello, return to Venice on line 12 (to F. Nuova, where you can catch the 52 back), or via a much longer way around on line 14 (to S. Zaccharia).

Planning the day

As far as lunch goes, you can either pack a picnic in from Venice (Torcello is prime for picnicking), or sit down for a good meal at the trattorie Al Corallo (tel. +39-041-739-080), Fondamenta dei Vetrai 73 in Murano, or Trattoria da Romano (tel. +39-041-730-030), at Via Baldassare Galuppi 223 in Burano.

Or go all out and splurge on Hemingway's old favorite Locanda Cipriani (tel. +39-041-730-150), a refined restaurant in the middle of nowhere on Torcello.

(See, Cipriani's first name was Arrigo, which is Italian for "Harry," which is why the dynasty's outlet in Venice itself is know the world over as "Harry's Bar")