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Venice, Italy
Shore Excursion and Port Information
Murano, Italy On Your Own
by Tom Ogg

One of the Views on the Way to Murano

It seems that every five minutes around the vaparetto stations someone is bugging you to go to Murano and visit the glass factories for free. Of course, there are obviously hooks involved, as the characters doing the solicitation seem somewhat sleazy. On my last trip to Venice I decided to find out what it was all about.

The San Marcos Vaparetto Ticket Station
(Notice the #41 and #42 on the Sign)

I decided to take a local vaparetto to Murano and see what was there. I had taken shots of San Marcos Square and also of the Grand Canal and had some extra time so I went to find the vaparetto station that would take me there. As it turned out, it wasn't all that easy. I started at the vaparetto ticket booth on the Grand Canal just down from the Rialto Bridge. He told me that I had to depart for Murano from St. Marks Square. I walked back to St. Marks taking the back streets that I had learned would take me there in less than 10-minutes. I went to the first vaparetto station I could find and asked if I was in the right place. He pointed toward the Doge Palace. So it went. After a frustrating time, I finally found the right ticket booth (pictured above) and wharf for the vaparetto that would take me to Murano.

Here are the instructions on how to find it. From St. Marks square go over the footbridge that allows you to see the Bridge of Sighs (turn to the right if you are facing the palace) and then keep going until you see the ticket booth pictured above. You want vaparetto #41 to take you there and vaparetto #42 to bring you back. Be careful, though as there are two #42's that depart Murano. The fare is 6 euro return (round trip).

F.te Nove Vaparetto Wharf

For whatever reason, I suspected that Murano was going to be nothing but a tourist trap full of tourists so I planned to jump off the vaparetto when we arrived at a likely looking spot where there were no tourists. We pulled up to the P.te Nove wharf and there were a good number of locals getting off, but no tourists. I sensed this was my opportunity for some peace and quiet, so I got off with the rest of the folks. It turned out to be a great plan.

F.te Nove Canals

Since I had no idea where I was or what the town was called, I am embarrassed to say I will simply call it F.te Nove for the lack of a better name. No one spoke a word of English, and frankly my Italian is more like Spanish with an Italian sound. Folks were plenty nice though. I wandered its narrow pedestrian streets and noticed that there were an abundance of artist galleries and also stone and clay shops.

A Typical Street in F.te Nove

I passed several flower shops all selling spectacular arrangements, a local fish market in a small square where the fish were being sold open air on ice, local pharmacies and dry good stores and of course, local restaurants.

F.te Nove Restaurant

I thought this place was really cool. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but it had all the character one could imagine. I stopped for a cup of coffee and just took in the local goings-on in for about 45 minutes. I could tell that it had been some time since this restaurant had a tourist in it as everyone kept looking at me and laughing at my "Italish". I could have spent the entire day in and around F.te Nove (or whatever its real name is). Since my objective was to visit Murano, I made my way back to the vaparetto wharf and caught the #41 to Murano.

Here is where to get off the vaparetto. There is no announcement made in English and the name of the stop is something other than Murano. When you see this sign, get off the vaparetto.

The Scene Around the Vaparetto Wharf in Murano

After arriving in Murano with what seemed like a million other folks, there was a gentleman on the wharf directing people to the left. He looked like the same kind of character that hustles the "free trips" around St. Mark's Square, so I went to the right. Of course, going to the right is the way everyone should have gone.

Murano Glass Stores as Far as the Eye Can See

After walking a short distance past some small stores and vendors, one comes upon a canal that is lined with quality stores selling Murano glass. I am not sure how many stores there are, but it must be in the hundreds.

One of the Murano Footbridges

There are footbridges every now and then so that you may cross to the other side to gain access to more shops. You will also find a good number of restaurants and sidewalk cafes should your hunger alarm go off.

More Murano Shopping Opportunities

I finally turned around and took this picture from a footbridge as I crossed the canal. I admit to not being a very good shopper, however, I saw just about everything you could imagine that could be made from glass, and it is beautiful. Chandeliers, vases, glassware, jewelry, figurines, animals, dishes and other dining utensils and much, much more.

Murano on the Ocean

After a long walk around the canal shopping area I decided to take a look at the area folks were being referred to as they left the vaparetto. I walked past the center of Murano and around the corner on the open ocean. There were a few stores but now I understood why the guy was sending folks there. He obviously worked for one of the factories that were located there and was trying to divert people from the real shopping area. I will bet you that some folks never made it down to the canal and thought that this was the Murano experience.

Murano Glass Factory

A couple of the stores had demonstrations of how the glass was made that you could watch. While it was interesting, the stores hosting the events were not as competitive as those in the main part of the shopping canal. At the very end of the walkway was a museum and factory store. There was a long line of tourist waiting to get in. I turned around and made my way back to the vaparetto terminal to catch the #42 back to St. Marks Square.

Hint: Unless you are either keenly interested in buying Murano glass or have exhausted things to do in Venice, I wouldn't visit Murano. It is quaint and interesting, it is just that there is so much more to see in Venice and most of the glass pieces I saw in the stores on Murano are also available from shops in Venice. Have Fun!