Length: 4.5 hours

Time: 2:30 pm on Monday, Friday & Saturday
-April through October

Arrive 15 minutes before departure for check-in.

This tour is available during the month of May 2013 at SUPER SAVER prices. Please click on this link to order for a date during May 2013:
Murano Glassblowing & Burano Lace-Making Tour in Venice - SUPER SAVER.

Summary: 7 DAYS MINIMUM ADVANCE BOOKING REQUIRED. Hotel pick-up is NOT included; you will meet your guide at a convenient Venice location (details on your E-Ticket). Rates are per person in US dollars. Please reserve online or call us toll-free at 800-719-6391.

There is a $5.95 USD processing fee per order. This is a flat fee regardless of the number of tickets or tours purchased on an order. There is a service charge per ticket. This charge will be reflected on your summary before you checkout. The total shown includes any and all taxes, fuel surcharges, and service fees. There are no additional charges, unless otherwise specified.

There are no refunds. All sales are final.

If changes are allowed on a tour or activity, a $20.00 per reservation change fee will be applied for any change to a reservation. Please note that some tours and activities do not allow any changes. Date changes can only be made only if we can confirm availability on the new date. While we cannot guarantee any changes can be made, all change requests must be submitted a minimum of 24 hours prior to the tour departure and must be handled on an individual basis through our Reservations Center.

Highlights:

• This tour focuses on Murano & Burano; your guides want to ensure you have plenty of time to explore without rushing. The tour - by design - does not include the island of Torcello.
• Includes live demonstrations in the art of glassblowing and lace-making led by master artisans for groups no larger than 25 persons at a time.
• Unlike most Venice tours visiting Murano & Burano, this one does not take a commission on purchases you make. In fact, the 10%+ discounts are passed on to you!

Includes:

• Glassmaking demonstration at a factory in Murano with commentary in English
• Lacemaking demonstration at a shop in Burano with commentary in English
• Discount at the Glassblowing and Lace-making shops where the demonstrations are given (10%+ depending on the item)
• Round-trip transportation to Murano and Burano by boat

Does Not Include:

• Hotel pick-up
• Tour guide gratuity

Important Notes:

• It is the responsibility of all guests to be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the departure time; guests arriving after departure cannot be accommodated and no refunds will be given for latecomers.
• This service ends around 6:30 pm at Piazza S. Marco boat dock.
• Sorry, but guests in wheelchairs or with other significant mobility impairments cannot be accommodated on this tour.

After meeting in a central Venice location, your tour begins with a short and comfortable boat ride to Murano. There's a lot to see on the way and your guide will keep you entertained with a description of the sights as you pass them. It's no time at all until you're off the boat, taking your first steps on beautiful Murano - a small island world-famous for its glass. Once upon a time Murano glassblowers were the only people in Europe who knew how to create a mirror and their skills were so valued that they were banned from leaving the city of Venice under threat of execution! Many things have changed since then, but the craft has stayed the same as you'll understand after the first stop – a glassblower's workshop. Watch a craftsman in action as he goes about his daily business, describing his process in English while he works. What gives the glass its color? How does silica sand become glass? Which is the most difficult part of his job? No staged presentations - this is a real workday studio and your experience here will be as authentic as it comes.

Afterwards, you will have time to browse the huge collection of glass art here and wander the island on your own. Your guides do not take commission from purchases you make. Instead, they would rather pass those savings on to you. So shop here with a discount, anywhere else around town, or don't shop at all – it's your choice.

Then it's back on the boat and off to your next stop, Burano. The tiny island of Burano is famous for two reasons. The first is its houses, huddled tightly together along streets and canals, each one painted a different color with laundry strung up across narrow streets. Legend has it that fishermen started this trend, painting their houses in bright shades so they could see home from a distance. But Burano's major claim to fame is its centuries-old tradition of lacemaking. Your guide will take you through the streets and across the bridges of Burano to a small building where three women sit in a circle, stitching lace like their mothers and grandmothers before them. Watch their painstaking work, listen to a full commentary on what, in the age of sewing machines, has become a dying art...and then take the time to explore the fascinating lacemaking museum.

When Michelangelo visited Burano, he bought an altarpiece for the brand new Duomo in Milan. You can take a leaf from his book and pick out your own keepsakes or spend your free time winding your way along the kaleidoscopic streets, sampling delicious cookies in local bakeries.

7 DAYS MINIMUM ADVANCE BOOKING REQUIRED. Hotel pick-up is NOT included; you will meet your guide at a convenient Venice location (details on your E-Ticket). Rates are per person in US dollars. Please reserve online or call us toll-free at 800-719-6391.

Visit the colorful islands of Murano and Burano	Glass - the main product of Murano, Italy
The brightly colored homes of Burano	Lacemaking - the pride of the island of Burano
You'll visit picturesque Murano