Chris D.
Yelp
Burano is an oversized play set, a full-scale model of a Lego town, something "Q" would create on a whim and a finger-snap (I won't explain that reference, nope, on your own). The fact that I know people Venice and skip Burano is disappointing, akin to visiting China and missing The Great Wall.
OKAY, I admit, I did that! I was in China and didn't see the Great Wall. In defense, Hong Kong is about as far away from the Great Wall as London is to Rome. And you wouldn't say that to someone ("What, you visited London and didn't visit the Sistine Chapel?). Would it be like not getting Ice Cream at Dairy Queen? No...that's why you go to Dairy Queen. A closer comparison would be to visit Scotland and not go to Skye--sure, most people don't mention it, and you wouldn't think to include it, but after seeing it first hand, you couldn't think of a trip without it (and that is something else I know from experience). Burano is such a surreal landscape of brilliant solid colors, electronic companies shoot demo videos here to showcase their brilliant amoled displays. Yes, another first-hand reference--I used to show off Samsung tablets with video from Burano...little did I know I would visit it.
It's about 40 minutes by boat (the only option) from Venice. Upon approach, you immediately notice the leaning tower of San Martino. The vibrant colors of the buildings pop up soon after. Unlike Venice's 117 islands, Burano has only four, though the shoreline feels much closer to the roads. In fact, the day we arrived, the water was only a few inches from creeping over the edge; meanwhile Venice still had a clear foot. When Venice floods, Burano must vanish. And it would be a loss, because pound for pound, Burano looks better.
It's...well...cuter. It's adorable. Not like your child's first painting that you frame and hang on the wall, I mean cute like bunny-taking-a-bath-cute. Like cats wearing sweaters. Like someone plopped down houses and hotels from a gigantic Monopoly board. An artist could fashion it as a fantasy town for a fictional setting and the work would be criticized as unrealistic.
It was here, not in Venice, when I opened my pocket book and bought souvenirs. If I had a week to spend in Venice, I'd spend at least two days in Burano. As I only had two days in Venice, our tour only rationed a few hours in Burano. Of all the optional excursions on my Globus Best of Italy tour, this was one of the best.