Venice’s islands

Burano is famous for its picture-perfect coloured row houses, and its lace-makers although there are only a few of these left; most of what you see is imported schlock. When it gets too crowded in summer, the adjacent island of Mazzorbo (reached via a bridge) is a tranquil escape.

The Giudecca was once one of Venice’s poorer areas, home to factories and prisons. Today it is a thriving, residential neighbourhood attracting wealthy foreigners and artists. Visit Palladio’s Redentore church, have a waterside lunch at Alla Palanca, and hop over to the island of San Giorgio to see another superb church by Palladio.

Murano became the capital of glass in 1291 thanks to a decree banning all furnaces from Venice proper to avoid fire risk. The island soon became centre for glass-blowing, shipping chandeliers, mirrors, vases and glass tableware across the world. Today, Murano remains a unique place where the skills of centuries are still practised by latter-day artisans.

Watching a top glass-blower is an absorbing sight, from the ferocious heat thrown out by the yellow glow of the furnaces to the balletic genius of the Murano craftsmen as they blow, snip, twist and tug at their fiery blob of liquid to transform it into an exquisite vase or seahorse. Afterwards, you can buy pieces in the showrooms.

The Lido – a long, slim sand barrier separating Venice from the open sea – is a tranquil residential suburb that morphs into a beach destination in summer; it’s THE place to be seen during the Film Festival. For swimming and sunbathing, head to the free beach at Alberoni.

Lying between Venice and Murano and once a Franciscan monastery, San Michele is Venice’s historic burial ground. Visit the church with its striking façade and lovely cloister before wandering through the cemetery, last resting place of the likes of Diaghilev, Stravinsky and Ezra Pound.

The large island of Sant’Erasmo is way off the tourist trail, a hidden rural wonderland where many of the vegetables consumed in Venice are grown. People come here for peace and quiet and to walk (or cycle) in the lovely countryside.

The island where Venice began in the 5th century, Torcello was once home to 20,000 souls; today only around 15 remain. Visit the 7th-century basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, whose walls glitter with Byzantine mosaics, before a slap-up lunch at the Locanda Cipriani.