Burano, a small island in Italy’s Venetian Lagoon, has been one of our favorite places to photograph since we first visited this colorful gem over 25 years ago.

Magrit and I have returned many times since and now bring groups of photographers here during our Venice Photo Tours.

This blog text will be shorter than our normal entries. For us, Burano is all about the imagery that we joyfully record with our cameras. Therefore we will let the photos tell the story this time.

However, if you decide to spend a day in Burano (which you should definitely consider when you visit Venice), rest assured that you will find many restaurants to choose from. The Gato Nero, for example, is a highly rated destination restaurant. Overnight accommodations are sparse. There are no hotels and only a few B&Bs. Magrit and I spent a couple of nights here years ago and loved being the only tourists on the island, experiencing the lively interaction between the locals and watching music and dancing on the main square.

Burano is also famous for its lace-making tradition. You can watch the process and buy lace and other souvenirs in many little stores.

Per square foot, I can’t imagine a more colorful place in the world and we have been to quite a few other locations in search of colorful architecture. Not only is Burano over-the-top colorful but the colors which the local residents use are also very pleasing which is not always the case in some of the other colorful places we have visited around the world.

Burano is located 4 miles north of Venice and is reached via a 40-minute vaporetto (the public water bus) journey. If you have a multi-day pass for Venice, this route is included.

Like Venice, Burano is flat and made up of islands and canals with numerous bridges and also like in Venice, there are absolutely no cars. We love this aspect of Burano and Venice. Foot and boat travel forces us, or better, allows us to slow down. Burano is not large, only 52 acres, so visiting the whole island on foot is possible to do in a couple of hours. Of course, if you are photographers like us, you will want to allow half of a day or more to get lost in the labyrinth of lanes and back alleys. By the way, it is much easier to find your way around here than in Venice as Burano is so small.

With our photo tour groups we like to journey to Burano in the mid-afternoon and spend 2 to 3 hours photographing before we grab an early dinner so that we are ready to head out to photograph during the evening blue hour, 30-45 minutes past sunset. Burano is great for blue hour photography with its colorful homes, canals and streetlights providing warm illumination that balances beautifully with the intense deep blue of the evening sky and water in the canals. Don’t forget to stop your aperture down to f 16 or f 22 to produce sharp starburst of the streetlights. Bring your bug repellent for these evening photo sessions.

So if you really want to slow down and get away from the crowds of Venice, grab your camera and take the vaporetto to Burano for a real photographic treat.

Every year we go back to Burano and every year we find new corners and angles and new colors to photograph. In 2017, we will be visiting Burano on two photo tours: The La Serenissima Photo Tour from May 16-20 and the Venice to the Dolomites Photo Tour June 12-22. Come join us!

Jim and Magrit have been photographing professionally and traveling in Europe for the past 20 years. They started Photography Travel Tours in 2011 with the goal of educating and guiding photographers to some of the most beautiful and iconic scenes in Europe. The tours are not just about getting great photographs but also have the side benefits of doing so in wonderful environments. Great food, wine, people, and ambiance. Read more about Jim & Magrit and their wonderful photo tours here: (http://photographytraveltours.com/about/). Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.