We've been in Venice several times. Always a joy. But somehow we've never made it to Burano. So…read morethis time we did. Had a weekly pass for the Vaporetto and took the No.12 from Fondamenta Nove in Venice. The trip took around 40min. And even on a weekday in April the Vaporetto was completely packed. But Burano is popular for good reason, it's an insanely pretty place!
The Vaporetto will stop at the northern part of the small island. And it is indeed small. You can explore it easy in a few hours. It's very walkable - and most parts are even fit for wheelchairs and strollers (special bridges for these).
From here you best get to the Fondamenta Assassini and Mauro. That will take you Vial Baldassare Galupp, the main drag here in Burano with countless shops, cafés and restaurants. And the famous buidlings in all colors (not just on this street of course). Soon you will reach the main Piazza with the lovely Chiesa di San Martino. Its tower is pretty tilted/leaning. You can see it clearly from further away west.
From there you can head to the Fondamenta Cao di Rio - a more quite walk along along the canal. We did just that and then walked along the also pretty quiet Fondamenta della Peschera in the south. That will bring you back to the Fondamenta Cavanella and then Fondamenta Mauro where you came in first. It's a nice little round-trip. Of course there's more to explore. But this covers the most important and famous parts.
There's also good food. Many good option. Cicchetti of course. But we've felt like a real meal and had lunch at the Osteria Cicchetteria da Gigetto. Excellent fried seafood and wonderful pasta. Nicely located at a more quiet canal.
It's a really lovely place, this small island. The colors are amazing, we were lucky to get a picture-perfect blue skied day. And the colors were really glowing.
It's definitely a must-do at least once. The ride there isn't that much fun, but definitely worth it.