Murano Glass Factory Experience-a Workshop in Venice

Posted By : rhodora35
Our experience was good, got picked up by water taxi, great tour. We purchased an expensive Art inspired by Picasso, arrived great but no paperwork as promised, we emailed them a few times but no response, basically worthless piece of art without paperwork to prove it.
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Posted On : 2023-12-14 17:29:35

Posted By : Lisa_H
Tour guide was very nice and it was interesting watching glass being made, however, you have to pay additional $10 each to take water taxi to were the factory/store are and the “workshop” was more like a kids summer camp craft project. Many of the items at the store could be purchased at the other stores for a fraction of the price. Just not sure it was worth the time/money.
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Posted On : 2023-11-28 03:12:12

Posted By : Allison_F
I'm torn on if I would recommend this or not/worth it or not.

I was expecting/hoping for more, but for the price you pay I think it's fair.

Be forewarned that the price does NOT include the water bus to and from the island ($9.50 euro per person each way). If you want to see Burano island as well (the one with all the different colored buildings that is next "door") just get the 24 hour water bus ticket as it's a better price ($25 euro per person for 24 hours vs $9.50 from Venice to Murano, and from Murano to Burano and Burano back to Venice would be $28.50)- HOWEVER Burano closes when it gets dark, so if you want to go to Burano watch the clock. No one told us this so we ended up not getting to go as it was closed and we were super bummed.

So what this tour DOES include: the guide (I'd say escort, they are not a tour guide) meets you in Venice and escorts you to the water bus and helps you get your ticket. You then all ride over to Murano and they take you to the factory. Then you get to watch one of the glass masters make 2 items (in our case, a glass and a figurine) while someone at the factory tells you about the process. We loved that part! It was fascinating to watch him work in real time and learn about what he is doing.

Then you go to a separate room for your hands on activity where you can make a keychain, bracelet, or small glass mosaic. You get about 45 minutes in there. I love the bracelet I made, my husband made a nice little heart mosaic, and we enjoyed chatting with the other couples there.

Then they take you to the factory shop for shopping and you're on your own from there.

So for about $32 USD/pp that is what you get (plus a 20% discount on anything you buy). Is that worth it? Up to you! We would have loved to have seen more of the glass master work, see more/different processes and learn more about it. It did feel a bit like "here's the 10 minute show, now go buy things".

It does say in the fine print that it doesn't include the water bus tickets but everyone on our tour had missed that

Everyone was very friendly and kind and we of course loved the shopping. We had a good time and it wasn't very expensive. The bracelet I made was included in the price so if you include what you might otherwise pay for a Murano glass beaded bracelet- I think it was worth it; it's just not as in depth a tour as I think we all thought it would be.
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Posted On : 2023-11-12 18:11:48

Posted By : Departure60187667025
We were unsure at first but very glad were went on this tour. Giovanni was sweet and very informative. He kept us organized and helped with any questions. The demonstration was my favorite. I could have watched forever but I would say it was close to 30 minutes. I made a bracelet. Love having a souvenir that will remind me of a wonderful time.
Fyi….be prepared for the hard sell at the end. ?????
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Posted On : 2023-10-29 05:04:50

Posted By : ALBERT A
Meeting point was 20 minute walk, then another 20 minute walk to boat...why not just meet at boat ( 6 minute walk from where we were staying).
Not much of a tour, nothing I had not seen for free in smaller glass places. The workshop was 5 minutes of threading beads. Most of the time was spent in gift shop with guide telling us prices of things.
Not a good tour, not informative, I do not recommend.
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Posted On : 2023-10-23 07:45:34

Posted By : James_T
I wasn’t massively thrilled with this trip. I expected a more polished tour. It was just the two of us which would have normally been great (the lady who took us there was brilliant) but once we got to the island we were led into what looked like someone’s property and into the “factory” room where we sat with a French couple so the woman had to translate everything twice. We were there about 30 mins while the master craftsman made three things. Then we went to a back room that looked like some makeshift workshop with someone’s old leather sofa and flimsy plastic garden chairs to make our crafty bit. then we had to walk through 6 rooms of glass, most of which looked like it had been there many many years. With one of the employees following us all the way. I was hoping to have seen more in general with things like the history, more in depth process rather than watch him just make something
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Posted On : 2023-10-22 16:14:26

Posted By : sab776
We booked this experience to show our 6 years old daughter Murano glass blowing and it was just perfect. On the day of the visits all vaporeto went on strike and the owner and guide did everything to allow us to reach the island despite this. They chartered their own water taxi and our little group got to reach Murano in no time. Once there we had a perfect glass blowing demonstration, with the master demonstrating how to do multiple pieces (Christmas decoration, vase, glass and a horse). We then went to do the workshop in a super cosy room with couches. We could chill while our daughter was having the best time creating some crafts with glass pieces. We finished with a tour of the shop and of the island (on our own) before the same taxi boat drove us back to Venise. All guides and people in the factory are super nice and friendly. A perfect morning!
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Posted On : 2023-10-21 01:07:50

Posted By : barbaravX4753JZ
The trip started very well with a knowledgeable guide from the centre of Venice to the ferry and on to Murano and the glass factory. From there the experience was a little disappointing.
We were given the opportunity to make some trinkets from glass beads, which has given me some lovely earrings as a keepsake of my holiday, before being taken into the factory for a very short demonstration of glass making.
There is no doubt that the glass makers are very skilled people and they produce some very lovely things, however, there was very little by way of explanation or commentary and it was a very short demo before you were ushered into the shop.
Obviously the whole trip is designed around getting you to spend money in the factory shop and there are some amazing pieces which we took photos of as there is no way they would fit into my house! There are lots of smaller items too and we were advised that if you want the best price you need to haggle and that did prove to be the case.
Overall the trip was very average and quite disappointing, it was nice to get to Murano but honestly I would recommend that you take the ferry to Burano and get your glass gifts from there, they were better displayed and better priced and all made in Murano!
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Posted On : 2023-10-18 04:05:23

Posted By : Steve_E
It would have been better to either go on your own or pick another tour. Guide met us with 1 minute to spare (not 15 minutes) and was more interested in putting us on the boat to the island than a tour or explanation of what we were seeing around us. She did the BARE minimum
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Posted On : 2023-10-17 08:10:22

Posted By : Lon M
John Luca escorted us from the place to the glass blowing experience. Wonderful guy with a good sense of humor. Once at the factory we are turned over to Emilio was narrated while the glass masters did their masterpieces right before our very eyes. A memorable experience for sure and we do highly recommend.
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Posted On : 2023-10-14 06:35:30