You don’t have to pay for an expensive tour to take you to Burano and Murano. The vaporetto will take you there. You can see the Grand Canal on your way there.
Murano is where they make hand blown glass. They pretty much shut down in the off season (winter). The glass “candies” is an item that you can find in Venice, but it’s a little cheaper here. There is a huge glass factory where you can get tours. But you can also get a demonstration in one of the local stores if you just keep walking around. I went into a shop that advertized "free demonstrations." There was a lady making the glass with a blow torch right in the store. I had been looking at the different cork stoppers but found one in her window unlike any of the others I had seen. Most of the glass makers are men, so her take on the glass was slightly different. Venice gets a lot of English speaking tourists, so try to learn a few phrases in Italian. They appreciate you more when you at least try. Sometimes, they’ll give you a deal if you know just a few simple words in Italian.
