For history lovers and seekers of quiet: yes
Torcello's Santa Maria Assunta cathedral has 11th-century Byzantine mosaics that rival Ravenna. The island itself is eerily empty — fields, a canal, and almost nobody. It's a beautiful contrast to Venice's intensity.
✅ Reasons to go
- Byzantine mosaics are genuinely world-class
- Total peace — fewer than 20 visitors at a time
- The walk along the canal to the cathedral is meditative
- Hemingway's favourite island (he wrote here)
- Locanda Cipriani restaurant is a classic
- Fascinating sense of lost civilization
❌ Reasons to skip
- Very small — 30–60 minutes covers everything
- Only one restaurant (expensive)
- Vaporetto from Burano takes 5 min, but from Venice it's 45 min
- Most visitors find it "too quiet"
- The mosaics alone may not justify the journey for non-history buffs
- Adding Torcello makes the island day trip long
💡 Pro tip: Add Torcello to your Burano visit — it's just 5 minutes by vaporetto from Burano. The mosaics take 30 minutes and the quiet is a perfect palate-cleanser before returning to Venice.
Bottom line
Torcello is worth the 5-minute detour from Burano if you love Byzantine art or crave silence. It's not worth a separate trip from Venice on its own.