The most important reason for going to Burano is surely the colourful houses, which are a feast for the eyes during sunny days (I can’t judge about rainy days or winter though).
So these houses are said to be painted that way to help the fishermen recognizing their houses when they came back after a long fishing day or… well, a time-out in their trattoria. And I also have read somewhere (ah yes, Wikipedia wrote it) that up to now, whoever wants to paint his house, needs to consult with Burano municipality to get a selection of colours which are permitted for that spot. So obviously, the people cannot just choose a colour they want. It makes sense somehow, as it fits to the legend of the fishermen – he only needs to remember that he has the blue house left of the red house and right of the orange one, opposite of the pinkish-blue one.

This beautiflu island is so cool with all the colourful houses and it is so lovely walking around, the lace shops are open daily except sunday...so if u are interested in laces u should have a look around. If u around Venice it is worthy to have a look.....same for Murano. Enjoy

Take the vaporetto out to the islands outside Venice proper. Burano is very cute, with brightly painted houses, flowers and wash hanging out to dry. Very quaint. Fair amount of shopping.

The houses are the real reason to go to Burano. The lace is fine, but ultimately prohibitively expensive for most people. But walking around Burano is the real treat. It's just beautiful.

The island of Burano and the glass factories are interesting, but beware of some very pushy sales persons when looking at the factory shops. As elswhere in Venice food is expensive.