It was always about building the biggest and brightest house with lego. If patience – and number of bricks – allowed, we would try to build whole streets of them.

Burano might just be the best real-life lego town you could hope to find. Take a boat from the north side of Venice and in 40 minutes you’ll find yourself on this wonderfully surreal island.

The serenity of Burano in November was like nothing else. The streets were quiet, though not empty, without a single sound of an engine or motor. Instead I could just hear the warbling song of an exotic bird whose cage was hanging out of a bright blue window (as pictured below in the top right).

But the houses are far from serene; they’re very loud.

And with no roads to separate them they’re tightly compacted against each other.

The island is also a concrete jungle. The density of houses is incredibly high, leading right up to the island’s edge. And what’s interesting about the place is the idea that somewhere so built-up could be so incredibly quiet.

Potted plants, however, are in abundance.

Burano is very much geared up for tourism, and the town centre is crammed full of shops selling lace and glass.

But turn a corner or two, and you are once again surrounded by colourful tranquility and decaying beauty.