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Venice. Pop. 271,251. Currency - Euro. Language – Italian. Time Zone GMT + 1 hour. Main Airport - Venice Marco Polo VCE. Best Time to go – all year round destination. Venice is a north eastern city and the capital of the Veneto region. It is know as the "Queen of the Adriatic" and "The City of Light" and is constructed on 117 small islands inter-linked with canals and small bridges. The city was founded as The Most Serene Republic of Venice dates back to 827, and rose to prominence as an imperial power with economic, cultural, and military influence stretching all over the Mediterranean and beyond. To illustrate this, by 1450, more than 3,000 Venetian merchant ships were in operation, and most of these could be converted when necessary into either warships or troop transports. The most famous feature of Venice is without doubt the myriad of canals which are plied by the famous gondolas, mainly used these days by tourists, and wedding parties). Most Venetians use motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) and private craft. Understandably, Venice is a honeypot for tourists and there is a plethora of attractions including: St Mark's Square; Saint Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco); Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale); Jewish Ghetto of Venice; Rialto Bridge; Clock tower (Torre dell'Orologio); Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Ca' d'Oro; Scuola Grande di San Marco; Grand Canal; and the The Bridge of Sighs. For first time visitors, including this Travel Links Directory reviewer, it is very easy to get lost in Venice as the back alleys and small canal bridges are very disorientating. One tip is to look for directional signs - These will be marked "Per" and then with the name of a prominent location or bridge in the city, complete with an arrow pointing in the relevant direction. After all this wandering around most visitors will be looking for a drink or two to round off the day. Favourites are "Spritz" (with either Campari, Select or Aperol), a drink loved by all Venetians or Veneto Grappa, which is almost pure alcohol.

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