Venice. Photograph © by Alfred Schaffer

Piazza San Marco, Venice. Photograph © by Philippe Stoop

Venice, the world's only pedestrian city is easily walkable, and the absence of cars ensures that visiting the city an especially pleasant experience. The Rialtine islands which are the central area of Venice - are small enough to enable them to be walked walk from end to end in about an hour.

The city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon located along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

Venice is still one of the most interesting and lovely cities in the world. This sanctuary located on a lagoon is almost the same as it was six hundred years ago, which adds to the fascinating character. Venice has decayed since its heyday, although the romantic charm remains.

The Most Serene Republic of Venice dates back to 827, when a Byzantine Duke moved its seat to what is now known as the Rialto, and for the following 970 years, prospered on trade under the rule of a Roman-style Senate headed by the Doge. In 1797, the city was conquered by Napoleon, a blow from which it never recovered. The city was soon merged into Austria-Hungary, then alternated between Austria and Italy. Venice is still a monument to the glory days of the Renaissance and it's historical culture is still evident today.

Venice (Venetian: Venezsia, Italian: Venezia, Latin: Venetia) is the capital of the region of Veneto, and has a population of 271,663 inhabitants.