"Venice" a Venice Travel Page by leffe3

Where do you begin when it comes to Venice? It is one of the truly unique cities in the world, a city depicted as the ultimate romantic destination (as you long as do not go in the height of summer.....). Every picture tells a story - every picture has been seen before. It is one of those places that is exactly as it is portrayed in every movie, every postcard, every coffee-table book. And that is the beauty and the tragedy of the city - its melancholic grandeur is tangible as it so obviously lives in the past.

Founded some 1500 years old, Venice came to prominence in the 14th century, and at its height, the Venetian Republic controlled vast tracts of the Mediterranean lands and routes east. Incredibly, much of the city from this time remains.

But the march of time is against the city - 70,000 people live here as opposed to 150,000 only fifty years ago. Yet some 12 million tourists a year pass through the canals. And many keep returning.