12. Venice, Italy.

 Venice is located in North-East Italy. Venice is built on 117 small islands and has some 150 canals and 409 bridges (only three of which cross the Grand Canal). The historical centre of Venice is made up of six districts: Cannaregio, Dorsoduro, Castello, Santa Croce, San Polo and San Marco.

Venice was divided in two by the Grand Canal, the districts of Cannaregio, Castello and San Marco occupy the northern part of the historical centre of Venice, while to the south of the Grand Canal we find the Santa Croce, San Polo and Dorsoduro districts. The Dorsoduro district also incorporates the Island of Guidecca.  Each of the six district has its own unique character and specific attractions.

Venice itself was built upon a series of islands, sand-banks and land reclaimed from the lagoon. Any sign of those original islands has long since been lost as the city continued to grow and develop as a sea of stone swept over her origins. But, not far from the historical centre of Venice , a string of Islands are waiting to be discovered by the intrepid traveller. Each one has its own particular attraction:

There are two main means of transportation in Venice, pedestrian and waterborne. Waterborne transport consists of water taxis and water buses or "vaporetto".

There is a British diplomatic presence in Venice, and should you need assistance while in Italy, consular staff are on hand there to help travelers if they have a problem in the country.

Italian is the official language. Dialects are spoken in different regions. German and Latin are spoken in the South Tyrol region, and French is spoken in all the border areas. German is spoken around the Austrian border. English, German and French are also spoken in tourism and business circles around Venice.