Venice Hotel Accommodation Guide Hotel Location: Cannaregio Castello Dorsoduro San Marco San Polo Santa Croce Lido Giudecca Hotel Rating: 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 … [Read more...]
Venice and the Lagoon
April 13, 2012 by
Venice and the Lagoon: Introduction An ever-growing range of features, links and practical information to help you plan and enjoy your visit to Venice, including guides to hotel accommodation, restaurants, bars, tourist attractions, city neighbourhoods and getting about. There's a lot here already and we are hard at work adding the sections to complete the menu, so just dig in! See Our Photo Highlights of Attractions Our Venice photo gallery covers not only famous venetian … [Read more...]
A Brief History of Venice
April 13, 2012 by
A Brief History of Venice Brief History | Interesting facts | Famous people Where it started According to tradition, Venice was founded in 421 AD on April 25th, St. Mark's Day (St. Mark is now the patron saint of Venice) when to escape the Barbarian invasions, refugees from the Veneto took shelter in the Lagoon. At that time the most important village in the lagoon was Torcello, where a cathedral was built in 639. The Doges In … [Read more...]
Dorsoduro, Venice
April 12, 2012 by
Dorsoduro, Venice's "Hard Ridge": Dorsoduro's (literally 'hard ridge') refers to the character of the land in this part of Venice, which is a bit higher and rockier - or at least, more solid - than the other less firm areas of land that emerged from the lagoon over the centuries. It's a sprawling sestiere that extends over a large chunk of the southern part of the city, beginning at Punta della Dogana, a v-shaped promontory that juts out into the San Marco basin like the prow of a … [Read more...]
Gay and Lesbian Venice
March 23, 2012 by
Gay and Lesbian Venice: In February, Carnevale is a meeting point for gay people, but apart from that, although it's a marvellous city (and in spite of Truman Capote's famous quote: "Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go"), if you're looking for gay-specific action: "Masks off, Venice has not that much to offer to the GLBT community, that's why most gay people go to Padua (Padova), which is a short hop from Venice, for a drink in the evening or looking for some … [Read more...]
Unkel – A Cultural Town on the Rhine
March 21, 2012 by
Unkel Was Home to Many Famous Germans Including Willy Brandt: As our river boat cruises towards Remagen and the much anticipated Remagen Bridge, we glide past yet another picturesque town, a sight that we've become so used to seeing along the middle Rhine. The beautiful church along the riverbank and its neighbouring yellow building were eye-catching and I take a snap of Tony against the town which I later find out is Unkel. Unkel Unkel sits on the eastern bank of Rhine and is a … [Read more...]
Edam – Better Known for its Edam Cheese
March 6, 2012 by
There is More to Edam Than Its Famous Edam Cheese: Edam is a city in the province of Noord-Holland that is famous for its cheese of the same name. Long before many of us would step on the shores of the city of Edam, the round ball of Edam cheese, coated in red paraffin wax, would already have made an impression on us. The Origin of Edam The origin of the name Edam is pretty simple. In the 12th century, the city was founded around a dam crossing on the river E or IJe and hence Ijedam. In … [Read more...]
Bilbao – Home of the Stunning Guggenheim Museum
March 3, 2012 by
Bilbao in the Basque Country is Home of the Guggenheim Museum: Bilbao, in the north of Spain, is the capital of the province of Biscay and the largest city in the Basque Country. But for most visitors, it is the Guggenheim Museum that brings them here. Transformation of Bilbao Bilbao has done well as an industrial city since the mid-19th century and the Port of Bilbao is among the top five ports in Spain. It was once mainly an industrial city with industries such as iron ore mining, … [Read more...]
Santander – Capital of Cantabria
February 28, 2012 by
Santander, on the north coast of Spain, is famous for its vast stretches of beaches. When a summer palace was built here for King Alfonso XIII in 1912, it sealed the town's reputation as a popular summer retreat. Capital of Cantabria Santander is a port city and capital of Cantabria. It is quite a wealthy city with wine, olive oil and other Spanish produce being exported to Europe through Santander. Although Santander was an important city for the Romans, they never managed to Romanize the … [Read more...]