Veni Vedi Venice

Ahh Venice, one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. The Venice Film Festival is about to descend upon this fair town, so here's a run down of the sites to see and the things to do the rest of the year.

Venice is built on 117 small islands and has 150 canals and over 400 bridges,

If you're visiting Venice for the first time, then you have to visit the Piazza San Marco. London has Trafalgar, New York has Times Square, Venice has St. Mark's Square. It houses many great Venetian buildings and is Venice's primary destination spot. Within its opulent four walls , you'll find the gothic Doge's Palace constructed in 1309 and the imposing dome of Saint Mark's Basilica, the great cathedral of Venice.

There's a constant convivial atmosphere from the music blaring from numerous cafés, the bustling of busy waiters and probably more pigeons than you're like to find here in London.

It makes for great viewing by moonlight as it's one of the lowest points in Venice and thus one of the first to be covered in water during high tide, the very sight of which is breathtaking.

If you want to have a postcard experience hen why not take a ride in a gondola? It's very expensive and corny, but if that's what you like, then you can't go far wrong; the beautiful waterways of Venice make for some sumptuous viewing. If you can't stomach the price, then there's the Vaporetto (Water Bus) which travels the length of the Grand Canal and will show you most of what's on offer by boat.

If you've got time on your hands, Venice is one of the best places to walk for the traveller. It's a veritable maze of back streets and alleys and extremely easy to get lost. But when it's one of the more picturesque cities in the world, who cares? Wander around to your heart's content and be dazzled by its deserted squares and dead ends. It's the best way to get the feel of what Venice is really like.