Cruises in and around Europe are increasingly popular and if sneak peaks at the 2008-2009 itineraries are any indication, cruise passengers will be getting more options. In fact, a new cruise line called Azamara is even promising not just more Europe, but new European ports of call.Which brings us to one of the oldest European ports, the city of Venice.

Venice is not like anywhere else on earth. It’s not the only city that is laced with canals (Amsterdam has canals, too, so does Stockholm), and it’s not the only city with an ancient past (Rome probably beats Venice in the historical department and Florence definitely edges her out in art). But there is something incredibly different and delightful about Venice.

You can’t drive in Venice. Entrance in and out of the city is by boat (you take a water taxi from the airport), so arriving by cruise ship is close to the way the city was meant to be approached.

Once in Venice, you navigate on foot or by boat. The cheapest and most efficient way to get from here to there is vaporetto, a sort of water bus. You buy tickets for it just like the bus. If you’re a cruise passenger in town for the day, it may pay for you to buy a pass good for the whole day. Not only could it save you some lire, you don’t have to hassle with buying tickets when you want to get a ride.

Water taxis are another option, but they’re a bit more expensive. Even more expensive, but delightfully romantic and unique, are gondolas. Expect to fork out a lot of money for the experience, but, trust me, it will be an experience.

Most Venetians get around by foot, and you probably will, too. The city has all the twists and turns you’d expect from an ancient town. Because of the network of canals, you will sometimes find yourself in the intriguing position of being able to see where you want to go but not be able to figure out how to get there. Relax, Venice has something interesting practically around every corner, so even if you get lost, you’ll probably still do a lot of great sightseeing.

The biggest tourist spot in town is the Piazza San Marco where St. Mark’s Cathedral is located. You can tour the cathedral and even climb the towers (not hard) to get a panoramic view of the square. According to whoever decides this sort of thing, the church houses the remains of St. Mark, author of the Gospel according to St. Mark.

You’ll see a lot of pigeons in the square and a lot of tourists. Depending on when you travel, you may also see scaffolding or wooden walkways around the plaza. These aren’t risers for a concert or show. They’re footpaths to help the locals traverse the square when it floods, which it does often enough for the city to build elevated walkways around.

Nearby is the Doge’s Palace. Doge (dough-jay) is the name the Venetians gave to their ruler back in the day when Venice was an independent nation. It’s a sumptuous kind of place, fit for a monarch, but most tourists enjoy the lesser accommodations better. The Doge had so many enemies he annexed a prison to the palace which is reached by crossing the Bridge of Sighs. There is a self-guided tour of the prison but it is very important to stick to the pathways marked. You are perfectly free to wander around as you see fit, but the place is like a honeycomb and you can get lost.

Getting lost is a typical Venetian experience. The city is full of unmarked streets, twisted lanes, and narrow passageways.

One of Venice’s favorite native sons was reputed to have been lost. Marco Polo lived in Venice and set out for China, where he spent 20 years. When he returned, he was vilified by Venetians who called him “The Liar” for making up stories. You can visit his home. It’s off a little courtyard called “The Liar.”

Venice was always better known for commerce than art, but there are some artistic treasures. The local cuisine favors seafood and a dry white wine called Prosecco. Of course, most tourists end up enjoying more generic Italian favorites here, too, such as cappuccino or espresso and rich gelato.

If you have time, take a vaporetto out to Lido island. It’s an island that’s just a short boat-bus ride from the main drag (the Grand Canal) and there is more relaxed (and less expensive) shopping and some beaches.

Another great thing to check out is Murano, an island famous for colorful hand-blown glass. You can buy Murano glassware all over Venice, including a special design known as mille-fiori (thousand-flowers). In Murano, you can watch artisans at work and get a much broader sampling of their products. But expect to see Murano glass in most of the shops.

Glass purchases from large stores can be shipped to you at home; most shopkeepers will be able to make such arrangements, at least for larger purchases.

Venice is a well-known city for tourists. It always has been, and cruise ships and package tours to Europe continue to feature it prominently. But Venice is also a very personal kind of city. Two tourists visiting the city on any given day can walk away with distinctly different impressions and experiences.

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Mandy Karlik is a travel writer who blogs at http://www.cruiselinenews.blogspot.com . To read more about great cruise destinations in Europe and elsewhere, visit http://www.thecruise-shopper.com . Mandy’s next cruise is going to be to Mexico.

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We’ve all heard of London Theatre and of course Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  Well, today you can enjoy both along with over 50 otherLondon Attractions with only 1 Ticket: The London Pass.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is in fact long gone - closed by Puritans in 1642 and taken down 2 years later. Fortunately for fans of the bard, there’s a faithful reproduction housed only a few hundred meters from the original site.

The consuming passion of too-little known American actor Sam Wanamaker, the Globe offers performances of Shakespeare’s plays during the summer along with tours of the facility. Wanamaker died shortly after construction began.

Though no drawings of the interior of the original are known to exist, every care has been taken to faithfully recreate the theatre. Scholarly studies from the intervening 400 years have allowed designers to make the reconstruction close to the original. A sketch made in 1596 of the presumed-similar Swan Theatre is just one example.

Some modern concessions to safety, such as the installation of overhead sprinklers, have been made. But the visitor will find both the exterior and the interior very much what he or she would expect from the time Elizabethan actors trod the boards. The round, white background with dark trim, the thatched roof (the first allowed in London since the Great Fire of 1666) and hundreds of details make seeing the site a journey back in time.

Though destroyed in 1644, the exact location was rediscovered in 1989 when remnants of the original foundations were discovered beneath Anchor Terrace on Southwark Bridge Road. Legal and other restrictions prevented rebuilding on the original site. But the new site is close enough by and the recreation accurate enough to allow the original to be easily imagined.

That imagination can be aided by taking one of the offered tours of the building. Knowledgeable guides direct groups around the nearly circular building showing the high balconies and the low wooden benches near the front.

At favorable times, when no rehearsals are being held, tours also take in parts of the 12m(40ft) wide by 9m(30ft) deep stage. Guides explain how special effects of the time were created, including use of the trap door and the large, open area under the stage. With luck, you’ll catch a sword-fighting exhibition.

It continues into exhibition rooms showing artifacts and facsimiles of the period. A table with writing implements of the type Shakespeare used is evident along with several other ’scene setting’ chairs and decorative items.

There’s also a gift store adjoining the modern lobby where recordings, photos and cards, and (of course) the plays can be purchased.

Visitors can purchase tickets to the professionally staged plays and enjoy being a groundling or an aristocrat. ‘Groundlings’ were theatre goers who sat or stood near the front. By contrast to today, the area provided cheaper admission. Well-to-do merchants and royalty, or simply the well connected, sat further back and higher.

On these wooden benches, under the open sky visitors can turn around before the play begins (there is no curtain to raise) and see the 1,500 souls assembled to watch the performance. (The original theatre held 3,000.)

Then, at the first trumpet, turn your attention to the stage and be held rapt by a dramatic and faithful rendering of one literature’s greatest plays.

The Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is easy to reach via the London Underground, i.e. ‘the tube’ or subway. Exit at St Paul’s Cathedral station. The theatre is opposite.

Discover How to Save over £40 in 1 day on London Sightseeing.

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On your visit to London, plan to spend a bit of time at the London Zoo and London Aquarium.

London has such a long history, filled with great churches, monuments, art and history museums that seeking nature here often isn’t what immediately comes to mind. But that’s an error, since London is home to one of the oldest zoos in existence and one of the newest aquariums.

The London Zoo was first established in 1828 to house animals for scientific study. (At the time, Britain could boast the foremost naturalists in the world. Probably no single country could claim the number one spot today. Science, like business, has gone global.) Nearly twenty years passed before the facility was opened to the public.

When it did it was, of course, a smashing success. Most Londoners of the day - bereft of photographs, not to mention television and the Internet - had never seen such exotic animals as a pygmy hippopotamus or a lowland gorilla or even a simple penguin.

Today’s visitors are more fortunate. Along with the interesting Victorian architecture there are hundreds of species to see. Everything from snouted cobras to Komodo dragons to Partula snails are still on display. The Reptile house was opened in 1849, the Insect House in 1881. More ‘modern’ facilities have been added over the years, such as the Round House (1933) to hold gorillas and the Penguin Pool (1934). The penguins have been moved to a new facility since.

But far from being stuck in the past, the London Zoo has made efforts to alter the habitats to conform to the latest conservation efforts. Though old by some standards, the Snowdon aviary (1964) is still one of the most popular attractions.

Visitors here can walk through and observe dozens of exotic bird species. A winding path and bridge over a stream provides a tranquil setting to observe African Waterfowl. Hornbills make there presence known as visitors encroach on their territory.

The Mappin Terraces remain a favorite. An artificial mountain built to house bears, it has an aquarium underneath. And the ‘Meet the Monkeys’ continues to attract kids and adults alike. The squirrel monkeys took up residence in 2005 and proved to be very popular. The facility carefully recreates their natural Bolivian rainforest habitat.

Innovative programs continue today. The Zoo recently began a selective program that allows residents to ‘adopt’ animals. For a fee, they can care for penguins and others under the guidance of a trained staff member. Many of the larger species have been moved to Whipsnade Zoo, 600 acres about 59km (35 miles) outside London.

The Zoo is about a 10 minute walk from Camden Station in Regents Park.

The London Pass , the brand new leisure pass that lets you experience the best that London has to offer.

Across town is one of the newest animal attractions in the area. The London Aquarium opened in 1997 and continues to draw. With over 350 species in 50 displays, it houses species of shark and native fishes.

Two large tanks cover two floors and house rays that visitors can actually pet. They seem to like the interaction, according to many. Fortunately, the piranhas housed in the London Aquarium are harder to reach. Although they might enjoy the interaction, too!

The London Aquarium is easy to reach via the London Underground, i.e. ‘the tube’ or subway. Exit at Westminster, directly across from the Houses of Parliament.

But, don’t miss the other wonderful attractions that London has to offer.  In addition to the London Zoo and Aquarium, see over 50 other London Attractions - 1 Ticket: The London Pass.

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