Venice, Italy

britannica.com: An island city, Venice was once the center of a maritime republic. It was the greatest seaport in late medieval Europe and the continent’s commercial and cultural link to Asia. Venice is unique environmentally, architecturally, and historically, and in its days as a republic the city was styled la serenissima (“the most serene” or “sublime”). It remains a major Italian port in the northern Adriatic Sea and is one of the world’s oldest tourist and cultural centers.

Since the fall of the Venetian republic in 1797, the city has held an unrivaled place in the Western imagination and has been endlessly described in prose and verse. The luminous spectacle of ornate marbled and frescoed palaces, bell towers, and domes reflected in the sparkling waters of the lagoon under a blue Adriatic sky has been painted, photographed, and filmed to such an extent that it is difficult to distinguish the real city from its romantic representations. The visitor arriving in Venice is still transported into another world, one whose atmosphere and beauty remain incomparable.

Today Venice is recognized as part of the artistic and architectural patrimony of all humanity, a fitting role for a city whose thousand-year economic and political independence was sustained by its role in global trading. The situation of the city on islands has limited modern suburban spread beyond the historic centre; its framework of canals and narrow streets has prevented the intrusion of automobiles; and its unmatched wealth of fine buildings and monuments dating from the period of commercial dominance has ensured a keen and almost universal desire for sensitive conservation. This concern for conservation is now extended not just to the city’s monuments but to the very city itself, as rising water levels and subsidence of the land upon which Venice is built threaten the continued existence of the city in its present form. In 1987 Venice and its lagoon were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Pop. (2022 est.) city, 254,661; metropolitan area, 839,396.

Lucerne, Switzerland

britannica.com: Lucerne’s name was derived from the Benedictine monastery of St. Leodegar (Luciaria), founded in the 8th century. From the nearby fishing village grew a city, probably chartered about 1178, whose inhabitants were originally serfs of the monastery. After the opening of the St. Gotthard Pass (c. 1230), Lucerne developed into an important trade center between the upper Rhine and Lombardy. In 1291 the monastery and city were purchased by Rudolf IV of Habsburg (also called Rudolf I of Germany), against the will of the citizens, who desired independence. Political instability under Rudolf’s successors led Lucerne in 1332 to join the alliance formed by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden in 1291. The group won independence after the Battle of Sempach (1386) against the Habsburg army. By 1415 Lucerne had acquired most of the territory of the present canton, by either treaty, armed occupation, or purchase. It became the leader of the Catholic cantons at the Reformation and was the seat of the papal nuncio from 1579 to 1874. The city’s aristocratic regime was compelled to abdicate in 1798 under the onslaught of the Napoleonic armies. Lucerne was for a time the capital of the Helvetic Republic, resuming its status as the cantonal capital in 1803.

Because of its magnificent surroundings, temperate climate, and easy access by road and rail, Lucerne has become one of the largest and most important tourist resorts in Switzerland. Steamer services on the lake connect with various mountain railways and cableways, and there is a direct narrow-gauge rail connection with the winter-sports centre of Engelberg. Facilities include a casino, beaches, rowing and sailing regattas, horse-racing and show-jumping competitions, an annual international music festival, and a traditional pre-Lenten carnival. Lucerne’s commercial and industrial activities depend largely on the tourist trade. The population is German speaking and largely Roman Catholic. Pop. (2007 est.) city, 57,890; urban agglom., 200,282.

Paris, France

britannica.com: Paris, City (pop., 2005 est.: 2,153,600; metro. area, 9,854,000), river port, capital of France. It is now located on both banks of the Seine River. The original settlement from which Paris evolved, Lutetia, was in existence by the late 3rd century BCE on an island in the Seine. Lutetia was captured and fortified by the Romans in 52 BCE. During the 1st century CE the city spread to the left bank of the Seine. By the early 4th century it was known as Paris. It withstood several Viking sieges (885–887) and became the capital of France in 987, when Hugh Capet, the count of Paris, became king. The city was improved during the reign of Philip II, who formally recognized the University of Paris c. 1200. In the 14th–15th centuries its development was hindered by the Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War. In the 17th–18th centuries it was improved and beautified. Leading events of the French Revolution took place in Paris (1789–99). Napoleon III commissioned Georges-Eugène Haussmann to modernize the city’s infrastructure and add several new bridges over the Seine. The city was the site of the Paris Peace Conference, which ended World War I. During World War II Paris was occupied by German troops. It is now the financial, commercial, transportation, artistic, and intellectual centre of France. The city’s many attractions include the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris, the Louvre, the Panthéon, Pompidou Centre, and the Paris Opéra, as well as boulevards, public parks, and gardens.