Caracas, officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital, the center of the Greater Caracas Area, and the largest city of Venezuela. Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). The valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-metre-high (7,200 ft) mountain range, Cerro El Ávila; to the south there are more hills and mountains.
The Metropolitan District of Caracas is made up of five municipalities: Libertador Municipality which is the only administrative division of the Venezuelan Capital District, and four other municipalities, which are within in Miranda State: Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, and El Hatillo. Libertador holds many of the government buildings and is the Capital District (Distrito Capital). The Distrito Capital had a population of 2,013,366 as of 2011, while the Metropolitan District of Caracas was estimated at 3,273,863 as of 2013. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an estimated population of 5,243,301. In 2015, Caracas had the highest per capita murder rate in the world, with 119 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Most murders and other violent crimes go unsolved.
Businesses in the city include service companies, banks, and malls. Caracas has a largely service-based economy, apart from some industrial activity in its metropolitan area. The Caracas Stock Exchange and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) are headquartered in Caracas. PDVSA is the largest company in Venezuela. Caracas is also Venezuela’s cultural capital, with many restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping centers. Some of the tallest skyscrapers in Latin America are located in Caracas. Caracas is home to two of the tallest skyscrapers in South America: the Parque Central Towers. The Central Park Towers still boast the title of the highest twin towers in Latin America, although they are no longer the tallest skyscrapers in the region.
Caracas has been considered one of the most important cultural, tourist, industrial and economic centers of Latin America. The Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas is one of the most important in South America. The Museum of Fine Arts and the National Art Gallery of Caracas are also noteworthy. The National Art Gallery is projected to be the largest museum in Latin America, according to its architect Carlos Gómez De Llarena. Boulevard of Sabana Grande is the main commercial corridor of the city and is visited by more than 500 thousand people every day. In 2011, the pedestrian space of Sabana Grande quadrupled. Sabana Grande is a broad, tree-shaded, pedestrians-only boulevard lined on both sides with stylish fashion boutiques, gift shops and street art.
[caption id="attachment_151377" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Lappeenranta Harbour - Photo by Petritap[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Lappeenranta is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern ...
