Venus is like Earth in some ways, mainly cosmetic, but very different in others.

However until we studied Venus in general it was thought to be a sister planet but the reality is very different. In terms of similarities are the two main facts:

1) It is the closest to Earth in the solar system, very close indeed in planetary terms

2) The second thing is that it is a small rocky planet, of almost the same size as earth

However as you will see in the differences to Earth question I just answered, the differences between the two planets Earth and Venus are much more profound than the similarities.