Zürich

Zürich is the largest city of Switzerland (at the end of 2007; population of urban area is 1,007,972) and capital of canton of Zürich.The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre (the political capital of Switzerland being Bern), and is widely considered to be one of the world's global cities. According to several surveys from 2006 to 2008, Zürich was named the city with the "best quality of life" in the world.The city is situated where the river Limmat issues from the north-western end of Lake Zürich, about 30 km north of the Alps. Zürich is surrounded by wooded hills including (from the north) the Gubrist, the Hönggerberg, the Käferberg, the Zürichberg, the Adlisberg and the Oettlisberg on the eastern shore; and the Uetliberg (part of the Albis range) on the western shore. The river Sihl meets with the Limmat at the end of Platzspitz, which borders the Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum). The geographic (and historic) center of the city is the Lindenhof a small natural hill on the left bank of the river Limmat, about 700 meters north of where the river issues from Lake Zürich. Today the incorporated city stretches somewhat beyond its natural hydrographic confines given by its hills and includes some neighborhoods to the northeast in the Glattal (valley of the river Glatt).