Zurich

Switzerland's most populous city is reputed to be the intellectual and cultural capital of the nation. Today the city is famous for its pinstriped gnomes and art galleries, and for the way it manages to balance finance and aesthetics better than anyone but Sothebys.

The city is situated some 400m above sea level, straddling the Limmat River as it leaves the northern end of Lake Z�rich. The pedestrian streets of the old town contain most of the major sights, including winding alleyways, 16th and 7th-century houses, guildhalls and courtyards, and rather a lot of fountains (1030 if you're taking notes).

The elegant Bahnhofstrasse was built on the site of the city walls, which were torn down 150 years ago. Underfoot are bank vaults crammed with gold and silver and other booty - unfortunately these are not open to the public (we can't figure out why). For the clock-watchers, the 13th-century tower of St Peter's Church has the largest clock face in Europe. The Fraum�nster Church nearby is noted for the distinctive stained-glass windows in the choir, which were created by Marc Chagall in 1970 at the ripe old age of 83