The Swiss canton of Zürich has a population of about 1.2 million. It
is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zurich is its
capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss
German dialect called Züritüütsch. The name of the canton is
sometimes written without umlauts: Zurich.
The canton of Zurich is situated north of the Alps. Its neighbouring
cantons are Schaffhausen to the north, Aargau to the west, the cantons of Zug
and Schwyz to the south and the cantons of Thurgau and St.Gallen to the east.
Most of the Lake Zurich is located within the canton.
Most of the canton consists of shallow river valleys which drain towards the
Rhine to the north of the canton. In the northwest and southeast of the canton
there are more mountainous areas. The valley of the river Linth leads into the
Lake Zurich and continues as the Limmat river. This valley is the most
significant valley of the canton of Zürich. The valley of the Glatt river
originates in the Greifensee and is separated from the Limmat by ridges. The
valley of the river Töss is gorge- like. It is located in the east of the
canton and is separated from the Toggenburg area in the Canton of St. Gallen by
a mountainous area. The Hörnli (1133 m) is the highest elevation of
this mountain ridge. The valley of the river Sihl is located in the west of the
canton. In confluences with the river Limmat in the city of Zurich. The river
Sihl is separated from the lake of Zurich by the Albis Range. The Albishorn
(915 m) is the highest elevation of this range. The highest elevation in the
canton is at the Höhrohnen in the southeast of the canton.
Zurich is top for leisure and pleasure. Gentle hills, peaceful woods, the
unpolluted lakes and rivers, picturesque villages - and all just a stone's throw
from the Alps. Zürich is the ideal starting point for all kinds of varied
excursions.
Enjoy the pretty old town, the trendy new Zurich West district and the
glorious lake.
With opera, ballet, theatre premieres, shows, musicals, art exhibitions in over
50 museums and 100 galleries, time never drags in Zurich. The famous
Bahnhofstrasse and the Limmatquai are a shopper's paradise. Over 1,700
restaurants and bars serve both traditional Zurich and Swiss dishes as well as
exotic specialties. The evenings will leave you spoilt for choice: indoors or
outdoors, anything is possible as far as the nightlife in Zurich goes.