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In a broad valley surrounded by the Alps and the Jura Mountains, impeccably groomed Geneva crowds the shoreline of Lake Léman (also called Lake Geneva). Sober and upstanding, a center for global finance and headquarters for about 200 international agencies, Switzerland’s second-largest metropolis regularly ranks among the world’s most livable -- and most expensive -- cities. Exclusive five-star hotels and Michelin-ranked restaurants, jewelers and luxury boutiques cater to a clientele accustomed to the best. But many of the city’s charms are much more affordable: exploring the Cathédrale St-Pierre and the steep, twisting streets of the old quarter, walking in the parks and woodlands, and cruising on the lake in handsome excursion boats.
The city that gave us the World Wide Web, covers itself in flowers and takes chocolate to an art form has got to be okay. You can't go wrong visiting this city, even if you just walk its streets and lakeshore for days on end -- those flowers are everywhere and the Lake Geneva is clear and picturesque. It might be in Switzerland, but Geneva is tres French. It didn't join the Swiss Confederacy until after 1815, so French culture permeates the place by way of food and language. Still, Calvin, who preached here during the Reformation, seems to have had a deep effect, tempering the French spirit a bit. But if the city seems a little staid, perhaps it's because it contemplates the fate of the planet on a daily basis. Switzerland hasn't seen a war for over 300 years; Geneva hosts hundreds of humanitarian and scientific agencies. It was the home to the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations. The UN still maintains an office here. The International Red Cross is here. So is the World Health Organization. And the European Centre for Nuclear Research, CERN, which also brought us the Web. The list goes on and on. It makes us dizzy to contemplate, but we're awfully glad those organizations are here, working towards a peaceful, healthy planet. It seems fitting that when Genevans get off work, they get to wander through a peaceful, beautiful city.