Zurich - Switzerland's largest city with a population of 360 thousand inhabitants, the capital of the Canton of Zurich (the

most populated region of the country with more than 1.1 million inhabitants). The city lies on both banks of the Limmat River, which originates from Lake Zurich and flows in a northerly direction. It is a charming old town, full of restored historic buildings and narrow hilly alleys. Zurich - also one of the world's leading financial centers for the re-export of capital, the largest (along with London) gold market, one of the largest foreign exchange markets and markets for banking loans. Zurich was founded as a Roman customs post in the 15th century BC Since the 10th century Zurich became a town, and in 1218 - the rights of a free city. In 1351, the city joined the Confederate League. After that, its importance has grown, especially under the mayor Hans Waldmann. In the 19th century, Alfred Escher made out of town shopping and business center (machine and textile industry, banks, insurance companies, tourism) to form the foreign exchange market in 1877. This has given the city the fourth place in the list of the world (after New York, London and Tokyo), Zurich making an important center of international finance. Now head offices of five banks in the world are located on the Banhoffshtrasse (Fifth Avenue Zurich), in the heart of the city. The city has always been a center of liberal thought, involving Lenin, Carl Jung, James Joyce and Thomas Mann. The school was founded here Dadaists in 1916, stood at the origins of the current Romanian Tristan Tzara. Zurich's old town consists of narrow streets. Along the coast you can see the house in the baroque style. The main area for shopping is concentrated around the train station. Strolling along the famous Bahnhofstrasse - one of the most attractive streets in Europe - to Paradplats, you can see the entire microcosm of the local high society - bankers are concerned about rushing to work, while their wives are choosing shopping cart. You can try the unique Sprngli chocolate in a cafe. However, Zurich is known not only as a business center and a paradise for shoppers, but also for its cultural attractions: the old churches such as Grossmnster and Fraumnster with stained glass windows by Marc Chagall, a fine art gallery collections, among them the Chagall, Miro and Picasso museums of all kinds and for all tastes. This is the famous Schauspielhaus (German drama preserved throughout the Second World War) and other small but noteworthy scene. In Zurich, a vibrant and varied nightlife from jazz to popular bars and discos representations cabaret.