Zurich Facts

Country: Swiss Confederation

Canton area: 1,729 sq km

City population: 360,000 (1,131'000 in the whole canton)

Language: German

Religion: Protestant

Time Zone: Clocks are one hour ahead of Greenwich, Switzerland uses Central European Time (GMT/UTC +1)

Telephone Area Code: 0041 for Switzerland + 01 for the city

Currency: Switzerland uses the Swiss franc. Money not only can be exchanged at banks, but also at post offices and train stations which offer similar rates. In certain shops and restaurants, Euros are accepted as well, and being one of the banking capitals of the world, ATM's are very common.

Weather: Switzerland is marked by it's four different seasons. Summers usually are warm and sunny with sudden short thunderstorms (June to September), while winters are dry and very cold. In the north of Switzerland, the weather is mild and refreshing. Towards the south, in the alp area, it's warmer. Thanks to the protection by the mountains, it's rarely windy. Travellers should bring good clothes in every season in case of a sudden dramatic change in weather. Bear in mind, that there are a lot of tourists in summer, so prices can be high and accommodation hard to find. The best periods to visit Zurich are the shoulder seasons (April to May or September to October), or a winter holiday in the Swiss mountains.

Public holidays in Zurich include: New Year's Day (1 st January), Easter (April/May), Ascension Day (40 th day after Easter), Whit Sunday and Monday (7 th week after Easter), National Day (1 st August), Christmas (25 th December), St Stephen's Day (26 th December)

The largest city in the country, Zürich is an important commercial and manufacturing center and is the financial capital of Switzerland. Major products include printed materials, electrical and electronic equipment, processed food, machinery, textiles, and clothing.

The city is also one of Europe's principal financial and gold-trading hubs and attracts many tourists. Although it is a modern metropolis, Zürich has retained much of its historic charm.

Points of interest include the Romanesque Grossmünster (chiefly 11th-13th century), a Protestant church where the Reformation leader Huldreich Zwingli preached in the early 16th century; the Fraumünster (begun in the 12th century); Saint Peter's Church (13th century); the Town Hall (17th century); the Rietberg Museum, which features displays of Asian, African, and American art; and the Swiss National Museum, with collections showing the development of culture in Switzerland from prehistoric times to the 20th century.

Zürich also has a botanical garden, a natural history museum, and an industrial arts museum. The city is the site of the University of Zürich (1833), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Zürich (1855), and a conservatory of music (1876). In the suburb of Küsnacht is the C. G. Jung Institute of Zürich (1948). Zürich is the birthplace of the poet and novelist Gottfried Keller and the educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. The Irish novelist James Joyce is buried here.