Zurich

Zürich is the new Berlin. No hesitation, no competition. This formerly staid banking capital has experienced such a creative explosion in recent years, and such a mushrooming of innovative bars, restaurants and shops that it resembles Berlin’s salad days of the mid-eighties and early nineties.

The city straddles the Limmat River as it leaves Lake Zürich. The pedestrian streets of the old town contain most of the major sights, including winding alleyways, 16th and 17th century houses, guildhalls and courtyards, and rather a lot of fountains (1030 if you’re taking notes).