Vicenza

Zürich Hb

The Zürich Hauptbahnhof (Zürich Hauptbahnhof), the largest railway station in Switzerland, has 26 stations (platforms) and is located in the heart of Zurich. The station is located at the northern end of the old town, in the heart of Zurich, close to the junction of the Limmat and Sihl rivers. The station is located on multiple levels, with the platform on the ground and underground and connected to the ShopVille shopping centre via an underground passage.

The station is roughly east-west, located on the northern edge of the city centre and at the northern end of the city's main shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse. It is divided into three main levels, with sixteen terminal platform tracks and the main hall of the station on the ground floor. Below this level is a series of walkways, the ShopVille shopping centre. At the lowest level, parallel to the ground terminal platform, there are 10 underground platform tracks. There are many shopping malls (RailCity) under the underground station in Zurich, and because they are located in the federal government area, they can operate legally on Saturday night and Sunday. The high-end waiting area of Zurich Station is limited to the first class of international trains and the first-class ticket holders.

International trains such as the French TGV, Italy's Cisalpino, Germany's ICE and other important high-speed trains as well as international sleeper trains stop at Zurich.

Vicenza ( vih-CHENT-sə, Italian: [viˈtʃɛntsa] ; Venetian: Vicensa [viˈtʃeŋsa]) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the Monte Berico, where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Venice and 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Milan. Vicenza is a thriving and cosmopolitan city, with a rich history and culture, and many museums, art galleries, piazzas, villas, churches and elegant Renaissance palazzi. With the Palladian Villas of the Veneto in the surrounding area, and his renowned Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theater), the "city of Palladio" has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994.In December 2008, Vicenza had an estimated population of 115,927 and a metropolitan area of 270,000. Vicenza is the third-largest Italian industrial centre as measured by the value of its exports, and is one of the country's wealthiest cities, in large part due to its textile and steel industries, which employ tens of thousands. Additionally, about one fifth of the country's gold and jewelry is made in Vicenza, greatly contributing to the city's economy. Another important sector is the engineering/computer components industry (Federico Faggin, the microprocessor's co-inventor, was born in Vicenza).

Zürich or Zurich ( ZEWR-ik; see below for other names) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 409,000 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million and the Zürich metropolitan area 1.83 million. Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zurich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country. Permanently settled for over 2,000 years, Zürich was founded by the Romans, who, in 15 BC, called it Turicum. However, early settlements have been found dating back more than 6,400 years ago. During the Middle Ages, Zürich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli.The official language of Zürich is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Zürich German. Many museums and art galleries can be found in the city, including the Swiss National Museum, the Kunsthaus and newer Theater 11 in Oerlikon. Schauspielhaus Zürich is one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world.Zürich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres despite having a relatively small population. The city is home to many financial institutions and banking companies. Many of Switzerland's research and development centres are concentrated in the Greater Zürich area and the low tax rates and canton funding subsidies attract overseas companies to set up their headquarters or finance treasury services in the city.Monocle's 2012 "Quality of Life Survey" ranked Zürich first on a list of the top 25 cities in the world "to make a base within". According to several surveys from 2006 to 2008, Zürich was named the city with the best quality of life in the world as well as the wealthiest city in Europe in terms of GDP per capita.