Culturally vibrant, efficiently run and attractively set at the meeting of river and lake, Zürich is regularly recognised as one of the world's most liveable cities.

Nature works on an epic scale here. Whether you’re hiking in the shadow of the fearsome north face of Eiger, carving powder on a crisp winter’s morning in Gstaad, or gawping at the misty Staubbach Falls, the Swiss Alps don’t get more in-your-face beautiful than this. Nowhere are the resorts quainter, the peaks higher, the glaciers grander.

The summer air is rich and hot in Ticino. Vespas scoot along palm-fringed promenades. A baroque campanile chimes. Kids play in piazzas flanked by pastel-coloured mansions. Italian weather. Italian style. And that’s not to mention the Italian gelato, Italian pasta, Italian architecture, Italian language.

Recipe for a gorgeous Swiss city: take a cobalt lake ringed by mountains of myth, add a well-preserved medieval Altstadt (Old Town) and a reputation for making beautiful music, then sprinkle with covered bridges, sunny plazas, candy-coloured houses and waterfront promenades.