Geneva is located in the Rhone Valley at the southwestern corner of Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman, in French), between the Jura Mountains and the Alps. It's the capital of the canton （瑞士的州）of Geneva, the second-smallest canton in the Swiss Confederation.
Switzerland's second-largest city has an idyllic（田园诗的）setting on one of the biggest alpine lakes and within view of the pinnacle（山顶,山峰）of Mont Blanc. Filled with parks and promenades（散步场所）, the city becomes a virtual garden in summer. It's also one of the healthiest cities in the world thanks to prevailing north winds that blow away all air pollution.

The city covers itself in flowers and takes chocolate to an art form has got to be okay. You can't go wrong visiting this city, even if you just walk its streets and lakeshore for days on end -- those flowers are everywhere and the Lake Geneva is clear and picturesque.

It might be in Switzerland, but Geneva is tres （法文，非常的意思）French. It didn't join the Swiss Confederacy until after 1815, so French culture permeates （浸透；充满）the place by way of food and language. Still, Calvin, who preached here during the Reformation （宗教改革，十六至十七世纪的天主教会改革运动,结果产生了基督新教)，seems to have had a deep effect, tempering（锻造）the French spirit a bit.

Geneva is surrounded by French territory, connected to Switzerland only by the lake and a narrow corridor. The city's overwhelming French influence is apparent in its mansard（双重斜坡的屋顶）roofs, iron balconies, sidewalk cafes, and French signs.

But if the city seems a little staid（端庄的,深沉的）, perhaps it's because it contemplates （思忖，思量）the fate of the planet on a daily basis. Switzerland hasn't seen a war for over 300 years; Geneva hosts hundreds of humanitarian and scientific agencies. It was the home to the League of Nations, the predecessor（前身） of the United Nations. The UN still maintains an office here. The International Red Cross is here. So is the World Health Organization. And the European Centre for Nuclear Research, CERN, which also brought us the Web. The list goes on and on.

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