Verdant public spaces, transport, modern cuisine make Zurich a livable city

Apparently, before the turn of the millennium, Zürich had one of the biggest drug scenes in Europe

It’s interesting how important context is to memory. As I inhale the crisp alpine air while hiking in Zürichberg, a hilly wood above Lake Zürich, there’s a familiar smell I can’t place. I sniff again, sure that this is something I smell almost every day. It’s when my blundering feet crush some thin leaves underfoot that epiphany strikes. There are clumps of wild garlic everywhere! Come spring, and the woods around Switzerland’s biggest city and global financial centre smell sometimes like a hearty Italian kitchen, sometimes like a garlicky Spanish chorizo — quite unlike how one expects the Alps to