Geneva
Geneva is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandie (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). Situated where the Rhône River exits Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman), it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.
The city proper had a population of 186,825 in June 2008, and the metropolitan area had 769,000 residents according to a 2005 census. The Geneva metropolitan area extends partly over Switzerland (517,000 inhabitants) and partly over France (251,000 inhabitants).
Geneva is widely regarded as a global city, mainly because of the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.
A 2007 survey by Mercer Consulting found Geneva to have the second-highest quality of life in the world (outranked by German-speaking Zürich).
