Geneva is an anomaly, proving the idiom 'small is beautiful'. An international fame city yet nothing pompous within it. Geneva is little more than town-sized and exceptionally simple like its residents. About 38 percent of the population in Geneva is that of foreigners, basically US or French people. Located on a picturesque location, it is centred around the point where the River Rhône flows out of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman in French, Genfersee in German) flanked on one side by the Jura ridges and on the other by the first peaks of the Savoy Alps.
The Godfather of the city is the Reformer Jean (or John) Calvin, the inspiration behind Puritanism and Presbyterianism, who turned Geneva into a "Protestant Rome" in the 16th century. His parsimonious spirit made Geneva one of the richest cities in Europe. "The Republic and Canton of Geneva" is only nominally (4 kms) within Switzerland's borders, sharing a large territory (108km) with France all around. Most of the French residents get benefited from both a high Swiss salary and relatively low French living expenses, whereas the Genevois save money by doing their shopping in France.
