Greifensee is located 11 km (6.8 mi) to the east of the city of Zürich, separated by the Pfannenstiel from Lake Zurich.

The Aabach (Greifensee) (or just Aa) is the main supplying river, while its outlet is the Glatt.

Easy hiking trails follow the water and pass Greifensee castle before entering a nature preserve.

The lake was known as Glattsee (after the Glatt) in the medieval period[1] Greifensee (Grifense) was at first the name of the fort built by the counts of Rapperswil in the 12th century, recorded as the name of the bailiwick in 1260.

[3] Located on the lakeshore, the Prehistoric pile dwelling settlement Greifensee–Storen–Wildsberg is part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps,[4] and the settlement is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object.