Annecy or Avignon?

Neither town is on the sea, but only Annecy can offer a swim without a drive. Lake Annecy is clear and clean, warms to the low twenties by July, and has grassy beaches at Albigny and Marquisats in town, with more beaches in the shore villages. The season is short, though, and runs only from late June to early September.

Avignon has nothing to swim in within its walls, because the Rhône is too fast and too busy. Swimming means driving half an hour to the green pools of the Gardon below the Pont du Gard, or making a full day of it on the Camargue sands. Most visitors there swim in a hotel or rental pool.

Both towns cook their own region's food, but the regions are very different. Annecy cooks Savoyard mountain food: Reblochon in tartiflette, fondue and raclette, plus féra from the lake. It is satisfying in cold weather but heavy in July, and the best meals are in the lake villages rather than on the canal-side terraces.

Avignon has the edge, thanks to lighter Provençal cooking and the wine on its doorstep. Tians, daube and herb-roasted lamb come with Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône by the glass, and Les Halles is a market where you can also eat lunch. In both towns the cafés on the main squares are for tourists, and the better food is a street or two away.

This is one of the biggest differences between the two. Annecy's appeal is mostly its look: pastel houses along the canals, the Palais de l'Isle on its island and the château museum above. All of it fits comfortably into one unhurried day.

Avignon was the seat of the popes for most of the 14th century, and that history fills the town. The Palais des Papes is the largest Gothic palace in Europe, and together with the cathedral and the broken Pont Saint-Bénezet it makes up a UNESCO-listed group. Walls almost 4km long still surround the centre, the Petit Palais and Collection Lambert add serious art, and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon across the river has a charterhouse and a fort.

Neither town is a place for a big night out, and both are mostly quiet by midnight. In Annecy, evenings mean a drink by the canals or the lake, and there are a few late bars and one or two small clubs kept going by students. The lakefront stays busy late through the summer, and for anything bigger people go to Geneva or Lyon.

Avignon is gentler most of the year, with an aperitif on Place Pie and almost no clubs. July is the exception: during the festival, crowds fill the squares until the small hours every night. At other times, a real night out there means a trip to Marseille or Montpellier.

Annecy is far ahead here, because the mountains begin at the edge of town. You can walk from town up Mont Veyrier, spend longer days on the Semnoz or the Tournette, and watch paragliders launch from the Col de la Forclaz, one of the great launch sites in Europe. The lake suits kayaking, rowing and sailing, and in winter the Aravis ski resorts are close.

Avignon's countryside is famous too, with Mont Ventoux, the Luberon's ochre cliffs, the Alpilles and the flamingo lagoons of the Camargue. But each needs a drive, and the summer heat and the mistral limit outdoor days mostly to spring and autumn.

Avignon is the stronger base for day trips. Within about half an hour are the arenas of Nîmes and Arles, the Roman theatre at Orange and the Pont du Gard. Beyond them are the hill villages of the Luberon, the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas, and Marseille by high-speed train. You could fill a week with outings and never repeat one.

Annecy has good outings too, but they are more spread out and more varied. Geneva is under an hour away, Chamonix and Mont Blanc make a big mountain day, and Chambéry and the spa town of Aix-les-Bains are short train rides away. Yvoire on Lake Geneva is about an hour away, while Lyon, at about two hours, is a long day.

Annecy is the easier town with children because the things they enjoy are outdoors and close at hand: lakeside lawns and parks to run on, the water for a swim or a boat trip, and gentle mountain outings a short drive above town. What it lacks is anything built for children, so on a wet day, or outside summer, there is little to fall back on.

Avignon suits children who can be won over by history. The tablet tour of the Palais des Papes and the broken bridge from the nursery song can fill a happy morning, and the Rocher des Doms garden makes a good break afterwards. The best family days are out of town, at the river below the Pont du Gard or with the Camargue's horses, so a car does much of the work.

Both towns are easy on foot, with the station, the old town and the main sights a short walk apart. What differs is how you get further out. In Annecy, the lake shapes travel: lake boats link the villages in summer and a cycle path runs down the western shore. For trailheads, mountain passes and Chamonix, though, most people hire a car, and summer traffic around the lake can be slow.

Avignon's advantage is its regional trains, which reach Arles, Nîmes, Orange and Marseille easily, so many of its best day trips need no car at all. The hill villages, the vineyards and Ventoux are a different matter and really need one. Inside the walls, expect cobbles and wind on the open squares.

Neither town is a shopping destination, and in both the best things to take home are edible. In Annecy, that means Savoyard cheeses, sausages, génépi and honey from the market, with knife and kitchenware shops and outdoor gear around Rue Sainte-Claire. Serious shoppers go to Geneva.

Avignon's shops sell Provence: printed cottons, lavender, olive wood and soap in the lanes off Rue des Marchands, plus tapenade, calissons and wine. Antique hunters drive out to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Avignon is the cheaper of the two, though neither is a bargain. Being close to wealthy Geneva keeps Annecy's prices high all year, and lakeside rooms charge resort rates in summer. The good news is that its main pleasures cost nothing: the lake beaches, the cycle path and the mountain trails.

Avignon has normal provincial prices for most of the year, with fair set lunches in the side-street bistros and good wine straight from the producers. July is the costly month, when festival visitors book up the rooms inside the walls. In both places, a hire car for the countryside adds to the bill.

Annecy's stage life is modest beside Avignon's, though fair for a town of its size. Bonlieu, the national stage by the lake, runs contemporary theatre, dance, circus and concerts through the season. In summer there is a classical music festival, and in August the Fête du Lac sets off a large fireworks show over the water. For opera, a major orchestra or regular jazz, people go to Geneva or Lyon.

Avignon is far ahead, above all in July, when the Festival d'Avignon, founded in 1947, stages major productions in the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes and in cloisters and quarries around the region. Alongside it, the Off fringe puts on well over a thousand shows a day in halls, cellars and courtyards all over town. Outside the festival, the Opéra Grand Avignon on Place de l'Horloge, a dozen or so small theatres and a jazz club keep up a steady programme.

Annecy is the more restful place, helped by the calm of the lake: mornings by the water and slow lunches in Talloires or Veyrier, where several hotel spas look over the lake. For proper thermal bathing, Aix-les-Bains is a short trip south and Saint-Gervais about an hour away.

Avignon has no bathing tradition, only hotel spas and day spas. Its version of rest is long lunches in the shade of plane trees, or a stay in a farmhouse guesthouse among the vineyards. Avoid town in July if calm is the aim, and note that a long mistral can wear on the nerves. In August, Annecy's crowds also break the calm.