Annecy or Bologna?

Neither city is on the sea, but Annecy has proper swimming on its doorstep. From late June to early September, Lake Annecy's clear water reaches about 22-24°C. You can swim from the grassy lawns at Albigny and Marquisats or from village beaches such as Talloires.

Bologna has no water of its own. Swimming means an hour on the train to Rimini, where the Adriatic is warmer but murkier and the shore is lined with rented sunbeds. That works for a day out, but it won't shape your trip the way the lake does in Annecy.

Bologna is the far better place to eat. Food here is a reason to make the trip: fresh pasta rolled by hand, the Quadrilatero's delicatessens, and Parmigiano and Parma ham from towns close by.

Annecy's Savoyard cooking is good on a cold evening, with tartiflette, fondue and lake féra with an Apremont white. But the canal-side terraces serve much the same menu, and the best cooking is out in the lake villages. Both cuisines are heavy in summer. Bologna simply offers far more of it, and at a higher level.

Annecy's old town is lovely and quickly seen. You walk the canals, photograph the Palais de l'Isle and visit the château museum, and an easy day covers it all.

Bologna needs two or three days. There is a whole brick medieval centre with its porticoes, the Two Towers, the seven churches of Santo Stefano, the old university and a serious collection of Bolognese painting. Bologna also gives you more depth, while Annecy is mainly a pretty backdrop.

Bologna goes out much more. Its large student population fills Piazza Verdi and Via del Pratello with crowds, cheap bars and taverns that stay open late, and aperitivo leads on to wine bars around the Quadrilatero.

Annecy's evenings are a drink on a canal terrace or by the lake. In summer the town is lively, but it is quiet by midnight the rest of the year. One catch in Bologna is August, when the students leave and the city goes as quiet as Annecy in winter.

This is where Annecy wins most clearly. Mountains rise straight out of the lake. You can hike from town or take on full days on the Parmelan and the Tournette, paraglide over the water, paddle or sail, and ski in the Aravis less than an hour away.

Bologna's outdoors are milder. It has pleasant hill walks to San Luca, the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi and the start of the Via degli Dei to Florence. Its real mountains are an hour and a half away, and the land to the north is flat farmland.

Annecy's outings are good: Geneva, Chamonix under Mont Blanc, Chambéry, Yvoire, and Lyon for a long day. Several are much easier by car.

Bologna is one of the best rail bases in Europe. Florence is barely half an hour away. Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are short hops, and Venice, Verona and Padua each make an easy day. You could fill a week with trips by train alone.

Annecy has the edge with children, at least in summer. Lake beaches, pedal boats, cruises, the flat shore path, toboggan runs and treetop courses give them plenty to do outside.

Bologna is easy to get around with a pushchair and simple at mealtimes, but its sights are aimed at adults. Families usually add a day at Mirabilandia or the beach at Rimini, and the summer heat is hard on small children. Neither city has a zoo or a major aquarium.

Both centres are compact and easy to walk. The difference is what lies beyond them. Bologna's station sits at the edge of the old town, and fast trains run from it across northern Italy, so you never need a car.

Annecy is easy in town and along the lake by bike or boat. But trailheads, mountain passes and Chamonix are far simpler to reach by car, and many visitors hire one and then sit in summer traffic around the lake.

In both cities, the best things to take home are edible: Savoyard cheese, sausage and génépi from Annecy's markets, and aged Parmigiano, tortellini and balsamic vinegar from Bologna's Quadrilatero.

Beyond food, Bologna offers more. It has a small cluster of luxury houses on Via Farini and in the Galleria Cavour, an antiques market at Santo Stefano and vintage shops in the university quarter. Annecy's Rue Sainte-Claire mixes cutlery shops and outdoor gear with souvenirs, and serious shoppers go to Geneva.

Neither city is cheap, but Bologna is the easier of the two on a budget. Hotels in its old town cost what you'd expect in northern Italy, but trattorias and aperitivo with food are good value, and most sights are free. The one thing to watch is a trade fair, which can make rooms scarce and costly.

Being so close to Geneva keeps Annecy's prices at resort level all year, both for rooms and for eating out. What saves money there is that the lake, the parks and the trails cost nothing, and staying outside July and August or in a self-catering flat helps.

Bologna has a real musical life. The Teatro Comunale stages opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, basement jazz clubs play most nights, and students keep up a steady run of indie gigs.

Annecy's performing arts centre on Bonlieu, the national stage by the lake, which offers contemporary theatre, dance and circus. A summer classical festival and the Fête du Lac fireworks in August add to that. For opera or a major orchestra you have to go to Geneva or Lyon.

Annecy is the calmer place to unwind. You get mornings by the water, slow lunches in lake villages and hotel spas in quiet settings around Talloires. For thermal baths, Aix-les-Bains and Saint-Gervais are within reach.

Bologna's version of relaxing is a long lunch under the porticoes, but the university quarter is noisy and the summer heat is heavy. Spa water is close by, though, at Castel San Pietro Terme and Porretta Terme. Both cities lose some of their calm in July and August, Annecy to crowds and Bologna to heat.