Annecy or Cannes?

Annecy's swimming season is short. The lake is famously clean and warms to the low twenties by July, not far off the Mediterranean at the same point in summer, but it turns cold again soon after August. Cannes adds several weeks at each end. A trip in early June or late September still means a proper swim there, when the lake would be too cold to enjoy.

The bigger difference is what you lie on. In Annecy you spread a towel on a lakeside lawn with a little shingle and a jetty to jump from, which feels more like a park than a beach. Cannes has real sand sloping gently into calm water, a beach built for whole days in the sun. Both get crowded in high summer, but in different ways. Annecy's small lawns fill early on hot weekends. In Cannes the central beaches are packed through July and August, private concessions take much of the seafront, and there is more room on the free stretches further from the centre.

The two are about level, but they eat for opposite climates. Annecy's table is mountain food: Reblochon in tartiflette, fondue and raclette, plus lake féra and char with a Savoie white. Cannes cooks with sun and sea, with bouillabaisse, socca, stuffed vegetables and grilled fish, and rosé on every terrace.

Both have a market that outshines the tourist terraces, the arcaded old-town market in Annecy and the covered Forville in Cannes. In both, the best cooking sits just outside the centre, at Talloires and Veyrier on the lake and in the hills towards Mougins.

Neither town is a culture destination, and either can be seen in a morning or an easy day. Annecy's appeal is the townscape itself, with canals, arcades, the island Palais de l'Isle and the castle museum above. Cannes offers Le Suquet's hilltop castle and church, Belle Époque palace hotels and the red-carpet steps of the Palais des Festivals. For serious art, Cannes has more nearby, with the Picasso museum in Antibes and the foundations around Saint-Paul-de-Vence a short trip away.

Cannes gives the better night out, at least from June to September and during its festivals. Beach clubs turn into party venues, a few clubs run until dawn and the lanes behind the old port fill with bars. It is a glamorous, champagne kind of night rather than a casual one.

Annecy's evenings are gentler: a drink by a canal or the lake, a handful of pubs and wine bars, and one or two small clubs. Out of season both towns go quiet early, but Annecy is the quieter of the two all year.

Annecy is the stronger choice for the outdoors, because the mountains rise straight from the lake. Hikes climb from town to Mont Baron and the Tournette, paragliders fill the sky over Talloires, the Bauges park lies south, and the Aravis ski slopes and Mont Blanc are within reach.

Cannes has fine scenery too, but more of it lies a drive away. The Esterel's red volcanic rock is about twenty minutes off, and there are the island paths of Sainte-Marguerite, the Cap d'Antibes shore path and diving around the Lérins. Summer fire risk can also close forest trails just when visitors arrive.

Cannes has the better range of outings because the whole Riviera lies along one train line. Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton are each an easy ride, and Grasse, Mougins and the perched villages are just inland. You could fill a week without repeating a stop.

Annecy has good choices too, but they are more spread out and often need a car. Geneva is under an hour away, Chambéry and Aix-les-Bains are short train rides, and Chamonix, Yvoire and a long day to Lyon round out the list.

The two are close for families, and both are safe, compact and short on attractions built for children. Annecy offers pedal boats, lake cruises, the flat shore cycle path and summer toboggan runs and treetop courses in the mountains. Cannes has gently sloping sand and calm sea, which suit small children well, carousels along the Croisette and picnics on the Lérins. In Cannes, a zoo-type outing means going along the coast to Monaco's aquarium.

Both centres are small and easy on foot, but Cannes is a little better connected. Its central station puts Antibes, Nice and Monaco a short train ride away, and ferries leave from the old port. Le Suquet is the only steep climb.

In Annecy, bikes and summer lake boats work well along the shore. The trailheads, passes and Chamonix, which are the reasons many people come, are far simpler with a hire car. Both towns suffer heavy summer traffic.

Cannes is the shopping destination of the two. The great Paris fashion and jewellery houses face the sea on the Croisette, Rue d'Antibes runs for over a kilometre with mid-range fashion and chocolatiers, and Rue Meynadier sells olive oil, soaps and Provençal fabrics.

Annecy is mainly a place to buy food: Savoyard cheese, sausage, génépi and honey from the markets. Add a few independent shops on Rue Sainte-Claire and some outdoor gear, and serious shoppers end up in Geneva.

Neither is cheap, but Annecy is the easier of the two on a budget. Being near Geneva keeps its prices high, yet its main pleasures are free: the lake beaches, the shore path and the trails. Shoulder seasons and self-catering bring costs down further.

Cannes is priced for a wealthy crowd along the waterfront, and festival and trade-fair weeks push hotel rates far higher. You can save with backstreet lunch menus, Forville picnics, the public beaches and cheap coastal trains, or by staying in a neighbouring town.

The live programme is modest in both towns, but the two offer different things. Annecy centres on Bonlieu, a national stage for contemporary theatre, dance and circus, plus summer classical concerts and the August fireworks of the Fête du Lac.

Cannes has more of an event calendar: public beach screenings during the film festival, a dance festival, the regional philharmonic and classical concerts in the castle courtyard on Le Suquet. The Juan-les-Pins jazz festival is also close by.

Annecy is slightly better for unwinding. It gets that from its slow lake rhythm and from quiet hotel spas around Talloires and Veyrier, and genuine thermal water is close at hand in Aix-les-Bains and Saint-Gervais.

Cannes offers polished palace spas and seawater thalassotherapy but no springs. Its calm comes in spring and autumn on the seafront. In August, both towns lose much of their calm to the crowds.