Annecy or Como?

Neither lake offers a sandy beach, but Annecy is the better place to swim. The water is famously clear, and the grassy beaches at Albigny and Marquisats are right in town, with more village beaches at Sevrier, Talloires and Doussard.

At Como you swim from lidos with decks and pontoons, such as the one by Villa Olmo, and the water at the city's busy southern tip is less tempting than further north. The best dips often mean taking a ferry to the pebble strands of Moltrasio or the Tremezzina.

The two are about level, but the food is quite different. Annecy cooks Savoyard: tartiflette, fondue and raclette made with valley cheeses, lake féra in butter, and Apremont to drink. Its market mornings in the arcaded old town are the highlight, and the most ambitious cooking is at the gastronomic tables in Talloires and Veyrier.

Como's cooking is Lombard: risotto with perch, sun-dried missoltini and polenta, with the evening aperitivo around the cathedral and San Fedele as its daily ritual. In both towns the lakefront terraces trade on the view, and the better meals are found up the lake or in the hills.

Como has more to see. Its cathedral combines Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio show off the old Lombard masons, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio brings in architects from abroad. The Tempio Voltiano and the silk museum add the stories of the city's famous son and the trade that made it rich.

Annecy's appeal is more about the scene than the buildings. The canals, the pastel arcades and the island prison of the Palais de l'Isle make a lovely walk, and the château museum covers Alpine life and the lake. Either town takes about a day, but Como gives you more to understand along the way.

Neither town is made for late nights, but Annecy carries on a little longer. Its students keep a few bars busy after Como's have shut, and it has a couple of small clubs where Como has none at all. The gap is widest in summer, when the canal terraces and the lakefront stay full well into the night. Out of season the two are much alike, and both have gone quiet by around midnight.

Como's evening is the aperitivo and a long dinner, then perhaps one more glass near Piazza Duomo or San Fedele and a walk along the water. Anyone wanting a proper night out takes the train to Milan, while in Annecy it means a drive to Geneva or Lyon.

Both have mountains and water, but Annecy has more of them and closer. Mountains rise straight from its shore, with longer days on the Parmelan and the Tournette, the Bauges park to the south and paragliding canopies filling the sky over the lake. In winter the Aravis ski resorts and the Mont Blanc massif are in reach, which Como cannot offer.

Como's outdoors starts with the funicular to Brunate and the ridge walk to the Volta lighthouse. From there the Via dei Monti Lariani and the Greenway del Lago follow the slopes and old village paths, and road cyclists ride up to the Madonna del Ghisallo. Summer haze makes it a spring and autumn place for walking.

Como is the better base for outings. Boats run up the lake to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello. Over land, Milan is about forty minutes by train, Lugano half an hour, and Bergamo, Lake Maggiore and the Certosa di Pavia are all possible in a day.

Annecy has a good list too, with Geneva under an hour away, Chambéry and Aix-les-Bains a short train ride south, and Yvoire on Lake Geneva. Its best mountain outing, Chamonix, really needs a car, and Lyon at two hours makes for a long day.

Annecy is the easier place to bring children. The flat old town suits pushchairs, Le Pâquier and the Jardins de l'Europe have room to play, and summer adds lake beaches, pedal boats and the shore cycle path, plus toboggan runs and treetop courses in the mountains.

Como holds children's interest for a shorter time. The funicular, the boat rides and a paddle at the lido are the high points, and after that the villas and churches are mostly for adults. Neither town has a zoo or a theme park.

Both centres are flat and easy on foot, but they connect to the wider region in different ways. In Annecy, the bike is the natural way to get about, with a dedicated path down the western shore, but most trailheads and passes are far easier to reach by car.

Como is the better place to do without a car. Trains run to Milan and to Lugano, and ferries reach every village on the lake, though the slow boats take a long time to get far north. Its narrow shore roads and scarce parking make driving more trouble than it is worth.

Como has the more distinctive shopping because of its silk. Scarves, ties and fabric come from old-town specialists and from mill outlets that supply the fashion houses, and Via Vittorio Emanuele II adds Italian shoes and clothing.

In Annecy, the best buys are edible: Savoyard cheeses, sausages, génépi and honey from the market. Rue Sainte-Claire adds cutlery, kitchenware and outdoor gear. Serious shoppers leave either town, for Geneva or for Milan.

Both are expensive, so neither is a budget choice. Annecy pays the price of being close to Geneva all year, but its lake beaches, parks, cycle path and trails are free, and self-catering apartments make a real difference. Como's lakeside hotels and villa rentals serve an international luxury crowd. There the savings come from staying back from the water, eating in old-town trattorias and using the cheap trains and ferries. In both, spring and autumn are kinder than midsummer.

Annecy's Bonlieu is a contemporary national stage by the lake, with theatre, dance, circus and concerts through the season. Como's Teatro Sociale is an early nineteenth-century opera house with tiers of boxes behind a columned portico. In summer Annecy adds a classical music festival, outdoor concerts and the Fête du Lac fireworks over the water in August.

Como's season mixes opera, ballet, orchestral concerts and spoken theatre, then moves outdoors to the Arena beside the theatre in summer. Chamber concerts in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas make the most of the setting. For opera or a major orchestra, Annecy sends you to Geneva or Lyon, while from Como, La Scala is a short train ride away.

Both are calm lake towns with hotel spas rather than bathing traditions of their own, and both get busy in midsummer. The difference is that Annecy has real thermal baths within reach, at Aix-les-Bains to the south and Saint-Gervais under Mont Blanc. Como has no springs, so relaxing there means villa gardens running down to the water, slow ferry rides and the grand hotels' spas.