Annecy or Cortina d'Ampezzo?

In summer Annecy has something close to a beach vacation. From late June to early September the lake is clean and warm enough for long swims. You can go in from the grassy lawns at Albigny and Marquisats or from the village beaches at Sevrier, Talloires and Doussard, though the season is short and hot weekends fill the lawns early.

Cortina has nothing like it. Lago Ghedina and Pianozes are lovely to walk around, but snowmelt keeps them cold even in midsummer. Swimming there usually means a hotel pool, and the Adriatic is more than two hours away.

The two eat at much the same level, and both are mountain kitchens with a narrow range. In Annecy it is Savoyard cheese: tartiflette, fondue and raclette, pan-fried féra from the lake and Savoie whites. The arcaded market mornings are the highlight, and the better cooking is out in Talloires and Veyrier rather than on the canal terraces.

Cortina's Ampezzan cooking has a Venetian accent, with beetroot casunziei and polenta with game. The meal to remember is lunch at a rifugio among the peaks. In the valley, eating is polished but almost never cheap.

Annecy has more to see, though a single unhurried day covers it. The canal-lined old town is the main attraction, with the island Palais de l'Isle in the river and the hilltop château holding a museum of regional art and lake life.

Cortina's centre has a basilica, painted Tyrolean houses and the 1956 Olympic ice stadium, and the Rimoldi collection of twentieth-century Italian art is enough for a wet afternoon. Its most striking history is the First World War line on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, which means a day in the mountains rather than a museum visit.

Neither town is for going out, and both are quiet by late evening for much of the year. In Annecy you have drinks on a canal terrace or a glass of wine by the lake. A student crowd keeps a few bars going, and for anything bigger people head to Geneva or Lyon. In Cortina evenings revolve around après-ski and the passeggiata on the Corso Italia. A few smart bars stay open late, but only in the peak winter weeks.

Both are outstanding, but the landscapes differ. Annecy's appeal is mountains rising out of a lake: hikes up Mont Veyrier and the Tournette, paddleboarding and sailing, the shore cycle path, and paragliders launching from the Col de la Forclaz over the water.

Cortina is higher and more dramatic, with the pale Dolomite walls of the Tofane and Cristallo all around and lifts from town onto the peaks. Summer means the Tre Cime, the Alta Via 1 and some of the oldest via ferrata routes in the Alps, and in winter it is ski country on the doorstep.

Annecy has much more within reach. Geneva is under an hour away, and Chambéry and Aix-les-Bains are short train rides. Chamonix, Yvoire and Évian make good days out, and Lyon is a long but worthwhile trip.

From Cortina most outings go into the mountains. The towns of South Tyrol, such as San Candido, Brunico and Bolzano with its Iceman, are pleasant rather than essential. Venice is a tiring coach ride each way.

Annecy is the easier family base. The old town is flat enough for pushchairs, and Le Pâquier gives children space to run. In summer there are pedal boats, lake cruises, beaches and a cycle path with no traffic.

Cortina works best for families who ski or hike, with ski schools for all ages, beginner slopes at Socrepes and skating at the Olympic stadium. Neither town has a zoo or theme park, but rainy days and high costs are harder to manage in Cortina.

Annecy is far simpler without a car. The station, old town and lakefront are a short walk apart, and you can reach the shore villages by bike path or summer lake boat.

Cortina's centre is easy on foot, and winter ski buses link the slopes. But the town has had no railway since 1964, so you arrive by coach from Venice or after a long drive. Buses to Misurina and the passes are limited, which is why so many visitors hire a car.

Cortina is the better place to shop, as long as you want luxury. The short Corso Italia has fashion houses, jewellers, furriers and upmarket mountain wear. The Cooperativa di Cortina, founded in 1893, sells everything from local food to outdoor gear.

In Annecy the best things to take home come from the markets: Reblochon, sausages, génépi and honey. Rue Sainte-Claire adds independent boutiques and kitchenware, but anyone after designer labels goes to Geneva.

Annecy is the cheaper of the two, though it is never a bargain. Being close to Geneva keeps prices up all year, and in summer the lakeside rooms charge resort rates. Outside July and August the rates ease noticeably. Eating out costs what it does in a prosperous French resort, and a self-catering apartment is the easiest way to bring that down.

Cortina has two peak seasons, the winter ski weeks and August, and in both of them hotels and valley restaurants charge luxury prices. If cost matters, go in the gaps between them, early summer or late September. A rifugio lunch is the best-value meal in the valley. To save on rooms, many people stay in a cheaper neighbouring valley and drive in.

Annecy has a real programme. Bonlieu, the national stage by the lake, runs contemporary theatre, dance, circus and concerts through the year. Summer adds a classical festival and the Fête du Lac fireworks over the water.

Cortina has no theatre season and no regular venue. Its cultural evenings come mostly in summer, with chamber concerts in churches and sometimes outdoors in the mountains.

The two are about equal for relaxing, and both rely on hotel spas and a slow pace rather than public baths. Annecy's quiet lakeside spas are around Talloires and Veyrier, and real thermal bathing is close by at Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais. Cortina has Alpine-style spas with saunas and hay baths, and its calm mountain air in June and September is restful too. Both towns lose that calm in their busiest weeks.