Annecy or Florence?

Neither city is on the sea, but Annecy has the lake. From late June to early September you can swim from the grassy beaches at Albigny and the Marquisats in clear water, or take a towel to Talloires or Sevrier. It is lake bathing on lawns and shingle, not sand.

Florence offers nothing similar within the city. The nearest beaches are on the Versilia coast, a full day's trip by train, so most visitors cool off in a hotel or public pool instead.

Annecy's cooking is Alpine and narrow in range: Reblochon in tartiflette, fondue and raclette, lake féra and char, and Savoie whites. The market mornings in the arcades are the best of it, and the better restaurants are out in the lake villages rather than on the canal-side terraces.

Florence eats much more widely and confidently. There is bistecca, ribollita, lampredotto from street carts, the Mercato Centrale and Sant'Ambrogio markets, Chianti by the glass and serious gelato. The good trattorie of the Oltrarno and Santo Spirito make every evening meal something to plan around, which Annecy's menus rarely manage.

The gap here is wide. Annecy's heritage is a pretty setting more than a collection: the canals, the Palais de l'Isle on its island and the château museum above it make a pleasant day out, but no more than that.

Florence is one of the great art cities of the world. Brunelleschi's dome, Botticelli at the Uffizi, Michelangelo's David, the Bargello's sculpture, the Brancacci Chapel and the Pitti Palace give a week's worth of masterpieces. The main museums need booking ahead in summer.

Neither is a clubbing city, but Florence gives more to an evening. Aperitivo leads into wine bars, the square at Santo Spirito fills with people drinking outside on warm nights, and summer bars line the Arno.

Annecy's evenings are a canal-side drink or a glass of wine by the lake. Outside summer the town is quiet by midnight, and a proper night out means Geneva or Lyon.

Annecy is the clear winner. Mountains rise straight from the lake shore, with trails up Mont Veyrier and the Semnoz, longer days on the Tournette, paragliding above Talloires and the Bauges park to the south. On the water there is sailing, rowing and paddling, and in winter the Aravis ski slopes are under an hour away.

Florence's countryside is gentle and farmed rather than wild. There are olive terraces at Fiesole, cypress lanes through Chianti, and the Casentino forests and the Apuan Alps further out. It is lovely walking in spring and autumn, but summer afternoons are too hot for it.

Annecy has good outings: Geneva in under an hour, Chamonix under Mont Blanc, Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains and lakeside Yvoire. Several of them are much easier by car.

Florence is hard to beat for day trips. Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra and the Chianti villages are all close, Bologna is a short high-speed train ride away, and most of the main towns are on the rail network. You could spend a week on day trips from Florence without repeating one.

Annecy is the easier town with children. The old town is mostly fine for pushchairs, Le Pâquier gives them room to run, and summer days fill themselves with lake beaches, pedal boats, cruises, the flat cycle path and toboggan runs in the hills.

Florence takes more effort. Climbing the dome, the secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio and the Boboli Gardens all work well, but the crowds, narrow pavements and July heat wear children out. Neither city has a zoo or theme park, though Florence has the Pinocchio park at Collodi within reach.

Florence is the more practical base. The Duomo, the Uffizi, the Accademia and the Pitti Palace are all within a short walk of each other, trams and small buses cover the rest, and Santa Maria Novella station in the centre puts the Tuscan towns within easy reach. You only need a car for the hill villages.

Annecy is just as easy on foot within town, and bikes and summer lake boats help. But its main draws are trailheads, passes and Chamonix, which are much simpler with a hire car, and summer traffic round the lake can be slow.

Florence is far more rewarding. You can watch leather goods, marbled paper and gilded frames being made in the Oltrarno workshops, find jewellers on the Ponte Vecchio and luxury fashion on Via de' Tornabuoni, and browse antiques on Via Maggio. It pays to look closely at leather that may be mass-produced.

In Annecy, the things to take home are mostly edible: Savoyard cheeses, sausages, génépi and honey from the market, plus kitchen knives and outdoor gear around Rue Sainte-Claire. For serious shopping, people go to Geneva.

Both are expensive for their size, but the money goes on different things. In Annecy, rooms and restaurants charge resort prices, but the main attractions cost nothing: the lake beaches, the parks, the cycle path and the trails. Self-catering and the shoulder seasons help most.

In Florence, rooms are dear and museum and Duomo tickets add up over a few days. On the other hand, eating cheaply is easy with lampredotto, market counters and house wine, and you will spend almost nothing on transport. Staying near the station or across the river cuts the cost.

Florence has the deeper tradition. Opera began here, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale has its own orchestra, opera and ballet, the spring Maggio festival is one of Europe's oldest, and the Pergola is a fine old theatre. Many visitors only see the church concerts aimed at tourists, and there is little live music beyond classical.

Annecy relies on Bonlieu by the lake for contemporary theatre, dance and circus, along with a summer classical festival and the Fête du Lac fireworks in August. For opera or a major orchestra, you need to go to Geneva or Lyon.

Neither city has its own bathing tradition, and both rely on hotel spas and on spa towns nearby. Annecy has a slight edge because the setting is restful in itself: mornings by the water, slow lunches at Talloires, and Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais within reach for thermal baths.

In Florence, calm takes more seeking out. Early mornings in the Boboli and Bardini gardens help, and so does a day at Montecatini Terme or the sulphur pools at Saturnia. A few nights on a farm in the Tuscan hills is the classic way to slow down. Both cities lose their calm to summer crowds.