Annecy or Geneva?

Neither city is on the sea, and both swim only in summer, but Annecy's lake is the better one for it. Its water is clear and green-blue, the town beaches at Albigny and Marquisats are grassy lawns with jetties, and village beaches at Sevrier, Talloires and Doussard ring the shore.

Geneva's swimming is more of a city lido: diving off the Bains des Pâquis jetty with the Jet d'Eau in view, or the lawns and pools of Genève-Plage. It makes a good hot afternoon, but it is an extra to a city stay rather than a reason to go.

The two are close on food, but they cook in different ways. Annecy is Savoyard through and through, with tartiflette, fondue and lake féra, and its best moment is a market morning under the old-town arcades. The finer cooking is out in the villages at Talloires and Veyrier.

Geneva has a wider range, French with a Swiss accent plus the many cuisines brought by the international organisations, and polished dining in Carouge and the Old Town. It also has wine from its own canton. What it lacks is cheap, casual eating.

Geneva has far more to see. St Pierre Cathedral, where Calvin preached, the Reformation Wall, the Palais des Nations, the Red Cross Museum and a visit to CERN add up to two or three full days, with the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire and the watchmaking museum on top.

Annecy's appeal is the old town itself, with its canals, its pastel arcades and the Palais de l'Isle in the river, plus the château museum above. It is lovely, but one unhurried day covers it.

Neither is a place for big nights out, but Geneva gives you more to do after dark. The Pâquis has bars that stay busy late, Carouge has wine bars, and the alternative centres around Plainpalais and Jonction run club nights with a small electronic scene.

Annecy's evenings are a canal-side drink or a glass of wine by the lake. Outside summer the town goes quiet by midnight, and locals who want more head to Geneva.

Both are surrounded by mountains, but Annecy is in among them. You can walk from town up Mont Veyrier or Mont Baron, spend longer days on the Semnoz or the Tournette, and watch the paragliders over the lake from the Forclaz. The Aravis resorts are under an hour away.

Geneva looks out at its mountains rather than sitting at their foot. The Salève cable car and the Jura ridge are its nearest outings, and Chamonix is about an hour away. It works well as a base, but nearly every outdoor day begins with a journey.

Geneva has the wider choice and the easier transport. Steamers and fast trains run along the lake to Nyon's Roman ruins, Lausanne, the Lavaux vineyard terraces and the Château de Chillon at Montreux. Gruyères and Bern each make a full day out.

Annecy has good outings too: Geneva itself, Chambéry and Aix-les-Bains by train, Chamonix, and Lyon for a long food day. More of them, though, are simpler with a car.

Both are safe and easy with children, and neither has a zoo, aquarium or theme park. Annecy is at its best for families in summer, with lake beaches, pedal boats, the flat shore cycle path, and toboggan runs and treetop courses in the hills nearby.

Geneva works better out of season. The Natural History Museum's dioramas can keep young children busy for hours, and the small animal enclosures, the yellow harbour boats and CERN for older children fill the other days.

Both centres are easy to walk, but Geneva is much easier beyond that. Trams, buses and the harbour boats run as one network, the airport is a few minutes from the main station by train, and regional rail reaches France and the rest of Switzerland. You rarely need a car.

In Annecy you can walk or cycle around town, and summer boats link the lake villages. For trailheads, mountain passes or Chamonix, though, a hired car is far simpler, and summer traffic around the lake can be slow.

Geneva is a real shopping city, above all for watches and jewellery on the Rue du Rhône. Below that level it offers chocolatiers, Carouge's design and craft workshops and the Plainpalais flea market.

Annecy's shopping is mostly edible: Savoyard cheese, sausages, génépi and honey from the market, with knife and kitchenware shops and outdoor gear around Rue Sainte-Claire. Anyone who wants more goes to Geneva.

Neither is cheap, but Geneva is in a different league, among the most expensive cities in the world for rooms, meals and even a glass of wine. Free city museums and free local transport for hotel guests help a little, and many visitors sleep across the border in France.

Annecy is expensive for a town of its size and charges resort rates in summer, but it costs clearly less. So much of what you come for is free, from the beaches to the trails, that a shoulder-season stay in a self-catering flat can stay reasonable.

Geneva has the fuller stage. The Grand Théâtre runs a full season of opera and ballet, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande plays in the gilded Victoria Hall, and the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in the middle of the Rhône hosts concerts and dance.

Annecy relies on Bonlieu, its lakeside national stage, for contemporary theatre, dance and circus, plus a summer classical festival and the Fête du Lac fireworks. For opera or a major orchestra, people travel to Geneva or Lyon.

Geneva has a slight edge because of its own bathing habit. In winter the Bains des Pâquis runs a sauna and hammam, and regulars plunge straight into the cold lake. There are also serious spas in the lakefront hotels, and the city's very calm Sundays help.

Annecy relaxes you through its pace and its lakeside hotel spas at Talloires and Veyrier, but it has no public baths. For thermal water you go to Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais, and in July and August the town is less restful.