Annecy or Genoa?

Annecy's swimming happens in a lake. Lake Annecy is very clean, and the grassy lawns at Albigny and the Marquisats or the small village beaches around the shore are pleasant in high summer, but the window is short, roughly late June to early September. The water is fresh, there are no waves, and the lawns fill early on hot weekends.

Genoa has the sea and a longer swimming season. You can swim within the city at the pebble cove of Boccadasse, the bathing establishments along Corso Italia and the rock platforms below Nervi, and the train reaches Camogli, Sestri Levante and the sandier beaches of Varazze. Expect pebbles, rented loungers and crowded summer weekends, but this is a better base for a swim most afternoons.

Annecy's table is mountain food. Melted Reblochon in a tartiflette or a fondue is the staple, lake fish is the lighter choice, and a Savoie white goes with both. It is hearty and welcome on a cool evening, but the canal terraces mostly serve the same menu, the quality is uneven and in midsummer it can feel heavy. The real pleasure is the market mornings under the arcades, and a few acclaimed tables at Talloires and Veyrier are worth the short trip out of town.

Genoa is much the better place to eat, and you don't need to plan anything to find that out. Pesto comes from here, focaccia is a breakfast food, and the friggitorie in the caruggi sell farinata and fried fish to eat on your feet. Add the Mercato Orientale and the seafood in the harbour and the fishing hamlets, and almost every meal is local and easy. The cooking stays Ligurian, but over a week it has far more variety and gives far more pleasure than Annecy's cheese-heavy menus.

The two are far apart here. Annecy's appeal is a picture-postcard old town: the canals, the Palais de l'Isle on its island and the château museum above. It is delightful, but you have seen it in an unhurried day.

Genoa can fill several days. The caruggi form one of Europe's largest medieval quarters, and the palaces on Via Garibaldi and Via Balbi hold painted halls and Paganini's violin. Add the striped cathedral, the Palazzo Ducale, the Lanterna and the marble sculpture of Staglieno, and there is far more history to dig into.

Neither is a party city, but Genoa has more going on after dark. Students and locals fill the small bars around Piazza delle Erbe for aperitivo and spill into the squares on weekends, and in summer the action moves to the Porto Antico and the beach clubs along Corso Italia. Annecy's evenings are a drink on a canal terrace or by the lake. Apart from summer, the town is quiet by midnight, and a real night out means going to Geneva or Lyon.

Annecy has the stronger outdoors, and it is high-mountain country. Peaks rise straight from the lake, and day hikes go up the Semnoz, the Parmelan and the Tournette. The Col de la Forclaz is one of Europe's great paragliding launches, cyclists come for the Alpine passes, and in winter you can ski in the Aravis or head to Mont Blanc.

Genoa's outdoors is coast and hill. There is the ring of fortresses above Righi, cliff paths across the Portofino promontory to San Fruttuoso, the Cinque Terre trails, and boat trips to see whales and dolphins in the Pelagos Sanctuary. It is a rewarding mix, just less dramatic than the Alps.

Both are well placed, but Genoa's outings are easier and more famous. Portofino, Camogli and Santa Margherita are less than an hour along the coast by train, the Cinque Terre a little further, and Milan and Turin are close enough for a museum day, all without a car.

Annecy's range is good too: Geneva, Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains and Yvoire on Lake Geneva. The highlight, Chamonix under Mont Blanc, is much simpler by road, and Lyon makes a long day.

Both work for families, but in different ways. Annecy is an outdoor playground: flat old-town streets for pushchairs, the lawns of Le Pâquier, pedal boats, the shoreline cycle path and summer toboggan runs in the mountains. There are no purpose-built attractions, though, and little for children once the lake cools.

Genoa has the big attraction: the Aquarium at the Porto Antico, with the science centre and the Galata's walk-through submarine next to it. Away from the harbour it is tougher with small children, with steep, dark lanes, many stairs and little green space outside Nervi.

Getting around is about equally easy, though the two cities feel very different. Annecy is compact and flat, so the station, old town and lakefront are a short walk apart, bikes are natural and summer boats link the shore villages. Mountain trailheads and passes really call for a hire car, and lakeside traffic builds in summer.

Genoa is steep, so you walk the maze of the old town and ride funiculars, a rack railway and public lifts up the hillsides. The coastal railway handles most outings, and a car is more of a burden than a help.

Genoa offers more to browse, although neither suits a dedicated shopping trip. The arcades of Via XX Settembre and the Galleria Mazzini carry the familiar Italian labels, and the old town has long-established shops selling candied fruit and pesto alongside workshops making silver filigree and coral.

Annecy's shopping is mostly edible: Reblochon, sausages, génépi and honey from the markets, plus cutlery shops and outdoor gear around Rue Sainte-Claire. For anything more serious, people go to Geneva.

Genoa is the cheaper stay. Street food is very cheap, trattoria lunches are fair and central hotels undercut Italy's busiest cities. Costs rise mainly in the smart Riviera towns and on lounger days.

Annecy is expensive for a small town. Its summer resort rates and the pull of wealthy Geneva keep hotel and restaurant prices high all year. What helps is that its main attractions, the trails, the parks and the lake beaches, cost nothing, and self-catering in the shoulder seasons makes a real difference.

Genoa has the deeper programme. The Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari stages opera, ballet and symphony concerts, the city honours Paganini with concerts, and small clubs keep its singer-songwriter tradition alive. The Teatro Nazionale's plays are in Italian.

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. For opera you would have to travel to Geneva or Lyon.

Annecy is the more restful place, mostly because of its pace: mornings by the water, long lunches in lakeside villages and quiet evenings, though July and August crowds take the edge off. Hotel spas sit in calm spots around Talloires, and Aix-les-Bains and Saint-Gervais offer real thermal baths within easy reach.

Genoa's centre, with the port, the traffic and the packed lanes, is lively rather than calming. Its quiet retreats are the Nervi promenade and villa gardens, and the nearest thermal waters are at Acqui Terme, over an hour inland.