Annecy or Interlaken?

Annecy wins this easily. Lake Annecy is one of the cleanest lakes in Europe and warms to around 22-24°C by July. You can spend whole days on the town lawns at Albigny and Marquisats, or move around the shore to Sevrier, Talloires or Doussard.

Interlaken's two lakes are cooler. The lidos on Lake Thun at Neuhaus are the warmest option, and glacial Lake Brienz at Bönigen is beautiful but bracing. Expect a swim under snow peaks at the end of a hiking day, not a day at the beach.

Annecy offers much more to eat. Tartiflette and fondue made with Reblochon and Abondance, lake féra fried in butter and Savoie whites like Apremont all have local roots. The old-town markets are a pleasure in their own right, and the gastronomic tables at Talloires and Veyrier are worth the trip along the lake.

In Interlaken, the town's restaurants serve dependable fondue and rösti alongside Indian and Asian places for the international crowd. The memorable meals are up in the mountains, at a hut terrace above Mürren or with cheese bought straight from an Alpine dairy, and many visitors simply live on picnics.

Annecy's old town is a sight in itself. Pastel houses line the Thiou canal, the island prison of the Palais de l'Isle is one of the most photographed buildings in France, and the château above holds a museum of Alpine life. It fills a pleasant, unhurried day.

Interlaken has very little to set against that: the row of grand hotels and the Kursaal on the Höheweg, and a few timber houses across the Aare in Unterseen. For history and museums, you take the train to Bern or Thun.

Neither town is a place for a big night out, but Annecy gives you better evenings. A drink on a canal-side terrace or by the lake is a pleasure in itself, a student crowd keeps a few wine and cocktail bars open later, and in summer the old town stays up late. Serious clubbing means a trip to Geneva or Lyon.

Interlaken goes to bed early, because everyone has a morning train or a paragliding slot. What exists is a backpacker circuit of pubs, sports bars and a couple of basement clubs near the hostels, plus the casino in the Kursaal.

Both towns are superb for the outdoors, but the landscapes differ. Annecy's mountains rise straight from the water: you can walk from town up Mont Veyrier or Mont Baron, take longer days on the Tournette or in the Bauges, and paraglide from the Col de la Forclaz. The lake itself is a playground for paddleboarding, rowing and sailing, and road cyclists come for the passes.

Interlaken puts you within an hour of real high-Alpine scenery: the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, the waterfalls of Lauterbrunnen and the Aletsch glacier seen from the Jungfraujoch. Lifts reach high trails at Grindelwald First and Schynige Platte, and canyoning and rafting are organised from town. The one catch is low cloud, which can hide the peaks for days.

Interlaken is the better base for day trips, mostly thanks to the Swiss railways. Bern's medieval arcades are under an hour away, Thun is half an hour along the lake, and the paddle steamers call at the castle towns of Spiez and Oberhofen. Ballenberg, Brienz and the scenic line to Lucerne are all easy outings without a car.

Annecy has strong destinations too: Geneva, Chambéry, the spa town of Aix-les-Bains, Yvoire on Lake Geneva and a long food-lovers' day in Lyon. Getting to Chamonix and some of the others is far easier by road, though.

Interlaken keeps children busier, though Annecy has its own easy appeal in summer. In July and August Annecy offers pedal boats, lake beaches, the lawns of Le Pâquier and the flat shore cycle path, and most old-town streets are fine for a pushchair. Outside summer, with no zoo or theme park, there is much less to fill the days.

In Interlaken the trip up the mountains is half the fun. Rack railways and gondolas lead to summit stations with playgrounds, toboggan runs and cliff walks, and the St Beatus caves and the farm animals at Ballenberg go down well with most children. Rain is the weak spot, because wet days are hard to fill, and the highest excursions can be hard on very young children because of the altitude.

In Interlaken you can leave the car at home. Mainline trains, the narrow-gauge Bernese Oberland lines, cog railways, gondolas and lake steamers all connect, so the whole Jungfrau region is reachable by public transport, and Wengen and Mürren are car-free anyway.

Annecy is just as easy on foot within town, and the western shore cycle path and summer lake boats are a pleasant way to reach the villages. Once you aim for trailheads, passes or Chamonix, though, buses fall short, and many visitors end up hiring a car and sitting in summer lakeside traffic.

Neither town is a shopping destination, but Annecy has more worth browsing. Market days are good for Reblochon, sausages, génépi and honey to take home, and the streets around Rue Sainte-Claire mix independent boutiques and kitchenware shops with the souvenir stalls.

Interlaken's Höheweg is lined with large watch and jewellery stores for tour groups, plus shops selling army knives and cuckoo clocks. The hand-carved woodwork from Brienz is the one local craft to look for.

Annecy is expensive for a small French town, especially in summer and with Geneva so close. Still, its main pleasures cost nothing: lake beaches, parks, the cycle path and the trails. A self-catering flat in the shoulder season brings the cost down a good deal.

Interlaken is in a more expensive league altogether. Hotels and meals are priced at Swiss levels, and the mountain railways that are the reason for coming, the Jungfraujoch above all, add a lot to the bill. Passes, hostels and picnics help, but only so far.

Annecy offers more culture after dark. Bonlieu, the national stage by the lake, runs theatre, dance, circus and concerts through the year, and summer adds a classical festival and the Fête du Lac fireworks over the water.

Interlaken's offering is seasonal and folkloric: the open-air amateur staging of William Tell in the woods each summer, yodelling and alphorn evenings, and occasional concerts in the Kursaal. For a proper orchestra or theatre, you go to Bern.

Annecy is slightly more restful. Its slow lake rhythm, lakeside hotel spas around Talloires and Veyrier, and real thermal baths a short trip away at Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais make an unhurried stay easy, at least outside the July and August crowds.

Interlaken's grand Höheweg hotels have large spas, and the town has a public wellness area, but the centre is busy with coach groups and geared to adrenaline. To rest, you stay up in Wengen or Mürren or ride a slow steamer across the lake.