Annecy or Lille?

Neither city is on the sea, but Annecy's clear lake gives it a real summer of swimming. The town has lawn beaches at Albigny and Marquisats, and village beaches around the shore from Sevrier to Doussard, all good from late June to early September.

Lille has nothing comparable. The nearest beach is the windy North Sea sand at Malo-les-Bains, an hour away by train, and the water there is cold enough that a trip to the coast means a bracing walk rather than a swim.

Lille has the more rewarding table. Its estaminets serve hearty Flemish food, carbonnade, potjevleesch and the welsh, and the beer culture, from brewery taps to specialist ale bars, gives evenings real character. The Wazemmes Sunday market adds a multi-ethnic food scene.

Annecy's Savoyard cooking is just as tied to its region, with fondue, tartiflette, lake fish and Savoie whites, and its market mornings are excellent. But the canal-side terraces in the old town are uneven, and the best meals mean driving out to the gastronomic tables in the lake villages.

Lille has far more to see. The Palais des Beaux-Arts alone is worth the trip for its Flemish masters, Goya and relief maps. Around it are Vieux-Lille's Vieille Bourse and Grand Place, Vauban's citadel, and La Piscine and LaM a metro or tram ride away, which together fill two or three days.

Annecy's appeal is the old town as a whole: the canals, the Palais de l'Isle and the château museum above it. It is lovely, but an unhurried day covers it.

Lille goes out properly, thanks to its huge student population. Rue Masséna and Rue Solférino fill with loud, cheap bars, while Vieux-Lille's brick cellars hold beer cafés and cocktail bars for an older crowd, with Belgium close for late clubbing.

Annecy's evenings are gentler: a drink by a canal or the lake, a few late bars, and a town that is quiet by midnight outside summer.

This is where Annecy leaves Lille far behind. Mont Veyrier and Mont Baron can be climbed straight from town. The Bauges park, the Col de la Forclaz paragliding launch and the lake for sailing and kayaking are all on the doorstep, with Aravis skiing and Mont Blanc within reach.

Lille's outdoors is flat and gentle: the Citadel park and canal towpaths for easy cycling, the low Monts de Flandre for short walks, and the Opal Coast cliffs as a long day out.

Both make good bases, but Lille's position at the meeting point of fast rail lines is hard to beat. Brussels is half an hour away, Ghent, Bruges and Paris about an hour, and London is possible by Eurostar. Arras, Amiens, the Louvre-Lens and the First World War sites of Ypres, Vimy and the Somme are also close.

Annecy's outings lean towards lakes and mountains: Geneva, Chamonix, the lake villages, Yvoire and Évian, and Lyon as a long day. Most of these work best with a car.

Annecy is the easier family choice in summer. It has lake beaches, pedal boats, cruises, a flat shoreline cycle path and mountain toboggan runs, plus the Pâquier lawns for running around, though it has no zoo or theme park and loses much of its appeal out of season.

Lille works better on a rainy day. It has the small Citadel zoo, the natural history museum and the Forum des Sciences, with Pairi Daiza and Nausicaá further afield, but the cobbles of Vieux-Lille are hard going with a pushchair.

Lille is simpler to get around. Its flat centre is walkable, the two main stations sit beside the old town, and the automated VAL metro and the tram reach Roubaix and Tourcoing, so a car is a hindrance.

Annecy's centre is just as walkable, and bikes and summer lake boats help. But trailheads, passes and Chamonix really call for a car, and summer traffic around the lake can be slow.

Lille is the better place to shop. Rue Neuve and the Euralille mall cover the chains, Vieux-Lille adds independent fashion, design and delicatessens, and the September Braderie turns the whole city into a vast flea market.

In Annecy the best buys are edible: Savoyard cheese, sausage, génépi and honey from the markets, plus some kitchenware and outdoor gear around Rue Sainte-Claire. For anything more serious, people go to Geneva.

A room in Annecy's old town or by the lake costs resort money in summer, and being so close to wealthy Geneva keeps prices high the rest of the year too, with meals out priced like a prosperous French resort. What softens the cost is how much of the day is free: the lake beaches, the shore cycle path and the mountain trails. Self-catering flats and the shoulder seasons ease it further.

Lille asks noticeably less of a budget. Rooms are reasonable for most of the year, except during the Braderie and the big trade fairs, and an estaminet dinner with a local beer, a metro ride or a morning in the main museums are all fairly priced. It is comfortable rather than cheap, but money goes further here than in Annecy.

Lille offers a proper big-city season. The grand Opéra de Lille, a full symphony orchestra, the Théâtre du Nord national stage and the Zénith and Aéronef for touring bands all make a good night out easy to find.

Annecy has Bonlieu by the lake for contemporary theatre, dance and circus, plus a summer classical festival and the August Fête du Lac fireworks. For opera or an orchestra, you have to go to Geneva or Lyon.

Annecy is better for switching off. Slow mornings by the lake and quiet hotel spas around Talloires and Veyrier set the pace, and Aix-les-Bains and Saint-Gervais offer real thermal bathing within easy reach, though July and August crowds take away some of the calm.

Lille is easygoing rather than restful. Relaxing here means tea rooms, café terraces and the odd day spa, with the thermal baths at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux a short train ride away.