Annecy or Montpellier?

Montpellier offers the better beach days, though neither city has a beach in town. From Palavas and Carnon a long, gently shelving stretch of Mediterranean sand runs out to the dunes of l'Espiguette, and it suits children and casual swimmers well.

Annecy has no sea at all. What it has is lake bathing, off grassy lawns and small shingle strips in very clear water, at Albigny or in villages such as Talloires. It is lovely in high summer, but the swimming season is short.

Annecy's cooking is Alpine and narrow in range: tartiflette, fondue and raclette, with lake fish such as féra. The market mornings under the arcades are the highlight, and the canal-side terraces are hit and miss.

Montpellier eats from a broader Mediterranean pantry. Lagoon shellfish, Sète's octopus tielle and vineyards that start at the city's edge give it more to explore, and its market halls and cheap student places make eating well easier on most days.

Annecy's heritage is a single beautiful set piece: the canals, the island Palais de l'Isle and the château above. It is charming, and one unhurried day covers it.

Montpellier has more depth. The Écusson's hôtels particuliers, the Peyrou terrace and its aqueduct, the oldest botanical garden in France, Bofill's Antigone and the Musée Fabre's European paintings can easily fill two or three days.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Annecy's evenings are a drink by the canal or the lake, a few late bars and very little else once summer ends. Montpellier's large student population fills the terraces around Place Jean-Jaurès even on weeknights, and clubs out towards Lattes carry the night on, so anyone who wants to go out properly should pick it.

Annecy is the stronger choice, and the outdoors is the main reason to go there. Trails start in town, the Semnoz and the Tournette give full mountain days, paragliders fill the sky above Talloires, and the lake is made for paddling and sailing. In winter, the Aravis ski slopes are under an hour away.

Montpellier's countryside is gentler and drier. It offers flamingo lagoons, the Camargue, the climb up Pic Saint-Loup and canoeing in the Hérault gorges, with spring and autumn the best walking seasons. Its coastal wind also suits kitesurfers.

Both cities make good bases, but Montpellier has the richer choice. Roman Nîmes is half an hour away by train, Arles and Avignon about an hour, and Carcassonne, Sète and Aigues-Mortes add walled towns and fishing ports.

Annecy's outings are about lakes and mountains instead. Geneva is under an hour away, and Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains, Chamonix beneath Mont Blanc and the flower village of Yvoire are all within reach. These are fine days out, but there are fewer historic heavyweights among them.

The two are about even for children, but they work in different ways. Annecy is a summer playground of pedal boats, lake cruises, toboggan runs and treetop courses, with no zoo or aquarium to fall back on.

Montpellier has exactly those things, the Lunaret zoo and an aquarium with a planetarium at Odysseum, plus warm, shallow sea water. Its July heat in the stone streets means planning around midday.

Annecy is easy on foot within town and very good by bike along the lake. Once you head for trailheads, passes or Chamonix, though, a car becomes close to essential.

Montpellier covers more without one. Its tram links the station, the old town, Antigone and Odysseum, and fast trains reach Nîmes, Avignon and Carcassonne. Only the hills, the gorges and the Camargue really call for a hire car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and in both the best things to take home are edible. Annecy offers Savoyard cheese, génépi and knives from the cutlery shops around Rue Sainte-Claire, and serious shoppers there end up going to Geneva. Montpellier has somewhat more on offer, with boutiques and bookshops in the Écusson, the Polygone mall beside the Comédie and Languedoc wine to carry home.

Montpellier is the easier city on a budget. Student-priced bars and counters, market halls and lunch menus keep daily costs moderate, and the main pressure comes in July and August on the coast.

Annecy charges resort rates in summer and Geneva-influenced prices all year. Its saving grace is that the lake, the parks and the mountain trails cost nothing.

Montpellier is well ahead here. Opera, ballet and its national orchestra play at the Opéra Comédie and the Corum, and the Montpellier Danse festival is one of the most respected in Europe. Summer adds the Radio France festival and outdoor theatre at the Domaine d'O.

Annecy relies on Bonlieu's mixed programme of theatre, dance and circus, a summer classical festival and the August fireworks over the lake. For anything bigger, you go to Geneva or Lyon.

The two are close, and both rely on hotel spas and a nearby spa town rather than baths of their own: Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais from Annecy, Balaruc-les-Bains on the Thau lagoon from Montpellier. Annecy has the slight edge for calm, with quiet lakeside mornings and spa hotels at Talloires. Montpellier's unhurried pace comes with a livelier, student-filled centre.