Annecy or Padua?

Annecy has the better swimming, even without a sea. In summer you can walk from the old town to the lawns at Albigny or the Marquisats and swim in some of the clearest lake water in Europe, and village beaches such as Talloires and Sevrier add more spots around the shore.

Padua has no water to swim in, so a beach day means about an hour's travel to Sottomarina or the Lido of Venice. The Adriatic there is a little warmer, shallow and good for small children, but the shore is flat rows of umbrellas rather than mountain scenery.

Padua eats and drinks better on an ordinary day. It has Venetian dishes such as bigoli with duck sauce and baccalà, morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, and the evening spritz with small bites taken standing in the squares. Euganean wines and the old Caffè Pedrocchi complete the picture.

Annecy's cooking is Alpine cheese: fondue, tartiflette and raclette, plus féra from the lake. Its canal-side terraces are uneven, and in July the food can feel heavy. Annecy does have one thing Padua lacks, though: a handful of serious gastronomic tables in the lakeside villages of Talloires and Veyrier.

Padua is far richer for anyone who travels to see art. In Annecy the setting is the attraction: arcaded streets and pastel houses along the Thiou canal, the Palais de l'Isle on its island in the river, and the Château d'Annecy above, with its museum of regional art and Alpine life. One unhurried day covers it all.

Padua packs much more into a compact centre. Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, painted in the early fourteenth century, were a turning point in European art, and the Eremitani, the Baptistery and the Oratory of Saint George complete a UNESCO-listed group of fresco cycles. Add Donatello's altar at the Basilica of Saint Anthony, the world's oldest permanent anatomical theatre in the Palazzo Bo and the botanical garden founded in 1545, and you have a day or two of dense sightseeing. Scrovegni visits are short and timed, so plan yours ahead.

Padua has more of an evening scene, built around the aperitivo. In term time, students and locals fill Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori with spritz glasses until late, and wine bars line the lanes of the old ghetto. It still goes quiet in the university breaks.

Annecy is the reverse. It is at its liveliest in summer, when the lakefront and canal terraces stay busy, and quiet by midnight for most of the year. Neither city is for clubbing. From Annecy, a proper night out means Geneva or Lyon.

Annecy is in another league here. Trails climb from the edge of town up Mont Veyrier and Mont Baron, and the Semnoz, Parmelan and Tournette give full mountain days. The lake is used for sailing, rowing and paddleboarding, and in winter the Aravis ski slopes and Mont Blanc are within reach.

Padua sits on a flat plain. Its outdoors means the volcanic Euganean Hills about 15km away, with vineyards and quiet roads for cycling, and level towpaths along the Brenta. For proper mountain walking you need to drive to Monte Grappa or the Asiago plateau.

Padua is one of the best bases in Italy. Venice is under half an hour by train, close enough to visit on several days, and Vicenza, Verona, Treviso, Bologna and Ferrara are all quick rail trips. Nearer to town you have the villas of the Brenta Riviera and the walled towns of Este, Monselice and Montagnana.

Annecy also has good outings, but they lean more on a car. You can visit Geneva's museums, ducal Chambéry and Chamonix under Mont Blanc, while Yvoire and Évian lie on Lake Geneva and Lyon makes a long day out.

Annecy keeps children busier. In summer they have lake beaches, pedal boats, cruises and a flat cycle path, plus toboggan runs and treetop courses in the mountains nearby, and the lawns of Le Pâquier give them space to run. It has no zoo or theme park, and the appeal drops outside summer.

Padua is flat, safe and welcoming to children at the table, but its main sights are frescoes and churches. Families usually rely on Prato della Valle, the botanical garden's glasshouses and a day at Gardaland or the Adriatic.

Both centres are easy to walk. Padua's is larger but sheltered by arcades and largely closed to traffic, and a tram runs from the station to Prato della Valle. Its real advantage is the railway, with fast lines in every direction, so a whole regional trip works without a car.

In Annecy, the old town, lakefront and station are close together, and the shore path and summer lake boats link the villages. For trailheads, mountain passes and Chamonix, most visitors end up hiring a car, and summer traffic around the lake can be slow.

Padua offers a little more, mostly Italian fashion and shoe shops under the arcades, university bookshops and a large monthly antiques market on Prato della Valle. Its delicatessens beneath the Palazzo della Ragione are good for cheese and Euganean wine.

In Annecy the best things to carry home are edible too, such as Reblochon, sausages, honey and génépi from the market. Around Rue Sainte-Claire you will also find knives, kitchenware and outdoor gear. For serious shopping, people from Annecy go to Geneva and people from Padua go to Venice or Milan.

Padua is the cheaper stay. Hotels charge normal northern Italian rates, a standing spritz and a trattoria meal are fair value, and many visitors sleep here instead of in Venice to save money. Rooms cost more during trade fairs and graduation season.

Annecy's prices follow wealthy Geneva and summer resort demand, so rooms and meals out are expensive. Its best attractions, the lake beaches, trails and cycle path, are free, and visiting outside summer or renting an apartment helps a lot.

The two are about level, each with a modest programme, but the kind of programme differs. Annecy's Bonlieu stage favours contemporary theatre, dance and circus, and the town's big summer event is the Fête du Lac fireworks over the water.

Padua leans classical, with prose theatre and some opera at the horseshoe-shaped Teatro Verdi and chamber concerts in the frescoed Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica. It is also within easy reach of the Fenice in Venice and the summer opera at Verona's Arena, while Annecy relies on Geneva or Lyon.

Padua has the stronger offer because of Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, about 12km away. They form one of Europe's largest thermal districts, with hot mineral pools and mud treatments, and many spa hotels let day visitors in after a morning of sightseeing.

Annecy relaxes you through its setting: quiet mornings by the water and slow lunches in lake villages, with hotel spas around Talloires and Veyrier. For thermal baths you go to Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais. Both places lose some of their calm in high summer, Annecy to crowds and Padua to the heat.