Annecy or Stuttgart?

Annecy has no sea, but its lake makes summer swimming a real part of the trip. The water is clean and green-blue and warms to the low 20s by July. You can swim from the lawns at Albigny and the Marquisats in town or from village beaches at Talloires and Sevrier, although the season is short.

Stuttgart has nowhere to swim in open water at all. The Neckar is a working river and the Max-Eyth-See is for boating, so summer bathing here means the city's outdoor pools, some of them fed by mineral springs.

Both cities serve heavy, regional comfort food, but Stuttgart's food scene goes further. Maultaschen, Käsespätzle and Zwiebelrostbraten come in traditional wine taverns, the Markthalle is an Art Nouveau temple to local produce, and growers serve their own Trollinger and Riesling in seasonal Besen taverns. Behind all that sits a deeper fine-dining tier than Annecy has.

Annecy's best food moments are its old-town market mornings and pan-fried lake fish such as féra and Arctic char. The canal-side terraces mostly repeat fondue and tartiflette at uneven quality, so the better cooking means heading out to the lakeside villages of Talloires and Veyrier.

Stuttgart gives a cultural visitor far more to see. The Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums are international draws, the Staatsgalerie pairs European painting with a landmark postmodern wing, and the Weissenhof Estate's Le Corbusier houses carry a UNESCO listing. With Schlossplatz and the Württemberg State Museum added, two or three days are well spent.

Annecy's appeal is the old town itself, with its arcaded canal streets, the island Palais de l'Isle and the château museum above. It is beautiful, but an unhurried day covers it.

Neither city is a destination for going out, but Stuttgart has more of it. Theodor-Heuss-Strasse fills with bars at weekends, clubs operate in basements and old industrial spaces, and the Cannstatter Volksfest beer tents and the summer wine village bring big crowds.

Annecy's evenings are a drink on a canal terrace or by the lake. It stays lively late in summer, but for most of the year the town is quiet by midnight.

This is Annecy's great strength. Real mountains rise straight from the lake, with trails from town up Mont Veyrier and Mont Baron and longer days on the Tournette and the Parmelan. The sky above Talloires fills with paragliders, the lake is made for paddling and sailing, and the Aravis ski resorts and Mont Blanc are within reach.

Stuttgart's outdoors is gentler but easy to get to. Vineyard trails, the deer forests of the Rotwildpark and the Neckar cycle routes start near the centre, and the Swabian Jura and the northern Black Forest are about an hour out. It is good walking country, not high mountains.

Both make good bases, but Stuttgart's range is wider and easier to reach by rail. Ludwigsburg's baroque palace and half-timbered Esslingen are short S-Bahn hops, while Tübingen and Heidelberg are under an hour away. Further afield are Maulbronn, Hohenzollern Castle, Ulm and even Strasbourg.

Annecy's outings lean towards lakes and mountains: Geneva, Chambéry, Aix-les-Bains and Yvoire. Chamonix under Mont Blanc is the standout, but it, like many of the others, is simpler by car.

Stuttgart has the edge for children because it has places made for them. Wilhelma's zoo and botanical garden fills a day, Killesberg park has its miniature railway and animals, and Ludwigsburg has a fairy-tale garden. The hills are the drawback for pushchairs.

Annecy is flatter and a delight in summer, with pedal boats, lake beaches, toboggan runs and the shore cycle path. Outside that season, though, there is no zoo or aquarium to fall back on.

Stuttgart is the easier city to explore without a car. Its flat centre is walkable, and one ticket covers the Stadtbahn, S-Bahn, buses, a rack railway and a funicular up the steep sides of the basin, which reach the museums and Wilhelma.

Annecy's compact centre is just as easy on foot or by bike, and boats link the lake villages in summer. Trailheads, passes and Chamonix are much simpler with a hire car, though, and that means sitting in summer traffic around the lake.

Stuttgart is the better place to shop, especially for brands. Königstrasse runs through the centre with the high-street names, Breuninger covers designer fashion, and the outlet village at Metzingen is half an hour away.

Annecy's shopping is mostly edible: Savoyard cheese, sausage, génépi and honey from the markets, plus the cutlery and outdoor shops around Rue Sainte-Claire. For anything grander, people head to Geneva.

Neither city is cheap, and the costs come from different directions. Annecy charges resort rates in summer and stays pricey all year because Geneva is so close. Its main pleasures cost nothing, though: the lake beaches, the parks and the mountain trails.

Stuttgart's hotel prices follow business travel. They peak during trade fairs and ease off at weekends, while the tavern meals and a day ticket on public transport keep daily spending reasonable.

Stuttgart is in a different league here. The Staatsoper and the celebrated Stuttgart Ballet share the state theatre beside the palace gardens, and the Liederhalle carries orchestras and a strong Bach tradition. Musicals at Möhringen and a well-known jazz club fill out the week.

Annecy's stage life is centred on Bonlieu, which offers respectable contemporary theatre and dance, plus a summer classical festival and fireworks over the lake. For opera, people travel to Geneva or Lyon.

Stuttgart has the bathing culture Annecy lacks. The mineral springs of Bad Cannstatt and Berg feed public baths where you can soak in naturally carbonated warm water indoors and out, with saunas at the larger ones.

Annecy relaxes you through its pace instead: lake mornings and slow village lunches, with hotel spas around Talloires. For thermal water you need to go to Aix-les-Bains or Saint-Gervais, and the summer crowds make the town itself less calm.