Basel or Bern?

Neither city has a beach, and both have the same summer habit: walk upstream, jump in and let the current carry you back past the old town. Bern does it a little better. The Marzili, Lorraine and Eichholz lidos add lawns, pools and showers to the Aare. Lake Thun is about twenty minutes away for calm water under the mountains.

Basel's Rhine float is just as much fun, drifting past the Münster from the gravelly Kleinbasel banks and the old wooden bathing huts. There is nothing calmer nearby, though, so anyone who wants still water has to travel further for it.

Basel eats better, mostly because of its neighbours. Tarte flambée and choucroute from Alsace and wines from Baden sit beside Swiss comfort food. A small but very good fine-dining tier tops the scene, and the Markthalle covers casual meals. The wine villages over the border add cheaper options.

Bern stays closer to tradition: the Berner Platte, rösti and fondue in vaulted cellars under the arcades, with Emmental cheese at the markets and very good chocolate. It is hearty and reliable but has a narrower range. Eating out is costly in both cities.

Basel goes deeper. Its strength is the museums: the Kunstmuseum's historic collection, the Fondation Beyeler in its park and the Tinguely by the river, plus the Vitra Design Museum and contemporary buildings by Herzog & de Meuron. Give it three or four days.

In Bern, the old town itself is the main sight. Its 6km of arcades, its Renaissance fountains, the Zytglogge and the Minster tower make an unusually complete medieval centre. The Zentrum Paul Klee and the Einstein Museum are real draws, but two days covers the essentials.

Both are quiet places to go out, and the difference lies in where it happens. Basel's best evenings are outdoors in summer, on the steps by the Kleinbasel riverside kiosks. A few clubs in old harbour and industrial buildings keep electronic music going at weekends. Fasnacht, three days of drums and lanterns starting at four in the morning, has no equal in Bern.

Bern's evenings move underground, into the cellar bars below the arcades and along Aarbergergasse. The Reitschule is the place for late, rough-edged nights. On weekdays the city goes quiet early.

Bern is far ahead. The Bernese Alps are on the skyline and within an hour by train, so a day of cable cars, high trails or skiing in the Jungfrau region is easy. Lake Thun, the Gurten funicular and the wooded Aare paths provide gentler outings, and the Emmental adds rolling farmland for cycling.

Basel's countryside is softer and spread over three countries: the Jura ridges, the Black Forest summits around the Feldberg and the Vosges. It is good for hiking and flat Rhine cycling. The real Alps are a couple of hours away, though, so mountain lovers will feel the distance.

Both are excellent bases. Lucerne and Zurich are about an hour from either, and the two cities are an easy day trip from each other. What sets them apart is the direction. Basel faces outwards, across the borders to Colmar and the Alsace wine route, Strasbourg's cathedral and Freiburg's minster, with Roman Augusta Raurica just outside town.

Bern's trips stay inside Switzerland and cross its language border. Fribourg and Gruyères are close, as are walled Murten, Thun, Solothurn, Neuchâtel and the Lavaux vineyards above Lake Geneva.

The zoo is where the two part ways. Basel has the Zolli, one of the best zoos in Europe and a short walk from the station, and younger children love the little Rhine ferries pulled across by the current. For a bigger outing, Europa-Park in Germany is about an hour away by car.

Bern spreads its treats around more: the bear park below the old town, the Dählhölzli zoo with free paths through its wooded enclosures, and a big playground at the top of the Gurten funicular. The Marzili lido has shallow pools, which Basel's fast Rhine cannot offer small children. Both cities are calm and safe, though Bern's steep streets up from the river make pushing a pram harder work.

Basel's tram network reaches across two borders, while Bern's centre is small enough to cross on foot. The green trams cover all of Basel, and some lines carry on into Germany and France. The four river ferries give you a gentle way across the Rhine, and the station has direct trains into both neighbouring countries.

In Bern, the walk from the station to the bear park takes about twenty minutes, mostly under the arcades and dry even in the rain. Funiculars and a public lift handle the drop to the river, and the station sits at the top of the old town. In both cities hotel guests get a local transport pass, so you will not need a car in either.

Neither is a shopping destination, and both stick to watches, chocolate and chains on their main streets. Basel's Freie Strasse is the main shopping street, with small design shops on Spalenberg and a pretty Christmas market by the Münster. Germany is a tram ride away for cheaper high-street buys.

Bern's shops line the arcades in one long run. Its oddity is the cellar shops down steep steps on Gerechtigkeitsgasse, selling antiques, books and crafts. The Zibelemärit in late November adds onion braids to take home.

Basel takes the edge off its prices by sending you over the border. Meals, shopping and even a hotel bed cost less a short tram ride away in France or Germany. Plan around big fairs such as Art Basel, when rooms become scarce.

In Bern, the relief comes from the things that cost nothing: the bear park, the river paths, guided tours of the Federal Palace and walks under the arcades. Visitors on a budget buy lunch from supermarket counters and market stalls. Neither city works out meaningfully cheaper than the other, and both are among the most expensive places to stay in Europe.

Basel is the stronger stage city. Theater Basel is known well beyond Switzerland for bold opera, ballet and drama. The Stadtcasino's fine acoustics serve two resident orchestras, and the early-music tradition adds historical concerts. The season runs from autumn to early summer.

Bern has a small capital's mix: the Stadttheater, the Bern Symphony Orchestra and new dance at the Dampfzentrale. It does better in the warmer months, with the spring jazz festival and the Gurtenfestival's rock and pop on the local hill in July.

Both cities have a calm pace, quiet Sundays and no bathing tradition of their own. The difference is where the spa is. In Bern, a large thermal complex with pools, saunas and steam rooms sits on the city's edge, and the old town has a hammam-style spa. Mountain spa hotels in the Bernese Oberland are close by for longer stays.

From Basel, proper bathing means a short trip out: Rheinfelden's saline baths are about twenty minutes away. German spa towns such as Badenweiler, and Baden-Baden for a longer day, are within reach.