Bergamo or Lucerne?

Neither city has a beach, and in both you swim in a lake from pebble, grass or lawn rather than sand. The difference is distance. In Lucerne you can walk from the Old Town to the Lido, the wooden lake baths or Ufschötti. From Bergamo, a swim means a trip out to Lake Iseo or the Lecco arm of Lake Como.

The Italian lakes are a little warmer in July, and Bergamo's hotter summer makes a swim more welcome. Lucerne's water is cooler, but with mountains behind it and boats out to the village bathing spots, a swim fits easily into a sightseeing day.

Bergamo eats much better. Its cooking draws on the mountain valleys: casoncelli with butter and sage, polenta with braised meats and game, and cheeses such as Taleggio, Branzi and Strachitunt, with Valcalepio and Franciacorta to drink. The trattorias and cheese counters of the Città Alta are worth an unhurried afternoon.

Lucerne serves sound Swiss comfort food in its old guild houses: Chügelipastete, fondue, rösti and lake perch. The choice is narrow, though. Many places near the Chapel Bridge cater to tour groups, and prices are high for what reaches the plate.

You can see either city in a day or two, but Bergamo has more weight. The Città Alta is a nearly complete hilltop town inside UNESCO-listed Venetian walls, with Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cappella Colleoni grouped around Piazza Vecchia. Below the hill, the Accademia Carrara holds Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna.

Lucerne has fewer sights, but they are famous: the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the towers of the Musegg Wall, the Lion Monument and the Rosengart Collection's Picasso and Klee. It is a lovely Old Town rather than a deep one.

Both cities are quiet after dark. From Bergamo, a big night out means going to Milan, and Lucerne has little to offer beyond a few weekend nights. What differs is the setting. Bergamo's evenings are Italian: a long aperitivo on Via XX Settembre or in Borgo Santa Caterina, then summer drinks in the squares and along the walls of the upper town.

In Lucerne, evenings mean a glass by the river or the lake, with a small club scene near the station. The one great exception is Fasnacht, when the whole town stays out in costume until dawn.

Lucerne is the stronger choice by a wide margin. Pilatus, Rigi, the Stanserhorn and the glacier on Titlis are all reached by cogwheel railway, cable car or paddle steamer, so one day can combine boat, train and ridge walk without a car. Low cloud can hide it all for days, though.

Bergamo has real outdoors of its own. The Colli di Bergamo climb straight from the upper town, Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead into the Orobie Alps with their rifugi and high lakes, and Lake Iseo is good for cycling and sailing. The higher ground, however, is far easier to reach with a car.

Bergamo has the richer choice of outings. Milan's Duomo, Last Supper and Brera are under an hour away, and Lake Iseo with car-free Monte Isola and Lake Como are closer still. Brescia, Cremona, Verona and Mantua add a run of historic Italian towns.

Lucerne is well placed too. Zurich, Bern and Basel are each under an hour by train, and the lake boat runs to the Rütli meadow and the William Tell country around Altdorf. Its excursions lean towards scenery, while Bergamo's lean towards art and old cities.

Lucerne is the easier choice with children. The Swiss Museum of Transport fills a whole day, and the Glacier Garden's mirror maze and the wildlife park at Goldau add more. The steamers, cogwheel trains and the summer toboggan run on Pilatus feel like outings in themselves. The cost adds up, though, and there is no zoo or aquarium for a wet day.

In Bergamo, children enjoy the funiculars and a gelato on the walls, but the cobbled upper town is hard going with a buggy. Its two main attractions for children, Leolandia and Le Cornelle, lie outside the city.

Lucerne is simpler to get around. The station, the boat piers and the Old Town sit together on the lakefront, and the sights are a flat walk along the Reuss. One integrated ticket system takes you onto steamers, cogwheel trains and cable cars, so you never need a car.

Bergamo works well in town. Funiculars link the lower town to the Città Alta and on to San Vigilio, the airport is a short bus ride away, and trains run direct to Milan. What holds it back is the steep climb between the two towns on foot, and the car you need for the upper valleys and the lake shores.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and their strengths are different. Bergamo's best buys are things to eat: Taleggio, salumi and Valcalepio from the delicatessens of the upper town. There is chain fashion along the Sentierone, and Milan is close for anything serious.

Lucerne's trade is Swiss watches, sold by the big houses on Schwanenplatz, along with army knives, chocolate and cuckoo clocks. Beyond these, both are thin on fashion and design.

Bergamo is far kinder to your budget. Lower-town hotels and trattorias are fairly priced, and buses and funiculars cost little, which makes it a sensible base for Lombardy. Only rooms inside the Città Alta push the cost up.

Lucerne is very expensive in every way: hotels, simple meals and above all the mountain railways and cable cars that are the reason to go. Swiss travel passes and lakeside picnics soften the cost, but it cannot be done on a budget.

Lucerne has the stronger stage. The Lucerne Festival brings the world's leading orchestras to Jean Nouvel's lakefront concert hall. The hall also has a year-round programme with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, and the city theatre adds opera, drama and dance.

Bergamo's stage life centres on opera. Donizetti was born here, and the Teatro Donizetti's autumn festival of his works draws devoted listeners, while Bergamo Jazz fills a week in spring. The rest of the year the programme is a provincial one, with La Scala an evening's trip away in Milan.

Bergamo has a slight edge if you want to soak. San Pellegrino Terme, a Belle Époque spa about forty minutes up Val Brembana, and the sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario, used since Roman times, give it real thermal waters close by.

Lucerne has no bathing tradition of its own, though the Botta-designed mineral bath on the Rigi offers a soak with a mountain view. Its calm comes from the lake instead: slow promenades, steamer afternoons and the old wooden baths in summer. The Old Town is crowded at midday when the tour groups arrive.