Bern or Zermatt?

Neither city is on the sea, but only Bern really gets you into the water. In summer you can walk upstream from the Marzili baths and float back down the Aare on its fast green current, then dry off on the lawns of the riverside lidos. For calmer water, Lake Thun is a short train ride away.

Zermatt has no bathing lake. Its tarns are for photographing the Matterhorn, not for swimming, so in this alpine village a swim means a hotel pool.

The two are evenly matched, but the setting is very different. Bern eats in guildhall dining rooms and vaulted cellars: Berner Platte, rösti and veal in cream sauce, with Emmental cheese from the Bundesplatz market and good chocolate. It is open all year, and the Zibelemärit onion market comes in late November.

In Zermatt the best meals are lunches on chalet terraces at Findeln or Zum See, reached on skis or on foot: raclette, air-dried beef and Valais wines like Petite Arvine, with the Matterhorn in view. In the low seasons many of these places close.

In Bern the city itself is the sight. The UNESCO-listed old town has kilometres of sandstone arcades, painted fountains, the Zytglogge and the carved Minster portal. On top of that come the Zentrum Paul Klee, the Kunstmuseum and the Einstein Museum, enough for two full days.

Zermatt's heritage is narrow and tied to the mountain: the underground Matterhorn Museum on the 1865 first ascent, the climbers' graves by the church and the larch-wood barns of the Hinterdorf. All of that fits into a morning.

Neither place is known for nights out, and they quieten in different ways. Bern's evenings run all year through the cellar bars under the arcades and along Aarbergergasse, with late, rough-edged parties at the Reitschule and riverside terraces in summer.

Zermatt's nightlife is winter après-ski: ski boots and loud music in slope-side bars, then a few late bars along the main street. In summer the hikers turn in early.

From Bern you can see the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau on a clear day and reach their trails and lifts in about an hour by train. Closer to town there are the Gurten, wooded paths along the Aare and gentle cycling through the Emmental.

Zermatt is far stronger here, because you are already among the high peaks. The Matterhorn rises straight above the streets, cog railways and cable cars climb to the Gornergrat and the Glacier Paradise, and the glacier keeps some pistes open in summer. Walks like the Five Lakes trail and the Europaweg bridge start from the village.

Bern sits at the hub of Swiss railways and is excellent for day trips. Lucerne, Basel and Zurich are about an hour away, Fribourg is twenty minutes, and Gruyères, Murten, Thun and Solothurn make a different outing every day.

Zermatt is at the end of a valley, and every trip starts with a long ride down to the Rhône. Sion's castle hills and vineyards are the best outing, Brig is nearer, and a trip to Bern takes a long day. Most visitors stay in the mountains instead.

Bern gives children more to do: bears on the riverbank, the wooded Dählhölzli zoo, the Natural History Museum's dioramas and a funicular up to the Gurten playground. The Marzili has shallow pools, though the river itself is for strong swimmers only.

Zermatt's appeal is its car-free calm, with nursery slopes at Sunnegga, marmots and cog-railway rides. There is little to do indoors on a wet day, and the air at the highest viewpoints is thin for small children.

Both are easy without a car, but Bern is easier. You can cross the old town on foot in about twenty minutes, dry under the arcades, and punctual trams and short funiculars cover the rest. The station sits right at the top of the centre.

You reach Zermatt by train, usually after parking at Täsch, and then walk or take small electric taxis to the lifts. Hotels on the slopes mean a steep haul with luggage, and leaving the valley takes over an hour.

Bern has more to browse. Arcaded streets run from Spitalgasse to Kramgasse, and down Gerechtigkeitsgasse cellar shops sell antiques, books and design. Weekly markets add cheese and produce.

Zermatt is one main street of watch boutiques, souvenirs and serious outdoor outfitters. It is good for ski or climbing gear and not much else.

Both are among the most expensive places you could choose, and Zermatt is a little harsher. In Bern the hotel transport pass, free sights such as the bear park and the Federal Palace tours, and lunches from the market stalls take some of the pressure off.

In Zermatt every day also brings lift and cog-railway fares. Self-catering, supermarket picnics and staying down the valley in Täsch are the main ways to save.

Bern has a small capital's year-round programme: opera and ballet at the Stadttheater, the symphony orchestra in the Casino, contemporary dance at the Dampfzentrale, plus a spring jazz festival and the Gurtenfestival in July.

Zermatt has no theatre or concert hall. Outside Zermatt Unplugged in spring and the chamber music festival in late summer, live music means an après-ski band.

The two are on a par, but they relax you in different ways. Bern's calm comes from quiet Sundays and long lunches by the river, with a large thermal bath and wellness complex on the western edge and a hammam in the old town.

Zermatt has many hotel spas with mountain views, some of them open to day guests, and the clean, car-free air is restful. In peak weeks, though, the village feels busy and active.