Chamonix or Innsbruck?

Neither is a place to swim, but Innsbruck does a little better on a hot day. Locals go up to the small, shallow Lanser See and Natterer See on the plateaus just above the city, where the water gets warm enough for a comfortable dip in high summer.

From Chamonix, the nearest proper bathing spot is Lac de Passy, further down the Arve valley with Mont Blanc straight ahead. Otherwise it is the town pool, or Lake Annecy, which is more than an hour's drive away.

The two eat equally well, but the cooking is different. Chamonix is about Savoyard cheese: fondue, raclette and tartiflette made with Reblochon and Beaufort, with Savoie white wine on the side. In Innsbruck it is Tyrolean Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn, plus Viennese-style coffee houses with strudel that Chamonix has no equivalent for.

In both places, the best meals tend to be at mountain huts. Chamonix's resort kitchens can feel repetitive, and many close between seasons. Innsbruck's student districts add cheaper, more varied places, although the inns by the Golden Roof are mostly aimed at tour groups.

Innsbruck is far stronger here. Its arcaded old town by the Inn holds the Golden Roof, the Hofburg and the Hofkirche, where the tomb of Maximilian I is guarded by giant bronze figures. Ambras Castle, with its cabinet of curiosities and Habsburg portraits, could fill a morning on its own, so it takes two or three days to see the city properly.

Chamonix's heritage is the story of climbing: the Musée Alpin in an old palace hotel, the statues of the first Mont Blanc climbers and the climbers' cemetery. It is worth a few hours, but Chamonix is a place for looking at peaks, not buildings.

The two are about level for nights out, but the crowds differ. Chamonix's evenings follow the ski calendar: après-ski at the foot of the slopes, then a narrow lane of pubs packed with guides, seasonal workers and a young, mostly English-speaking crowd, and a couple of small clubs on busy nights.

Innsbruck's nightlife runs on its university. Bars and small clubs fill the brick arches under the railway viaduct, and there are wine bars near the campus. Many winter visitors do their partying at après-ski in the surrounding resorts rather than in town.

Both are among the best mountain bases in Europe, but they suit different trips. Chamonix is higher and wilder, with Mont Blanc towering almost 4km above the valley floor. Its cable cars reach glacier terrain at the Aiguille du Midi, and from town you can set out on the Vallée Blanche or the Tour du Mont Blanc.

Innsbruck's strength is how close the mountains are to the city. You can go from a café in the old town to the Nordkette ridge in under half an hour, with the Karwendel nature park behind it and the Stubai Glacier for skiing almost all year. There is more gentle hiking and rafting here, but less high-altitude ice.

Innsbruck has the wider choice, mainly because it is on the main railway lines through the Alps. Medieval Hall in Tirol is ten minutes away, and Munich, Salzburg, Bolzano with Ötzi the Iceman, and Merano can all be reached by train. Neuschwanstein is about two hours by car.

Chamonix's best outings cross a border: Courmayeur and Roman Aosta through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, Martigny on the Mont Blanc Express, and Annecy and Geneva by road. Beyond those, mountain roads are slow and most of what is within reach is other resorts.

Families do equally well in either, and in both the animals are the highlight. Chamonix has the Merlet park, where ibex and marmots roam a slope facing Mont Blanc, plus the red train to the Mer de Glace and a summer luge, although its highest cable cars go too high too fast for small children.

Innsbruck's Alpenzoo is on the same funicular line as the Nordkette, the warm plateau lakes are good for family swims, and the Swarovski Crystal Worlds have a play tower. In both towns, rainy days with small children take some planning.

Innsbruck is easier to get around, because it is a real city with trams. Trams and buses cover the city and run out to Igls and the Stubai valley, the main station is in the centre, and the Hungerburg funicular leaves from the edge of the old town.

Chamonix's centre is just as easy on foot, and with the guest card the buses and the valley train are free. Its ski areas are spread out along the valley, though, so winter days mean crowded ski buses, and evening services are thin.

Innsbruck offers a bit more shopping in general: high-street chains along Maria-Theresien-Strasse, and loden jackets, dirndls and woodcarvings in the old-town arcades. Chamonix's pedestrian streets specialise in technical climbing and ski gear, in shops that go back generations, plus génépi and rock crystals. Anyone who wants fashion beyond that will end up in Geneva or Annecy.

Neither is a bargain, but Innsbruck is clearly the cheaper stay. It has ordinary Western European city prices with a resort premium on top, the trams are fairly priced, and its city cards bundle lifts and sights together.

Chamonix charges the prices of a famous resort, and the big cable cars, mountain guides and paragliding flights add up fast. Free valley transport, picnics and trails that start from the valley floor help. In both towns, spring and autumn are cheaper than the peak weeks.

Innsbruck has a proper season. The Tiroler Landestheater stages opera, operetta and dance, a symphony orchestra plays in the congress hall, and every summer the Festival of Early Music fills historic rooms such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras Castle.

Chamonix has only its summer jazz festival, with some sets played high in the mountains, and the odd church concert or mountain film evening. For anything more, you have to go to Geneva.

Chamonix is the better place to unwind after a hard day outdoors. Its big day spa, built on the Italian thermal model, has hot outdoor pools that look straight up at the glaciers, and the warm springs of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains are about 25 minutes down the valley. The town itself, though, is busy, with early starts and climbers everywhere.

Innsbruck has no springs of its own, so wellness there means hotel spas in Igls and on the plateaus, or the large thermal complexes in the Ötztal and Zillertal, about an hour away. Its unhurried streets are calmer to come back to.