Chamonix or Lausanne?

Neither town is a place for a beach vacation, but Lausanne gives you far more chances to swim. In summer Lake Geneva is the city's pool, with lawns and piers at Vidy, the old lido at Bellerive and pebble shores towards Lutry, all within the city.

Chamonix sits too high for that. Swimming there means the municipal pool or a drive down to Lac de Passy, and Lake Annecy is a day trip of its own.

Chamonix serves mountain resort cooking: fondue, tartiflette and Reblochon on terraces facing the glaciers, with menus that start to look alike after a few days. It is at its best as a picnic of local cheese and charcuterie on a trail.

Lausanne has more range and a stronger link to its land. Lake perch and papet vaudois come with Chasselas from the Lavaux terraces, the Saturday market brings in produce from the countryside, and some celebrated high-end tables sit in and around the city.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Chamonix's sights all tell the story of alpinism: the Musée Alpin, the statues of the first Mont Blanc climbers and the climbers' cemetery. They make a good half day and no more.

Lausanne has a Gothic cathedral where a night watchman still calls the hours, a steep medieval old town and a run of museums, from the Olympic Museum at Ouchy to the fine art, photography and design collections at Plateforme 10. Those take two or three days to see properly.

Chamonix's nights follow the seasons. In winter, après-ski starts every late afternoon at the foot of the slopes. Later it moves to a lane of bars in the old town, where guides, seasonal workers and young English-speaking visitors mix, and a couple of small clubs stay open late on busy nights. Summer evenings are mostly terrace drinks after a day on the hills, and in the shoulder seasons many places close.

Lausanne goes out a little more, and its nights run on its students. Clubs and late bars fill the converted warehouses of the Flon on Friday and Saturday, and in summer the evenings move to the lakeside at Ouchy. During the week the city is quiet.

Chamonix puts you inside the high mountains, while Lausanne looks across the water at them. From Chamonix, cable cars climb to the Aiguille du Midi, where the Vallée Blanche glacier descent begins, and the rack railway runs to the Mer de Glace. The Tour du Mont Blanc starts from the valley floor.

Lausanne's outdoors is gentler and more varied. There are the UNESCO-listed vineyard walks of Lavaux, sailing and paddleboarding on the lake, and the forest of Sauvabelin. The Vaud Alps and the Jura are about an hour away for skiing and longer hikes.

Chamonix's outings depend on its border position. You can drive through the tunnel to Courmayeur and Roman Aosta, take the road to Annecy or Geneva, or ride the Mont Blanc Express over to Martigny. Beyond those, most places in reach are other resorts, and mountain roads slow you down.

Lausanne is the better base. Trains go along the lake to Montreux and the Château de Chillon, and on to Bern, Fribourg, Gruyères, Neuchâtel and Murten, and boats cross to Évian. You can do almost all of it without a car.

Lausanne has a slight edge with children, and the two towns suit different ages. Chamonix is a summer and winter playground for outdoorsy families, with nursery slopes, the luge, the Merlet animal park and the little red train. The high cable cars do not suit toddlers, and there is little to do on wet days.

Lausanne covers rainy days better, with the hands-on Olympic Museum, the aquarium-vivarium, the pedal boats at Sauvabelin and paddle steamers on the lake. The trade-off is steep streets that are hard work with a pushchair.

Lausanne is the easier of the two to get around. Its streets climb steeply, but the m2 metro carries you up from the lakeshore to the upper town, and the main station connects to fast, punctual trains across the country.

Chamonix's centre is flat and easy to walk, and buses and the valley train are free with the guest card. In winter, though, the ski areas are spread out, the ski buses get packed and evening services thin out.

Chamonix is very good at one thing: technical climbing, ski and outdoor gear from long-established specialist shops. Beyond that you will find cheese, génépi and souvenirs.

Lausanne has a broader if modest mix. Rue de Bourg has Swiss watches, jewellery and chocolatiers, and you will also find familiar fashion names around Saint-François and Lavaux wine to take home. It still lacks a real luxury district.

Both towns are expensive, but Chamonix gives you more ways to keep costs down. Self-catering apartments, free valley transport and trails that start without a lift all help, especially outside the February and summer peaks. Lift passes and guides are where the money goes.

In Lausanne, Swiss city prices apply to hotels, meals, wine and taxis alike. Picnics, the free lakeside promenades and a glass of Chasselas in a village caveau are the main ways to save.

Lausanne has by far the richer stage life. The Béjart Ballet and the Prix de Lausanne make it a dance city, the Théâtre de Vidy stages contemporary work that tours Europe, and there is a full opera season and a respected chamber orchestra. The Montreux Jazz Festival is a short train ride away.

Chamonix offers a summer jazz festival with some sets played up in the mountains, mountain film evenings and little else. For opera or a symphony orchestra, you have to go to Geneva.

The two are about level here, but the relaxation is of different kinds. In Chamonix you unwind after effort. There are hot outdoor pools and saunas facing the glaciers at the town's large spa, and Saint-Gervais has thermal springs in a wooded gorge nearby.

In Lausanne the calm is slower and spread around the city. You can walk along the lakeside promenades and through the Lavaux vines, use the spas in the grand lakeside hotels, or take the train to the warm springs at Yverdon-les-Bains or Lavey-les-Bains.