Chamonix or Lucerne?

Lucerne has a genuine summer swimming culture right in town. In July and August locals swim from the Lido, the old wooden lake baths and the lawns at Ufschötti, and boats run to the bathing spots in the lakeside villages. The shore is grass and jetties, not sand, but the water is clean and the mountains frame it.

In Chamonix a swim takes planning. The nearest lake is Lac de Passy, down the Arve valley, Lake Annecy is over an hour's drive away, and in town there is the municipal pool. In both places a swim is an afternoon off, but in Lucerne it is a short walk from your hotel.

Both places lean on melted cheese, and neither is a reason to travel on its own. The difference is in setting and style. Chamonix serves Savoyard food made with Reblochon and Beaufort, eaten on refuge terraces facing the glaciers, and its cheese shops and charcuteries are good for building a picnic for the hills. Many places close outside the winter and summer seasons.

Lucerne eats in town: Chügelipastete, perch and whitefish from the lake, and rösti in wood-panelled guild houses and riverside terraces along the Reuss. Some menus around the Chapel Bridge are aimed at coach tours, but the Saturday market adds some variety.

Lucerne is clearly the place for sightseeing. The covered Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the frescoed squares of the Old Town, the towers of the Musegg Wall, the carved Lion Monument and a strong Picasso and Klee collection at the Rosengart easily fill a day or two.

Chamonix's heritage is mountaineering: the first ascent of Mont Blanc, the first Winter Olympics, the Musée Alpin and the climbers' cemetery. It is interesting for an hour or two, but it will not hold anyone who came for architecture or art.

Chamonix has the livelier evenings, especially in winter. Après-ski starts at the foot of the slopes in the late afternoon, then moves to a lane of pubs in the old town where guides, seasonal workers and visitors stay out late. On busy nights a couple of small clubs keep going. The crowd is young and mostly English-speaking.

Lucerne is a place for a glass of wine by the river and an early night. It has a few cocktail bars in the Neustadt and a little student life at weekends, but the lakefront is quiet by midnight. Fasnacht is the one time the whole town is out until dawn.

Both are superb mountain bases, but Chamonix is the real high mountains. The Mont Blanc massif rises almost 4km above the valley, the Aiguille du Midi lifts you to 3,842m among hanging glaciers, and mountaineering, steep skiing and the Vallée Blanche descent are all on the doorstep.

Lucerne's landscape is about lake and peaks together. The cogwheel railway up Pilatus, the ridge walks on Rigi and the paddle steamers make it easy to combine boat, train and hike in one relaxed day, and Titlis adds glacier snow about an hour away. It is more for scenery than for serious climbing.

Lucerne has the wider range of day trips, because it sits at the centre of the Swiss rail network. Bern's arcaded old town, Basel's art museums and Zurich are each under an hour by train, and the lake itself makes an outing to the Rütli meadow and the William Tell country around Altdorf.

Chamonix's appeal is crossing borders. Courmayeur and the Roman remains of Aosta are through the tunnel in Italy, and Annecy and Geneva are a little over an hour by road. Beyond those, mountain roads are slow and most places within reach are other resorts.

Lucerne has a slight edge with children, mainly thanks to the Swiss Museum of Transport, which fills a whole day whatever the weather. Steamers and cogwheel trains turn the journeys into the fun, and the lakeside lawns are good for play and picnics.

Chamonix is better for active families who want to be outdoors, with nursery slopes, sledging, the Merlet animal park and the little red train to the Mer de Glace. The high cable cars do not suit small children, though, and on a wet day there is less to fall back on.

Lucerne is easier to get around. The station, the boat piers and the Old Town sit together on the lakefront, and integrated tickets cover buses, steamers, cogwheel railways and cable cars, so you never need a car, even for excursions.

Chamonix's centre is just as easy to walk, and guests ride the valley buses and the Mont Blanc Express free. The ski areas are spread out, though, so winter means crowded ski buses and thin evening services, and a car helps for trips over the border.

Lucerne has more to browse. Watch and jewellery houses line Schwanenplatz and the lakefront, alongside chocolate, army knives and cuckoo clocks, with a few independent boutiques in the Old Town lanes. Fashion and design are thin, though.

Chamonix's shops are almost all about mountain gear. Its family-run climbing and ski shops are worth the trip for anyone buying serious equipment, and the food shops sell cheeses and génépi. For anything else you would go to Geneva or Annecy.

Neither place is cheap, but Chamonix gives you more ways to keep costs down. Valley transport is free with the guest card, self-catering apartments are common, many trails start from the valley floor without a lift, and the shoulder seasons are noticeably cheaper.

Lucerne is costly from hotel to simple lunch, and the mountain railways that make the stay worthwhile take a large share of the budget. A Swiss travel pass and picnics by the lake help a little, but this is never a budget trip.

Here Lucerne is in a different league. The Lucerne Festival brings leading orchestras and soloists to Jean Nouvel's concert hall, which is famous for its acoustics and has concerts all year. The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra plays there, and the city theatre stages opera and dance.

Chamonix has a summer jazz festival with some sets played high in the mountains, plus the odd church concert or mountain film evening. For opera or an orchestra you would drive to Geneva.

Chamonix has the better place for a soak. Its large day spa has hot outdoor pools facing the glaciers, and Saint-Gervais, down the valley, has warm thermal springs in a wooded gorge. The town itself is busy, with early starts and crowded high seasons.

Lucerne's relaxation is calmer and slower: quiet evenings, walks along the lake promenades, an afternoon on a steamer and the wooden lake baths in summer. For a proper mineral bath you take the boat and cogwheel train to the Botta-designed bath on the Rigi.