Chamonix or Monaco?

Chamonix has no real swimming of its own. The best you can do is Lac de Passy down the valley in July and August, a day out at Lake Annecy, or the outdoor basin at the municipal pool.

Monaco is far better, though it is no long-beach resort either. Larvotto is short, groomed and sheltered by breakwaters, with warm, clear water in summer. There are rocky coves at Cap d'Ail, and Menton and Nice add proper stretches of beach a few minutes away by train.

Monaco eats better, but only at the top end. It has a striking number of starred and grand hotel dining rooms cooking Riviera and Ligurian food. The Condamine market sells local snacks such as barbagiuan and socca. The weak point is everyday eating, which is scarce and formal.

Chamonix's strength is Savoyard cheese cooking, especially on a refuge terrace facing the glaciers. Its cheese shops and bakeries also make picnics easy. Beyond that, menus repeat the usual resort mix, and many kitchens close between the two main seasons.

Chamonix's heritage is about one subject: the first ascent of Mont Blanc and the birth of alpinism. The Musée Alpin, the guides' quarter and the climbers' cemetery cover it well, and a curious visitor will finish them in half a day.

Monaco offers much more to see, although it is still a compact place. On the Rock are the palace guard ceremony, the cathedral with Grace Kelly's tomb and the Oceanographic Museum on its cliff. Across the harbour are the Casino, the Belle Époque hotels and the national museum's villas. That fills a day or two.

Monaco has more going on after dark, but you dress up for it. Evenings mean the Casino square, the hotel bars and the glossy clubs along Larvotto and the port. It peaks in summer and on Grand Prix weekend, and the rest of the year it goes to bed early.

Chamonix is the opposite in style. Après-ski starts at the foot of the slopes, then moves to a lane of pubs in the old town, and a couple of small clubs stay open late, mostly with a young, English-speaking crowd. It is loud and friendly but small, and it goes quiet in summer and the shoulder seasons.

Chamonix sits at the foot of the highest mountain in Western Europe. The Aiguille du Midi takes you to 3,842m in minutes, the rack railway climbs to the Mer de Glace, and the valley's skiing, climbing and paragliding are among the best anywhere. The one catch is that the high-mountain weather can change quickly.

Monaco's natural side is its setting: limestone cliffs behind the town, the Tête de Chien viewpoint and the old mule path up to Èze. Below are the clear sea for snorkelling and the coastal paths round Cap Martin. It is attractive, but it is a backdrop to the trip rather than the reason for it.

Monaco is the better base for day trips. Villefranche, Nice and Menton are all a short train ride along the coast, and Èze and La Turbie are just up the hill. Antibes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Grasse and the Italian towns of Sanremo and Dolceacqua are also within reach, and you need no car for any of it.

Chamonix also has three countries around it. Courmayeur and Roman Aosta are through the tunnel, Martigny is on the Mont Blanc Express, and Annecy and Geneva are each just over an hour away. Past those, most places nearby are other ski resorts on slow mountain roads.

Both work equally well for children, in very different ways. Chamonix is the active choice: nursery slopes and sledging in winter, and in summer the luge, the treetop courses, the marmots at the Merlet park and the little red train to the Mer de Glace. The high cable cars are not for small children, though, and there is little to do on wet days.

Monaco is the gentler choice, with the aquarium's sharks and turtles, sheltered water at Larvotto and the guard ceremony at the palace. After a couple of days it runs out of things for children, and its formal restaurants are designed for adults.

Chamonix is flat where Monaco is steep. Chamonix's small centre is easy on the legs, the Aiguille du Midi and Montenvers stations are right in town, and the buses and Mont Blanc Express along the valley are free with the guest card. Winter is the weak spot: the ski areas are spread out, so you spend time on packed ski buses, and evening services thin out.

Monaco still comes out easier, even though it rises in steep levels from the sea. The whole principality is only about 3km end to end, free public lifts and escalators handle most of the climbing, and a small solar ferry crosses the harbour. From the station dug into the hillside, the rest of the Riviera is easy to reach without a car.

The difference is specialist mountain gear against luxury fashion houses. Chamonix's pedestrian streets are lined with climbing and ski shops, some run by the same families for generations, and serious mountaineers save their big purchases for a visit here. Apart from those, you can buy Savoyard cheeses, génépi and rock crystals, but for anything else you have to go to Geneva or Annecy.

Monaco offers the wider choice, though almost all of it is expensive. The fashion houses, jewellers and watchmakers of the Carré d'Or are all within a short walk of the Casino, and a covered mall adds a few mainstream labels. There are no real high-street chains or flea markets, so for more ordinary shopping people go to Nice.

Neither place is cheap, but Chamonix is easier to manage on a budget. The guest card makes valley transport free, apartments and supermarkets make self-catering simple, and many trails start without a lift pass. Late spring and autumn cost noticeably less than the peak weeks.

Monaco is priced for the very wealthy, from hotel rooms to a café coffee, and event weekends push rates higher still. Walking the Rock and the gardens costs nothing. Many visitors save money by staying in Beausoleil, Menton or Nice and coming in for the day.

Monaco is much stronger here. The Monte-Carlo Opera performs in the gilded Salle Garnier, the city has a philharmonic orchestra and a ballet company with international reputations, and the Printemps des Arts festival runs in spring. The winter-to-spring season is the time to go for opera and ballet.

Chamonix has no theatre or concert season. You get its summer jazz festival, with some sets played high in the mountains, plus the odd church concert and mountain film nights. For anything more you have to go to Geneva.

The two are about equal for unwinding, but they offer different things. In Chamonix you soak in hot outdoor pools facing the glaciers after a day on the slopes, and Saint-Gervais has warm springs in a wooded gorge down the valley. The town itself starts early and fills up in high season.

Monaco offers seawater thalassotherapy beside the Casino and treatment days in the grand hotel spas. Between treatments you can take a quiet morning in the Japanese Garden, except in Grand Prix week.