Chamonix or Portofino?

Portofino wins easily here. Even without a proper beach, it offers swimming in very clear, deep water from the rock platforms, the small sandy bay at Paraggi and pebble coves reached by boat. The catch is that every spot is small and fills up in summer.

In Chamonix, water is an occasional extra. Lac de Passy and the summer outdoor pool are for an afternoon off, and Lake Annecy is a day out by car, not part of daily life.

The two are much the same in quality but very different in style. Chamonix serves hearty Savoyard cheese dishes such as fondue, raclette and tartiflette, eaten in mountain refuges facing the glaciers, plus a wider spread of resort bistros. Portofino is about Ligurian pesto, fritto misto and Recco focaccia on harbour terraces, where you pay mostly for the view. Keen eaters in Portofino tend to head to Camogli or the hill trattorie instead.

Neither is a sightseeing destination, but the two are interesting in different ways. Chamonix tells a story: the birth of alpinism and the 1924 Winter Olympics, set out in the Musée Alpin and around the old guides' quarter. Half a day covers it.

In Portofino the sight is the setting: the painted horseshoe of houses around the harbour, Castello Brown above it and the abbey of San Fruttuoso in its cove with no road. Allow about a day, mostly on foot or by boat.

Chamonix gives you far more of an evening. Après-ski fills the bars from late afternoon, a lane of pubs in the old town stays loud until late, and a couple of small clubs carry on further. The crowd is young and mostly English-speaking.

Portofino stops at the aperitivo. You dress up for drinks facing the yachts and a long dinner, and then the village goes quiet. Anyone wanting more takes the road to Santa Margherita or Rapallo.

Both are outstanding, but Chamonix is on another scale. Cable cars carry you from the valley floor almost to 3,842m, among hanging glaciers and granite spires. Skiing, mountaineering, climbing and paragliding all start from town.

Portofino's protected headland is smaller and gentler. Trails through holm oak and pine lead over the cliffs to San Fruttuoso, and offshore the marine reserve has coral walls and the sunken Christ of the Abyss, which divers come for.

Portofino has the richer choice. A row of coastal towns lies a short bus or boat ride away, Genoa's medieval centre and palaces are within an hour, and summer ferries reach the Cinque Terre and Portovenere. Getting there by water is half the fun.

Chamonix's strength is crossing borders: Courmayeur and Roman Aosta through the tunnel, Annecy and Geneva by road, and Martigny by train. After those, most of what is within reach is other ski resorts along slow mountain roads.

Chamonix is much better for children. Nursery slopes and sledging in winter, and easy lake walks, the luge and the animal park in summer, give a family plenty to do. The small, walkable town helps too, although rainy days and the highest cable cars are harder with toddlers.

Portofino is safe but built around adults. Children enjoy the boats and the castle, but there are no playgrounds and the steps rule out pushchairs. Most families stay in Santa Margherita or Rapallo instead.

Chamonix is easier to get around. A flat walkable centre, the cable car stations in town, and free valley buses and trains with the guest card mean you can do without a car, though winter ski buses get packed.

In Portofino, the village takes minutes to cross on foot, but one narrow coast road is the only way in. It jams in summer and has little parking. Ferries and the bus to Santa Margherita station are the practical links.

Both offer an hour's browse rather than a shopping trip, but the stock differs completely. Chamonix's streets are full of technical climbing and ski shops that serious mountaineers plan purchases around. Portofino's few lanes carry big fashion and jewellery names and resort wear aimed at the yacht crowd, with Ligurian lace and pesto on the side.

Both are expensive, but Portofino is costlier still. Its handful of luxury hotels charge big-city prices in summer, and loungers, boat hire and harbour drinks add up. Many visitors stay along the coast and come in for the day.

Chamonix gives you more ways to save. You can rent an apartment and cook, travel free in the valley with the guest card, and set off on trails without a lift pass. The shoulder seasons also bring prices down.

Neither offers much, so in both places a serious evening of music means a trip to the nearest city. Chamonix's best offering is its summer jazz festival, with some sets played high in the mountains, plus mountain film nights. For opera or an orchestra you go to Geneva. In Portofino it is the odd summer concert in the piazzetta or at the castle, while Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice has the full season.

Chamonix has more to offer. A large day spa with hot outdoor pools faces the glaciers, chalet saunas are common, and Saint-Gervais has a thermal gorge nearby. The town itself is busy and starts early, though.

Portofino's calm comes from its pace, not from any spa culture. It is restful early in the morning, in the evening and off-season, with hotel spas the only treatments. Tour-boat crowds break the peace at midday in summer.