Chamonix or Turin?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but Chamonix has water closer to hand. Lac de Passy, down the Arve valley, has a sandy strip where you can swim facing Mont Blanc in July and August, and Lake Annecy is a little over an hour away.

Turin has nothing of its own worth planning around. In summer locals swim in small lakes such as Avigliana, and the Ligurian sea is a long round trip, so it is better as a separate stay on the coast.

Turin is one of Italy's serious food cities, while Chamonix eats like a ski resort. In the valley the pleasures are fondue, raclette and tartiflette on a terrace facing the glaciers, or a picnic from the cheese shops. But the menus repeat, and many places close between seasons.

Turin has a whole regional cuisine: vitello tonnato, agnolotti del plin, white truffles from the Langhe and wine lists built on Barolo and Barbaresco. Add vermouth and the aperitivo, bicerin in the arcade cafés and gianduja chocolate, and it rewards a food trip in a way Chamonix cannot.

Chamonix's heritage tells a single story, mountaineering. You find it in the Musée Alpin, the old guides' quarter and the climbers' cemetery, and it takes about half a day. That makes a good wet afternoon, but it is not a reason to travel.

Turin was the first capital of united Italy and still looks the part. The Museo Egizio alone justifies a visit. The Royal Palace, Palazzo Madama, the Savoy residence at Venaria, the Cinema Museum inside the Mole and contemporary art at Rivoli add up to days of sightseeing.

Turin has the broader night out. It starts with an aperitivo around seven and moves on to the wine bars of the Quadrilatero Romano, the crowded pavements of San Salvario and, in summer, the riverside Murazzi. The mood is easy-going rather than wild.

In Chamonix the evening is après-ski: loud, young and mostly English-speaking, packed into one old-town lane and a couple of small clubs. It is good fun in a winter week, much quieter in summer, and largely shut in the shoulder seasons.

Here Chamonix is in a different league. The Aiguille du Midi lifts you to 3,842m from the middle of town, the Mer de Glace is a short train ride away, and the Tour du Mont Blanc and steep ski terrain start at the door.

Turin comes a strong second rather than competing head to head. The Gran Paradiso, the Susa valley and the Via Lattea ski slopes are an hour or more away, which suits a city stay with a mountain day or two. In town, the Superga hills and Valentino park along the Po offer gentler green space.

Turin has the richer choice of days out. The Langhe wine villages of Barolo and La Morra and the truffle town of Alba are about an hour south, Milan is an hour away by fast train, and the Sacra di San Michele and Genoa's old port add more.

Chamonix's strength is its borders. Courmayeur is just through the tunnel, the Mont Blanc Express runs into Switzerland, Annecy and Geneva are easy by car, and Roman Aosta is within reach of both cities. Beyond those, most places are other resorts at the end of slow mountain roads.

Both cities work for families, but in opposite ways. Chamonix is an outdoor playground, with nursery slopes and sledging in winter and, in summer, the luge, treetop courses, the Merlet animal park and the little red train to the Mer de Glace. The catches are cost and altitude, since the highest cable cars are no place for small children.

Turin suits children who like indoor wonders: the Egyptian mummies, the glass lift up the Mole and the car museum. The flat, arcaded centre is easy with a pushchair, but the zoo park is out of town and summers on the plain get sticky.

Both centres are easy on foot, and the difference lies in what links them to the rest. In Chamonix, valley buses and the Mont Blanc Express serve the hamlets and ski areas, free with the guest card, though winter ski buses are packed and evening services thin out.

Turin is a grid of long arcades that you can walk from Porta Nuova to the Po, with one driverless metro line and slower trams and buses. Its stations connect well to the rest of Italy, while most visitors reach Chamonix by shuttle from Geneva.

Turin is the better place to shop for anything beyond equipment. The arcades of Via Roma carry the big fashion labels, the Quadrilatero has smaller boutiques, Via Maria Vittoria has antique dealers and the Balon flea market fills Saturdays, though serious designer shopping is limited. The chocolate and truffle shops sell the best things to take home.

Chamonix's strength is narrow but real: climbing and ski shops, some generations old, with expertise few towns can match. Beyond them you will find Savoyard cheese, génépi, rock crystals and souvenirs.

Turin is far easier on the wallet. Central hotels are fairly priced for most of the year, a generous aperitivo can stand in for dinner and public transport is cheap. Costs climb mainly for fine dining and in truffle season.

Chamonix is expensive at every turn in the peak weeks, from chalets to lift passes and guides. Free valley transport, self-catering and trails that need no lift soften the bill, and so do the quieter months, though some lifts close then.

Turin has a real season and Chamonix does not. The Teatro Regio stages opera and ballet, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra plays in its own auditorium, and the Lingotto hall and the jazz clubs fill out the year, though theatre is almost all in Italian.

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

Chamonix is better for recovering after effort. Its large day spa has hot outdoor pools and saunas facing the glaciers, many chalets have their own, and the thermal springs of Saint-Gervais are about 25 minutes away. The town itself is far from calm, so for real quiet choose the hamlets or the shoulder seasons.

Turin has no bathing culture beyond hotel spas, and the nearest thermal waters, at Acqui Terme, are close to two hours away. Its calm lies elsewhere: long café stops, strolls under the arcades and slow afternoons in Valentino park.