Chamonix or Verona?

Neither has a coast, but Verona has proper summer swimming within easy reach. The southern shore of Lake Garda is about half an hour away by car or train, with lidos, lawns and Sirmione's flat limestone shelves, and the water is warm and calm from June to September.

Around Chamonix, swimming means Lac de Passy lower down the valley, the town's outdoor pool, or a longer drive to Lake Annecy. These are pleasant afternoons off, and only in high summer.

Chamonix serves hearty Savoyard cheese dishes such as fondue, raclette and tartiflette, and they taste best on a refuge terrace facing a glacier. Beyond that, the menus are typical of a resort, and many places close outside the two main seasons.

Verona offers more depth. Amarone risotto, bigoli with duck and bollito with pearà are served in old osterie around Piazza delle Erbe and in Veronetta. Its real strength is wine, because Valpolicella, Soave and Bardolino are made nearby and drunk at counters every evening.

The gap is large. Chamonix's heritage is the story of alpinism: the Musée Alpin, the pioneers' statues, the guides' quarter and the climbers' cemetery. It is interesting, but you can see it all in a morning.

Verona's UNESCO-listed centre will fill two or three full days. It has a Roman amphitheatre still in use, the Roman theatre below Castel San Pietro, the Romanesque Basilica of San Zeno, Gothic Sant'Anastasia, and Castelvecchio's art collection in Carlo Scarpa's famous setting.

Both towns go out on a similar scale, but in different ways. Chamonix is loud and beer-led: winter après-ski moves into a lane of pubs in the old town, and a couple of small clubs stay open late, mostly for a young, English-speaking crowd. Things go quiet in summer and in the shoulder seasons.

Verona's evenings revolve around wine. The aperitivo crowd spills across Piazza delle Erbe, younger bars in Veronetta stay open later, and on summer opera nights the centre fills again near midnight. Neither city has much of a dance scene.

Chamonix is one of the great mountain landscapes in the world. The Mont Blanc massif rises almost 4km above the town, and cable cars take you straight into glacier terrain. Skiing, mountaineering, climbing and trail running are all close at hand, though the weather up high can change fast.

Verona's outdoors is gentler: vineyard walks in Valpolicella, the Adige cycle route, beech woods on the Lessinia plateau, and Monte Baldo and the windsurfing waters of Garda an hour away. It is lovely countryside, but not high Alpine scenery.

Verona is the far better base for days out. Venice, Padua's Giotto frescoes, Palladio's Vicenza and Mantua are all an easy train ride away, and the Garda lake towns and Soave's walls are close by.

Chamonix's best trips cross borders: through the tunnel to Courmayeur and Roman Aosta, or out to Annecy, Geneva and Swiss Martigny. After those, mountain roads are slow and most places within reach are other resorts.

Verona has a slight edge for families, thanks to Italy's biggest theme park, the water parks around Garda and a drive-through safari zoo, all about half an hour away. Most of these need a car, though, and summer afternoons in town can be very hot.

Chamonix suits active families. Children can try nursery slopes and sledging in winter, or ride the summer luge and treetop courses, take the red train to the Mer de Glace and watch marmots at the animal park in Les Houches. The highest lifts are not suitable for toddlers, and there is little to do on wet days.

Both have small, flat centres you can explore on foot. In Chamonix, the free valley buses and the Mont Blanc Express also take you to the ski areas and trailheads, though winter ski buses are crowded.

In Verona, the walk is the point: everything inside the river loop is a short stroll apart. Good rail links to Venice, Milan and the lake handle longer journeys, but you need a car for the wine villages and the Lessinia.

Verona is better for general shopping. The marble-paved Via Mazzini has Italian fashion labels, side streets have jewellers and shoe shops, and Amarone, Garda olive oil and pandoro make good gifts to take home.

Chamonix is excellent for one thing: technical climbing and ski gear from long-established specialist shops. Apart from that, it offers cheese, génépi, crystals and souvenirs.

Neither is cheap, but Chamonix costs noticeably more. Lift passes, the big cable cars, guides and peak-season chalets add up quickly. Free valley transport, self-catering and picnics help, as does travelling in the shoulder seasons.

In Verona, the walkable centre and good-value local wine keep daily costs down. The main expense is a central hotel, especially on opera nights, but you can save by staying near the station or across the river.

Verona is far ahead here. Summer opera in the Roman Arena is reason enough to visit for many people, and the Teatro Filarmonico season and the summer festival at the Roman theatre cover the rest of the year.

Chamonix has a summer jazz festival, with some sets played high in the mountains, and occasional church concerts and film evenings. For opera or an orchestra, you would have to go to Geneva.

The two are broadly level, but they offer different kinds of rest. In Chamonix you earn it. After a day on the slopes or the trails, the big day spa has hot outdoor pools and steam rooms facing straight up at the glaciers, many chalets have their own saunas, and the old thermal baths of Saint-Gervais sit in a wooded gorge down the valley. The town around them is busy and energetic, so it rests tired legs better than it calms the mind.\n\nVerona is calm without the effort.

Its rest comes from the pace of the day: a long lunch, a walk along the Adige at dusk, an hour on the terraces of the Giardino Giusti. For warm water you leave the city for Sirmione's spa above Lake Garda, the spring-fed lake near Lazise or the springs at Caldiero, used since Roman times. Apart from the summer crowds around the Arena, the city stays quiet.