Chamonix or Whistler?

Neither is a swimming destination, but Whistler makes more of its summer water. Lost Lake is a walk from the village and has a sandy shore and a dock, and Alta and Alpha lakes have grassy parks and rafts, so a swim fits easily into a July or August afternoon.

In Chamonix the water is further away. You have the town pool's outdoor basin, or a drive down the Arve valley to little Lac de Passy. Lake Annecy is the better outing, but it is more than an hour away.

The two eat at much the same level, and both are held back by resort menus, but the flavours could hardly be more different. Chamonix is cheese country: fondue, raclette and tartiflette made with Reblochon and Beaufort, eaten on refuge terraces facing the glaciers, with cheese shops and charcuteries for a picnic on the hill.

Whistler cooks Pacific Northwest produce, such as BC salmon and spot prawns, with serious British Columbia wine lists, and its daily ritual is nachos and craft beer on the patios at the foot of the gondolas. In Chamonix, watch for places closing in the off-seasons. In Whistler the limit is a narrow choice spread over the same few streets.

A few hours covers the sights in either town. Chamonix's heritage is mountaineering itself. The Musée Alpin fills a Belle Époque palace hotel, statues of the men who first climbed Mont Blanc stand in the centre, and the climbers' cemetery completes the story.

Whistler was built as a resort and has no old town, so it offers art and Indigenous culture instead. The Audain Art Museum holds Emily Carr paintings and Northwest Coast masks, and the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre tells the story of the two nations whose land this is. Both towns have Olympic history: Chamonix hosted the very first Winter Games in 1924, and Whistler shared the 2010 Games.

Both run on après-ski and a young, seasonal crowd, and both go quiet outside winter. In Chamonix the evening ends up in a narrow old-town lane of pubs where guides, seasonal workers and visitors mix, with only two or three small clubs after that. Whistler leans more towards clubbing, with late venues in the pedestrian village that stay loud on winter weekends and fill up again for the summer bike festivals.

These are two of the world's great mountain bases, and the difference lies in what you do there. Chamonix is about height and ice. Cable cars climb to 3,842m on the Aiguille du Midi, the Vallée Blanche runs down a glacier, and mountaineering, via ferrata and the Tour du Mont Blanc all start from town.

Whistler is about size and riding. Two huge mountains are linked by the Peak 2 Peak Gondola and get deep Coast Mountains snow. In summer it has a famous downhill bike park and the turquoise lakes of Garibaldi, and black bears are often seen on the slopes.

Chamonix wins easily here, because three countries meet around it. Courmayeur and Roman Aosta are through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, Annecy and Geneva are a little over an hour by car, and the Mont Blanc Express crosses into Switzerland to Martigny.

From Whistler the road mostly leads into wilderness. Squamish and Pemberton are small, and the Britannia mine museum makes a stop on the way. The only city is Vancouver, two hours down the Sea to Sky Highway, and it works better with a night's stay.

Whistler is the easier choice with children. The village is car-free, the ski schools are large, the gentle gondola runs suit beginners and condos with kitchens are common. Summer adds lake beaches, mini-golf and an adventure park at the base of Blackcomb.

Chamonix works for outdoor families too, with nursery slopes, the summer luge, the Merlet animal park and the little red train to the Mer de Glace. But its highest cable cars climb too high and too fast for small children, and on a rainy day there is little to fall back on.

You can manage without a car in either. Chamonix has the advantage of a railway: the Mont Blanc Express and the buses link the hamlets from Les Houches to Vallorcine, free with the guest card. Because its ski areas are spread out, though, winter means packed ski buses.

Whistler has no train, but its pedestrian village puts both gondolas on your doorstep, and the paved Valley Trail makes it a pleasure to walk or cycle between the lakes.

Both are gear towns first, full of skis, climbing kit and technical clothing, with little fashion beyond that. Chamonix's old outdoor shops are where climbers save up their big purchases, and its food shops sell Savoyard cheese, cured meats and génépi.

Whistler has galleries of Indigenous prints and carvings and a summer farmers' market in the Upper Village instead. For wider shopping, Chamonix has Geneva and Annecy within easy reach, which Whistler cannot match.

Neither is cheap, but Chamonix is a little easier on the wallet. Valley transport is free with the guest card, apartments make self-catering simple, and many trails start from the valley floor without paying for a lift.

Whistler's lift passes are among the world's costliest, eating out in the village is priced for visitors, and lessons and rentals add up quickly for families. Staying further down the valley and cooking for yourself helps, but only so far.

Chamonix's long-running summer jazz festival, with some sets played high in the mountains, is the one event with real character. Whistler's summer brings free concerts in Olympic Plaza and buskers in the village streets.

Through the rest of the year Whistler does slightly more, with a small community arts centre for local theatre and touring shows, and bands in the pubs through the ski season. In Chamonix there are just church concerts and mountain film evenings. Both are thin, though: for opera, a symphony or a proper play, you head to Geneva from Chamonix or down to Vancouver from Whistler.

Whistler is the better place to slow down. Its Nordic-style spa in the cedar forest, with silent hot pools and cold plunges beside the river, is a highlight in itself. Most big hotels have full spas, and a quiet week of walks and soaks is easy in late spring or early autumn.

Chamonix has a large spa on the Italian thermal model, facing the glaciers, and the old springs of Saint-Gervais down the valley. The town itself, though, is busier and built around early starts and hard effort.