Como or Zurich?

Neither city has sand, and both swim from lidos with lawns and pontoons, but Zurich does it better. Its lake is clean and clear right in the centre, with wooden bathing houses at Utoquai and Mythenquai, and the river baths at Letten let you drift down the Limmat with the current.

In Como the water at the city's busy southern tip is less inviting, so the lido beside Villa Olmo is a pleasant stop rather than a destination, and the better swimming is from the pebble strands and jetties of Moltrasio or the Tremezzina, a ferry ride up the lake.

Zurich has the broader table: guild-house dining rooms serving Zürcher Geschnetzeltes with rösti, fondue in winter, a fine-dining tier, casual international places around Langstrasse, and chocolate good enough to plan a day around. Como is more regional and narrower, a provincial city's range of perch risotto, missoltini and polenta with valley cheese.

What Como does well is the aperitivo on the squares around the cathedral and the family-run places up the lake and in the hills. Neither city has much street food, and in Zurich every meal, casual or not, comes at a high price.

Zurich has the deeper museums. The Kunsthaus, the Swiss National Museum and the Museum Rietberg can each fill a morning, and the Fraumünster's Chagall windows and the Grossmünster, where the Swiss Reformation began, add history to a compact Altstadt that takes two or three days.

Como is smaller but rewarding for anyone who cares about buildings: the marble cathedral, the Romanesque masonry of Sant'Abbondio and San Fedele, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio, a pilgrimage for architects. With the Tempio Voltiano and the silk museum, it is comfortably seen in a day.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Zurich has a deep electronic music scene, with clubs in Kreis 4 and 5 and the old industrial spaces of Zurich West open until morning at weekends, the Street Parade on the lake shore every August, and summer drinks in the bathing houses.

Como's night is the aperitivo, dinner, a glass in a wine bar near Piazza Duomo and a stroll along the lakefront. There are no clubs, and young locals wanting a late night take the train to Milan.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but the landscape works differently. At Como the drama begins at the water's edge: the funicular climbs to Brunate in minutes, the Via dei Monti Lariani and the Greenway follow the steep shores, and road cyclists take on the climb to the Madonna del Ghisallo, with kayaking and paddling on a narrow glacial lake.

Zurich's own surroundings are gentler, lake promenades and the forested Uetliberg ridge, but the high Alps of Rigi, Pilatus and the Glarus valleys are about an hour away, and in winter you can ski for the day at Flumserberg, which Como does not offer as easily.

Ferries set the rhythm of a day out from Como. Boats and hydrofoils run up the lake to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello. Trains add Milan's Last Supper, Swiss Lugano and Bergamo's upper town, so a single stay takes in two countries.

From Zurich the railway does the work instead. Lucerne, Bern, Basel and St Gallen's abbey library are each about an hour away, with the Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein to the north. Here the outings are a run of distinct cities rather than a string of lake villages.

Zurich is much better set up for children. The zoo, with its indoor Madagascar rainforest and elephant park, is a full day, the lake lidos have shallow areas, the Technorama is twenty minutes away by train, and trams and trains cope easily with buggies.

Como is calm and safe, and the boats, the funicular and the Villa Olmo gardens please younger children, but there is little else aimed at them. It works as a quiet family stay mixed with outdoor days rather than a trip packed with attractions.

Zurich is close to effortless: trams, S-Bahn, the Uetliberg railway, funiculars and lake boats all run on one integrated ticket, and the airport is a short train ride from the main station. No visitor needs a car.

Como's flat old town is easy on foot and the trains to Milan and Lugano are quick, but moving around the lake is slow. Ferries reach every village at a leisurely pace, and buses and cars share narrow shore roads that clog in summer.

Zurich is the stronger shopping city, with Bahnhofstrasse's watchmakers, jewellers and department stores running down to the lake, plus design shops in the railway viaduct arches of Zurich West. The range is tilted towards luxury and the prices match.

Como has one real speciality, silk, bought as scarves, ties and fabric from old-town shops and mill outlets on the city's edge. Beyond that its boutiques are few, and serious fashion shoppers head to Milan.

Neither is a bargain, but Como is far kinder. Rooms in town or back from the water, trattorias in the old town and hills, and cheap trains and ferries keep a stay manageable, especially outside July and August when lakeside prices soar.

Zurich ranks among the most expensive cities in the world to visit, from simple hotel rooms to a round of drinks. Supermarket lunches, lakeside picnics, free lidos and the visitor card help, but only a little.

Zurich offers a programme to travel for: the Opernhaus on the lake shore for opera and ballet, the Tonhalle Orchestra in its restored hall, the Schauspielhaus for theatre in German, and jazz, indie and electronic acts at the Rote Fabrik and around Kreis 4 and 5.

Como's stage is the Teatro Sociale, with summer performances in the open-air Arena beside it and chamber concerts in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas. It makes a pleasant evening, but many nights are quiet, and for more you take the train to La Scala.

Zurich has more actual bathing. The thermal pools and rooftop pool in the vaults of the old Hürlimann brewery, winter saunas in the wooden bathing houses with cold-water dips, and Baden's Roman hot springs twenty minutes away give a slow stay real substance.

Como has no thermal tradition, only villa hotel spas and a few day spas. What it offers is the setting: gardens down to the water, slow ferries and quiet villages, best enjoyed in spring and autumn.