Dijon or Lausanne?

Neither city has a coast, but Lausanne at least has proper summer bathing. Lake Geneva is warm enough from late June to early September to swim from the lawns and pebble shores at Vidy, Bellerive, Pully and Lutry, and the old Bellerive lido makes a full afternoon of it.

Dijon has the supervised bathing area at Lac Kir, a reservoir on the edge of town that suits local families on hot days, and otherwise municipal pools. Neither is a beach vacation, but in Lausanne a swim can be part of most summer days.

Dijon has the better table. Burgundian classics such as boeuf bourguignon, coq au vin and jambon persillé, its own mustard, cassis and pain d'épices, and the iron market hall of Les Halles make it one of France's defining regional kitchens. The wine bars also pour village Burgundies by the glass.

Lausanne's Vaudois cooking, with lake perch, papet vaudois and fondue in winter, is good but plainer. Its best moments come from Lavaux Chasselas in the growers' caveaux and from a handful of celebrated high-end tables. Neither city offers much international food or street food, but Dijon has far more good bistros at everyday level.

Dijon has the richer historic fabric. The Palace of the Dukes holds the Musée des Beaux-Arts and its Valois tombs, and around it the half-timbered streets, Notre-Dame's gargoyles and its lucky owl make up a historic centre that is part of a UNESCO listing with the Burgundy vineyards. Sluter's Well of Moses at the Chartreuse de Champmol adds one more masterpiece of medieval sculpture. Here the city itself is the sight.

In Lausanne it works the other way round. The Gothic cathedral and the steep old town are attractive, but the museums are the main draw: the Olympic Museum at Ouchy, the cluster of museums at Plateforme 10 and the Collection de l'Art Brut. Each city fills two or three days well.

Both are student cities with modest scenes, but Lausanne has a proper centre for going out in the Flon. Clubs and late bars fill its old warehouses at weekends, and on summer evenings people spread along the waterfront at Ouchy.

Dijon's nights mostly mean wine bars and pubs along Rue Berbisey and terraces around Place Émile Zola. There are few clubs, and outside term time the streets are quiet by midnight. Expect to pay a good deal more per drink in Lausanne, though.

This is Lausanne's greatest advantage. The French Alps rise straight out of the lake opposite the city, and the Lavaux terraces make one of Switzerland's finest walks. Within an hour, the Vaud Alps and the Jura offer skiing, glacier views and long hikes.

Dijon's surroundings are gentle by comparison. You can climb and walk in the combes west of town, cycle the Burgundy Canal towpath and the vineyard route towards Beaune, or head to the granite hills and lakes of the Morvan for something wilder. It is pleasant country for an easy ride, not for mountain days.

Both are excellent bases, and the difference lies in what you go out to see. From Dijon nearly every trip leads to wine or monasteries: the Route des Grands Crus to Beaune, Fontenay Abbey, Semur-en-Auxois and Vézelay. Most of the vineyard villages, though, need a car, a bike or a tour.

Lausanne has a slight edge in range and ease. Trains reach Montreux and Chillon, Geneva, Bern, Fribourg, Gruyères and Murten without a car, and boats cross the lake to the French shore. The result is a mix of castles, cities and mountain villages rather than a single theme.

Lausanne is better set up for children. Several of its museums and outings are made for them, and the lake is a summer playground. The drawbacks are the steep streets, which are hard going with a pushchair, and the cost of feeding a family.

Dijon is small, flat and largely pedestrian, which is easier on young legs. Beyond the natural history museum and planetarium in the Jardin de l'Arquebuse and the lawns of the Parc de la Colombière, though, its days of fine art and wine tastings are aimed at adults.

Both centres are compact, and neither needs a car. Dijon is flat and mostly pedestrian, with two tram lines out to the suburbs. Lausanne climbs steeply from the lake and relies on the m2 metro to carry visitors more than 300m up to the upper town.

Lausanne pulls slightly ahead on connections, because the Swiss rail network and the lake boats reach most excursions on time. Dijon has the TGV to Paris and trains to Beaune, but the wine villages away from the line mean hiring a car or a bike.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and both are best for things to take home and eat or drink. In Dijon that means mustard, cassis, pain d'épices, Burgundy from the cellars and cheese from Les Halles, plus antiques in the lanes off Rue de la Liberté. Lausanne offers chocolate, Lavaux wine, and Swiss watches and jewellery on Rue de Bourg, with more international fashion brands but few independent shops.

The gap is widest in the ordinary parts of a day. In Dijon a hotel room and an everyday meal cost what you would expect in provincial France, and the bill only climbs when you choose to spend on what Burgundy is famous for: serious restaurants, cellar tastings, guided wine tours and good bottles.

In Lausanne the basics are already expensive before you add any treat, so a modest stay can cost more than an indulgent one in Dijon. Getting around costs little in both, since each centre is compact. Overall, the same money goes a good deal further in Burgundy than on Lake Geneva.

Lausanne's stage has the wider reputation, and dance leads it. The city has the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, the Prix de Lausanne for young dancers and the Théâtre de Vidy, whose contemporary productions tour Europe, alongside an opera season and a respected chamber orchestra. In July the Montreux Jazz Festival is a short train ride away.

Dijon's season is solid for its size. It has opera, concerts and dance at the Grand Théâtre and the Auditorium, plus a national drama centre. It follows the academic year, though, and in summer it thins out to outdoor events.

Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own, but Lausanne is far better placed for a spa visit. The grand lakeside hotels have extensive spas, Yverdon-les-Bains is under half an hour by train, and the hot springs at Lavey-les-Bains are within an hour. Dijon offers only a few hotel spas, some in the wine villages with grape-based treatments.

What Dijon offers instead is rest through its pace: long lunches, quiet squares and slow afternoons among the vines. In Lausanne the calm is on the edges, along the promenades at Ouchy and Vidy and in the Lavaux vineyards, because the steep centre is busier than it looks.