Dijon or Turin?

Neither city is a place for sea swimming, and they deal with summer heat in different ways. Dijon has Lac Kir, a supervised reservoir with a lawn-and-sand bathing area on the edge of town. Turin has nothing in the city itself, but locals go to lakes such as Avigliana or Lago Maggiore, and the Ligurian Riviera is a long day out by train.

Both are serious regional food cities with wine country on the doorstep, and both offer little street food or international cooking. Turin goes further. Piedmontese cooking has the deeper repertoire, from agnolotti del plin to autumn white truffles, and the city adds things Dijon has no equivalent for: vermouth, the aperitivo, gianduja, and bicerin in the cafés under the arcades.

Dijon's strength is focus. Boeuf bourguignon, snails, mustard and cassis, Les Halles on market days and village Burgundies poured by the glass make it a rewarding stop for a wine lover, though it is less of a city to eat your way through over a week.

Turin has much more to see. The Museo Egizio alone draws visitors from abroad. Around it are the Savoy royal palaces, the Mole with its cinema museum, the Reggia di Venaria and strong contemporary art at Rivoli, enough to fill several days.

Dijon is smaller and concentrates on one story, that of the medieval dukes. Its sights are the ducal palace with the Valois tombs, Notre-Dame with its gargoyles and lucky owl, half-timbered streets and Sluter's Well of Moses. They make a satisfying two or three days, but nothing here pulls visitors from abroad the way Turin's Egyptian collection does.

Turin's evenings follow a routine Dijon lacks. The aperitivo starts around seven, and then people move on to the cocktail bars of the Quadrilatero Romano, the crowded pavements of San Salvario, Vanchiglia and, in summer, the riverside Murazzi, with clubs in old industrial buildings.

In Dijon, a night out means a wine bar on Rue Berbisey or a terrace on Place Émile Zola and a late dinner. Outside term time and summer weekends it is usually over by midnight.

This is where the two cities differ most. From Turin the Alps are about an hour away, with ibex and high trails in Gran Paradiso, skiing around Sestriere, and climbing and mountain biking in summer. Closer in, the Superga hills and the cycle paths along the Po are good for shorter outings.

Dijon's countryside is gentle. There is walking and rock climbing in the combes west of town, cycling on the flat Burgundy Canal towpath, and the signed vineyard route to Beaune. It is lovely on a bike, but the Morvan is as wild as it gets.

Dijon's days out stay within one landscape of vineyards and abbeys, while Turin's range from wine hills to Alpine valleys and other major cities. From Dijon, the Route des Grands Crus runs south from the edge of town through Gevrey-Chambertin and Vougeot, Beaune is twenty minutes away by train, and Fontenay Abbey and Semur-en-Auxois are about an hour off.

Turin gives you more choice. The Langhe hills offer Barolo and Alba's truffles, and the Sacra di San Michele stands on its rock above the Susa valley. Milan is an hour away by fast train, and Genoa and Aosta are within reach on a long day.

Turin gives children more to do. The glass lift up the Mole, the car museum, the Egyptian mummies and the rack railway to Superga all appeal to older children, and the arcades shelter pushchairs from sun and rain. Zoom Torino makes a full zoo day out by car, though Turin's summers can be sticky.

Dijon is safe and relaxed, with a small pedestrian centre, a planetarium at the Jardin de l'Arquebuse and paddling at Lac Kir. Its vineyards and fine-art museums, however, are mostly for the parents.

Dijon's centre is so small that the station, Les Halles and the ducal palace are a few minutes' walk apart. Two tram lines run out to the suburbs, and the bus network reaches Lac Kir. Turin's arcaded grid covers more ground, so the walk from Porta Nuova to the Mole and the river is longer, though it is flat and much of it is under cover. One driverless metro line, trams and buses fill in the rest, and the trams and buses take some working out.

The trains also take you to different places. From Dijon you can reach Paris by TGV or follow the wine route to Beaune, while Turin's main stations connect across Italy. Away from the railway you will need a car in both: for the outlying wine villages around Dijon, and for the Langhe and the mountains around Turin.

Turin has the broader range of shops. There are luxury and big-name labels under the arcades of Via Roma, mainstream shops on Via Garibaldi, antique dealers on Via Maria Vittoria and the Balon flea market every Saturday.

Dijon's shopping is mostly things to eat and drink: mustard, pain d'épices, cassis and Burgundy from the cellars, with chain stores along Rue de la Liberté. In both cities, food is the best thing to take home, and neither suits a trip built around designer clothes.

Turin stretches a budget a little further. A generous aperitivo can replace dinner, Porta Palazzo sells cheap snacks and public transport costs little, although hotels fill up and cost more during big trade fairs.

In Dijon, the savings come from bistro set lunches, wine by the glass that is cheaper than in most of France, and a centre small enough to walk everywhere. In each city, the bill climbs with the main reason for going: cellar tastings and wine tours in Burgundy, white truffles and fine dining in Piedmont.

Turin's programme is bigger and runs all year. It includes opera and ballet at the Teatro Regio, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, concerts in Renzo Piano's Lingotto auditorium, jazz clubs and long-running music festivals.

Dijon's Opéra, split between the old Grand Théâtre and the Auditorium with its fine acoustics, gives a solid season for a city of its size. It follows the academic year, though, and thins out in summer. Spoken theatre in either city is in the local language.

Neither city has a bathing culture, and in both the spas are mostly in hotels. Turin offers a bit more for unwinding: long breaks in its historic cafés, walks along the Po and in Valentino park, and real thermal waters at Acqui Terme or in the Aosta valley, each close to two hours away.

Dijon's restfulness comes from long lunches and slow afternoons in the vineyards, with a few grape-based treatments in the wine villages.