Frankfurt or Lausanne?

Frankfurt has nowhere to swim in the middle of town. On hot days you take a train out to a pool or to a gravel-pit lake in the forest such as the Langener Waldsee, which does at least have sandy shores.

Lausanne has Lake Geneva at its door. From late June the water is warm enough to swim from the lawns and piers at Vidy, from the old lido at Bellerive or from the pebble shores towards Lutry, all with the Alps in view. It is still a summer swim rather than a beach vacation, with grass and shingle instead of sand.

The two are close, but you eat quite differently. Frankfurt's cooking is hearty and cheap: Grüne Soße and Handkäs mit Musik at shared tables in Sachsenhausen, the Kleinmarkthalle for a lunch of sausage and cheese, and a wide spread of Turkish and Asian kitchens around the station.

Lausanne puts its weight on wine and on cooking at the top end. Lake perch and papet vaudois come with Chasselas from the Lavaux terraces, often tasted in the growers' own village cellars, and some of Switzerland's most admired restaurants are close by. The cheap, casual meal that Frankfurt makes easy is much harder to find here.

Both fill two or three days, but they suit different visitors. Frankfurt is for museum-goers: more than a dozen institutions line the Museumsufer, led by the Städel's old masters. The historic core around the Römer is a careful post-war rebuild set against Germany's only real skyline of towers.

Lausanne's old town survived. The Gothic cathedral still has a night watchman calling the hours from its tower, and the steep lanes and covered stairways around Place de la Palud are the genuine fabric. Its museums are fewer but more unusual, with the Olympic Museum at Ouchy and the Collection de l'Art Brut as the stand-outs.

Frankfurt has the better night out. Its techno and house clubs carry on a tradition that once shaped electronic music, the Bahnhofsviertel offers cocktail bars and late kiosks with plenty of character, and on summer nights the Main banks fill with people drinking outside.

Lausanne has a lively weekend because of its students, mostly in the clubs and terraces of the Flon warehouse valley and along the waterfront at Ouchy. The scene is smaller, drinks cost far more, and weeknights are quiet in both cities.

This is where Lausanne pulls clearly ahead. The French Alps rise straight out of the lake opposite the city, the Lavaux terraces between Lutry and Saint-Saphorin make a walk of rare beauty, and within an hour you can ski or hike at Villars or Les Diablerets or reach the glacier at Glacier 3000.

Frankfurt's green spaces are pleasant but gentler. You can climb the beech-wooded Großer Feldberg in the Taunus, ride the flat cycle paths along the Main, or walk in the large Stadtwald. These are good for a walking or cycling day but have no high mountains and no big views.

Both are excellent bases, and the difference lies in range. From Frankfurt the high-speed trains reach further and across more of the country, taking in Heidelberg's castle, the castle-lined Rhine Gorge, Cologne Cathedral and Würzburg's Residenz, with Mainz and Wiesbaden close by.

Lausanne's outings are packed closer together and are more varied in setting. Montreux and the Château de Chillon are a short ride along the lake, Bern and Gruyères are easy by train, and the boats crossing to Évian add a trip to France with no car needed.

Frankfurt is the flatter, easier option with small children. One day can take in the dinosaur skeletons at the Senckenberg, the zoo in the centre and the Palmengarten glasshouses, then end with a boat ride past the towers. Pushchairs go on trams and the S-Bahn without fuss, and the Kronberg wildlife park in the Taunus makes an easy extra outing.

Lausanne gives children more to climb and explore, but it asks more of parents. At the Olympic Museum, children get to try things for themselves rather than just look. The aquarium-vivarium on the northern edge of town has creatures from rivers and lakes around the world, and the Sauvabelin woods have pedal boats and a wooden tower to climb. In summer, a steamer crossing on Lake Geneva fills an afternoon, which is a bigger day out than Frankfurt's river trips. The cost is steep streets and family meals at Swiss prices.

Frankfurt is flat, so walking between sights takes little effort. The Römer, the cathedral, the Zeil and the Museumsufer are a few minutes apart, and the bridges lead straight across to Sachsenhausen. A single regional network covers the city, the Taunus, Wiesbaden and Mainz, although its lines and zones take some learning. Trains from the airport reach the centre in about a quarter of an hour.

Lausanne is built in steep layers from the lake up to the cathedral. The m2 metro does the climbing, rising more than 300m from Ouchy through the station and the Flon, and stairs, bridges and lifts link the levels in between. Lake boats connect the towns along the shore, and you need a car in neither city.

Frankfurt has more range. There are department stores and malls along the Zeil, luxury fashion and jewellery on Goethestraße, and independent delis and design shops on Berger Straße and Schweizer Straße. The Saturday flea market on the Main adds some character.

Lausanne is narrower and is mainly about Swiss specialities. Rue de Bourg is the place for watches and chocolate, and Lavaux wine makes the best thing to take home. Beyond that there are few independent boutiques and little else that would justify a trip to shop.

Frankfurt is not cheap, but it is far easier on the wallet. Business hotels empty out at weekends and in summer, and cider taverns and market stalls keep meals modest. The main trap is the trade-fair weeks, when rooms become scarce and costly.

In Lausanne the whole trip is expensive: rooms, wine, taxis and even an ordinary lunch. Visitors who manage best live off supermarket picnics, enjoy the free lakeside promenades and keep restaurant meals for a treat.

Frankfurt has the deeper season. Its opera company is one of the most admired in Germany, the rebuilt Alte Oper holds the radio symphony orchestra, and jazz cellars keep a post-war tradition going. Little happens in summer, though.

Lausanne is smaller but has its own strength in dance. It is home to the Béjart Ballet and the Prix de Lausanne, and the Théâtre de Vidy stages contemporary work by the lake. In July, when Frankfurt's stages are quiet, the Montreux Jazz Festival is a short train ride away.

In Frankfurt, relaxing usually means leaving town for one of the historic spa towns nearby. Wiesbaden has the Art Nouveau Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme, Bad Homburg has thermal baths and a spa park at the foot of the Taunus, and Bad Nauheim still keeps up the old custom of taking the waters. In the city itself, the Palmengarten is the quietest place to spend an afternoon.

Lausanne's calm comes from the lake and the vines: unhurried walks along the promenades at Ouchy and Vidy, quiet lanes through the Lavaux terraces, and the spas of the grand lakeside hotels. For hot springs, Yverdon-les-Bains is under half an hour by train. Lavey-les-Bains, up the Rhône valley, has the hottest springs in Switzerland.