Geneva or Munich?

Neither city has a coast, but Geneva makes lake swimming part of an ordinary summer day. The Bains des Pâquis jetty sits in the harbour within sight of the Jet d'Eau, and Genève-Plage and the Eaux-Vives lawns are only a short walk from the centre.

In Munich the water is further away. Inside the city there is mostly sunbathing on the Isar gravel at the Flaucher. For a real swim you take a train of under an hour to the Starnberger See or the Ammersee, where the water stays fresh even in high summer.

Munich is the more rewarding place to eat, mainly because its food culture is so easy to join in with. You can sit under chestnut trees in a beer garden with roast pork or white sausage, bring your own picnic, or graze through the stalls of the Viktualienmarkt.

Geneva's cooking is more refined and leans French, with lake perch, fondue in wood-panelled brasseries and its own Chasselas and Gamay wines. It also has the broader international range, thanks to the diplomatic community. What it lacks is anything casual or good value, so most meals feel like an occasion.

Munich has far more to see. The Kunstareal alone brings together old masters, modern art, classical sculpture and the Blue Rider painters, and the Residenz, Nymphenburg and the vast Deutsches Museum could fill several more days.

Geneva's sights are fewer but distinctive. You can climb St Pierre Cathedral, where Calvin preached, see the Reformation Wall, visit the Palais des Nations and the Red Cross museum, and tour CERN. It is a coherent story of faith, diplomacy and science, and it is told in two or three days.

Munich makes for the better night out, though it is still tidy rather than wild. Evenings often begin and end in a beer hall. For later nights, the Glockenbachviertel has cocktail and gay bars and a few techno clubs run until morning at weekends, and the Oktoberfest takes over the city each autumn.

Geneva is quieter and more expensive. The Pâquis bars behind the station and the alternative centres around Plainpalais and Jonction are the main options, alongside summer drinks by the Rhône, and on weeknights the city goes to bed early.

Both cities are excellent bases for the outdoors, but the mountains sit in different places. Geneva has them on its doorstep: the Salève cable car is just over the border, the Jura ridge is to the west, and you can sail or paddleboard on the lake in the middle of town.

Munich stands on a flat plain, with the Alps an hour or so south at Garmisch and the Zugspitze. Its strength inside the city is the green space instead: the huge English Garden, the surfers on the Eisbach and the cycle paths along the Isar.

Munich has slightly the longer list of outings, with whole historic cities a short train ride away. You can go to Augsburg, Nuremberg, Regensburg or Salzburg, or out to the royal castles at Neuschwanstein and on the island of Herrenchiemsee.

Geneva's trips have a more scenic, lakeside character. Steamers run to Lausanne, Montreux and the Château de Chillon, past the Lavaux vineyard terraces, and on the French side Yvoire and Annecy are both close.

Munich is much better set up for children. It has the Hellabrunn zoo along the Isar, a Sea Life aquarium, a children's area in the Deutsches Museum, a transport museum and beer gardens with playgrounds, and Legoland is within a day's drive.

Geneva is calm and safe, and the dioramas at the Natural History Museum and the yellow harbour boats are real hits. Beyond those, families tend to run short after two or three days, and a trip into the mountains usually fills the gap.

Both are easy cities to get around without a car. Geneva's centre is small enough to cross on foot, its trams and lake boats share one network, and the airport is only minutes away by train. Munich spreads further, so you lean more on its U-Bahn and S-Bahn, but the city is flat and well suited to cycling.

The two are close for shopping, but what you come home with differs. Geneva means watches and jewellery from the flagship boutiques on the Rue du Rhône, plus craft workshops in Carouge and the Plainpalais flea market.

Munich has a broader everyday range along its pedestrian high street. Its distinctive buys are Bavarian Tracht from specialist tailors, fine food from Dallmayr and crafts from the Christmas markets in December.

Munich is expensive, but Geneva is in another league, as one of the costliest cities in the world for a visitor. In Geneva even a simple meal or a glass of wine hurts, and many budget travellers sleep or eat across the border in France. Free city museums, hotel transport passes and cheap lake lidos only soften it a little.

Munich's main burden is the price of hotel rooms. Its beer-hall meals, picnics in beer gardens, free parks and lakes and token Sunday museum fees keep daily spending far more manageable.

Munich is one of Europe's great music cities. The Bavarian State Opera at the National Theatre, three major orchestras, the rococo Cuvilliés Theatre and a summer opera festival give it a depth that few cities can match.

Geneva has a respectable formal stage for its size. There is opera and ballet at the Grand Théâtre, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande plays in Victoria Hall, and concerts are held in the old pumping station in the Rhône. Even so, you get fewer nights to choose from and fewer famous names.

Munich gives you more ways to unwind. You can swim in the Art Nouveau Müller'sches Volksbad, try German-style sauna rituals, or make the short trip to the huge thermal complex at Erding or the spa towns of Bad Tölz and Bad Reichenhall.

Geneva's best-loved ritual is in winter, when the Bains des Pâquis sauna and hammam open and regulars plunge from the heat into the cold lake. The rest is quiet promenades, hotel spas and day trips to Évian.