Geneva or Padua?

Neither is a beach destination, but in Geneva you can swim in the city itself. There is the Bains des Pâquis jetty, Genève-Plage and the lawns at Eaux-Vives, all on clean lake water that warms through the summer. It is lido swimming, off concrete and pebbles, and the season is short.

Padua has nowhere to swim in town. The nearest water is the Adriatic at Sottomarina or the Lido of Venice, about an hour away. The sea there is warmer and shallow, which is good for small children, but going means a full day out among rows of umbrellas rather than a quick dip between sights.

Padua eats better for most visitors because so much of its food happens in public. There are the morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, the delicatessens under the Palazzo della Ragione, bigoli and baccalà in the trattorias, and the early-evening spritz with small bites in the squares. Euganean wine comes from just outside town.

Geneva's strengths lie elsewhere: lake perch, fondue in wood-panelled brasseries, local Chasselas, a wide international range and polished fine dining in Carouge and the Old Town. What it lacks is the cheap, casual layer that makes Padua so easy to graze through.

Padua holds art of real European weight. Giotto's frescoes fill the Scrovegni Chapel, other fourteenth-century fresco cycles nearby are UNESCO-listed, and the Basilica of Saint Anthony has Donatello's bronzes. The world's oldest permanent anatomical theatre and the 1545 botanical garden complete the set. Book the chapel's timed visit in advance.

Geneva tells a different story: Calvin's Reformation at St Pierre Cathedral, diplomacy at the Palais des Nations and the Red Cross museum, and science at CERN. It is interesting rather than overwhelming, and in both cities the main sights take two or three days.

Neither city is built for late nights, but Padua's evenings have more life. Students and locals fill Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori for the aperitivo. During term the wine bars around the Bo and the old ghetto stay busy on weeknights too.

Geneva is quieter and more expensive. The bars that stay open late are in the Pâquis behind the station, and the alternative centres of Plainpalais and Jonction hold a small electronic scene. Each city has its quiet times: Geneva on weeknights, Padua in high summer and the university breaks.

Geneva has mountains on every horizon and gets you into them quickly. A cable car climbs the Salève just over the French border, the Jura ridge offers hiking and cross-country skiing, and the lake is good for sailing and paddleboarding. Chamonix and the ski resorts are about an hour away.

Padua sits on a flat plain, so its outdoors starts a short way out. The Euganean Hills, about 15km away, have vineyard trails and good cycling roads, and the Brenta towpaths make level rides. For real mountain walking in the pre-Alps you need about an hour and a half by car.

Both make good bases, but Padua's list is hard to beat. Venice is under half an hour by train, close enough to visit several times, and Vicenza, Verona, Treviso, Bologna and Ferrara are all about an hour or less away. The Brenta villas and the walled towns of Este and Montagnana are closer still.

Geneva has fewer outings, but the scenery changes more from one to the next. Lake steamers run to Lausanne, Montreux and Chillon, past the Lavaux vineyard terraces. Yvoire and Annecy are across the French border, and Gruyères or Bern make a longer day.

Geneva has the edge with children. The main draw is the Natural History Museum and its floors of animal dioramas, backed up by the small animal enclosures at the Bois de la Bâtie, lakeside playgrounds and the little yellow harbour boats. CERN suits older children, and a day in the mountains fills any gaps.

Padua is safe, flat and largely pedestrianised, and trattorias welcome children, but the sights are mostly frescoes and churches. Apart from Prato della Valle and the botanical glasshouses, families rely on day trips to Gardaland, Lake Garda or the Adriatic.

Geneva's public transport is a step above. Trams and buses are frequent and punctual, the yellow harbour boats belong to the same network, and the airport is only a few minutes by train from the main station. Regional trains run on into the French suburbs and the rest of Switzerland, and the Old Town hill is the only climb.

Padua's centre is just as easy on foot: flat, mostly closed to traffic and lined with arcades that keep off the rain and sun. A tram runs from the station through the centre to Prato della Valle, buses and bicycles cover the rest, and the station's main-line connections make a car unnecessary for most outings.

Geneva is the place for watches and jewellery, with the flagship boutiques of the Swiss watch houses along the Rue du Rhône. Chocolatiers, Carouge's craft workshops and the Plainpalais flea market add a less formal side, though beyond luxury the high street is ordinary.

Padua has Italian fashion and shoe shops under its arcades and bookshops serving the university, but its best buys are edible. Cheeses, cured meats and Euganean wine come from the markets and the delicatessens below the Palazzo della Ragione, and a large antiques market fills Prato della Valle one Sunday a month.

This is the widest gap between the two. Geneva is among the most expensive cities anywhere, with costly hotel rooms all year and even simple meals far dearer than in most of Europe. Free museums, free local transport for hotel guests and cheap lidos help, and many visitors sleep or eat across the border in France.

Padua costs what a northern Italian city usually does, which is moderate by Western European standards. Its reasonably priced hotels make it a sensible base for Venice, and a standing spritz or a market lunch costs little.

Geneva has the stronger stage. The Grand Théâtre runs a full season of opera and ballet, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande plays in Victoria Hall, known for its acoustics. There is also French-language theatre, and concerts and dance at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in the middle of the Rhône.

Padua's programme is smaller: prose theatre and some opera at Teatro Verdi, and chamber concerts in the Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica of Saint Anthony. For grand opera, visitors take the train to the Fenice in Venice or the Arena in Verona.

Padua's advantage lies about 12km away at Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, one of Europe's largest thermal districts. Hot mineral pools and mud treatments have been used there since Roman times, and many spa hotels take day visitors, so a soak after a morning of frescoes is easy to arrange.

Geneva has no springs. In winter, though, the Bains des Pâquis offers a sauna, a hammam and cold plunges in the lake, and Évian and Divonne are just across the border. Calm Sundays and the lakeside promenades make it restful in a quieter, more orderly way.