Innsbruck or Zurich?

Neither city is on the sea, but Zurich treats its lake as a summer playground. Swimmers use the wooden bathing houses and lidos at Utoquai, Mythenquai and Tiefenbrunnen, let the Limmat carry them downstream at Letten, and use the historic baths in the old town. The water reaches about 22°C to 24°C in high summer.

In Innsbruck, swimming means the small plateau lakes above the city, such as the Lanser See and Natterer See, or the beautiful but cold Achensee further out. The season is short in both cities, but in Zurich a swim fits easily into a day of sightseeing.

Zurich eats better, though at a higher price. Veal Geschnetzeltes with rösti, fondue in the old guild-house dining rooms, the Paradeplatz tea rooms with their Luxemburgerli, and a wider spread of international places around Langstrasse give it more range. Wine from the lake shore appears on most lists.

Innsbruck's cooking is heartier and narrower: Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn, at their best in a mountain hut after a long walk. Neither city has much in the way of street food or markets.

Each city gives two or three days of solid sightseeing, but of different kinds. Innsbruck's strength is its Habsburg heritage: the Golden Roof, the Hofburg, Maximilian's tomb ringed by bronze figures in the Hofkirche, and Ambras Castle with its cabinet of curiosities.

Zurich leans towards art and the Reformation, with the Kunsthaus collection running from Monet to Giacometti, the Museum Rietberg, the Grossmünster and the Chagall windows in the Fraumünster. Choose Innsbruck for palaces and imperial history, and Zurich for its galleries.

Zurich has a real club scene built around electronic music. Venues in Kreis 4 and 5 and in the old industrial spaces of Zurich West run until morning at weekends, and the Street Parade takes over the lake shore every August. In summer the bars move outdoors to the lake bathing houses.

In Innsbruck, nights out centre on the bars and small clubs in the arches under the railway viaduct. The students keep it lively, but the scene is small, and in winter many visitors leave town for après-ski in the resorts.

In Innsbruck the mountains start at the edge of the city. You can go from the old town to the Nordkette ridge in under half an hour, with the Karwendel behind it, and the Stubai Glacier has snow for most of the year.

Zurich's landscape is its lake, with the Uetliberg and the Albis ridge for forest walks and snowy peaks in the distance. For high-mountain hiking or skiing, Rigi, Pilatus and Flumserberg are about an hour away, which makes them a day out rather than an afternoon.

Innsbruck's day trips cross borders. Hall in Tirol is ten minutes down the valley, Munich and Salzburg are each a little under two hours by train, and Bolzano and Merano lie over the Brenner Pass in Italy. The Bavarian castles around Neuschwanstein are easiest by car.

Zurich has more within easy reach, and all of it by train or boat. Rapperswil, by boat up the lake, Baden and Einsiedeln are short hops, Lucerne is under an hour, and Bern, Basel and St Gallen take about an hour each. To the north, the Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein make a good day out together.

Zurich is the easier city with children. The zoo, with its Madagascar rainforest hall and elephant park, the shallow lake lidos and the boat trips can fill several days. The Technorama in Winterthur and Lucerne's Swiss Museum of Transport cover rainy days.

Innsbruck is safe and small. Its Alpenzoo keeps ibex and lynx, and the mountains have adventure trails, but less is built with children in mind, and wet days take more planning.

Both cities have walkable centres, and neither needs a car. In Zurich one integrated ticket covers trams, S-Bahn trains, funiculars, the Uetliberg railway and the lake boats, and the airport is a short train ride away, so getting around takes almost no thought.

Innsbruck's trams and buses work well, and the Hungerburg funicular at the edge of the old town puts the mountains within easy reach. A car is still useful for the more remote valleys and lakes.

Zurich is worth a trip for luxury shopping. Bahnhofstrasse is lined with watchmakers, jewellers and long-established department stores, and the viaduct arches in Zurich West hold design shops and a covered food market.

In Innsbruck, Maria-Theresien-Strasse and the old-town arcades fill an afternoon. What the city does best is local: loden jackets, dirndls, Speck and schnapps, plus excellent outdoor and ski shops.

Neither city is cheap, but the gap between them is wide. Innsbruck has Western European prices with an Alpine premium on top. Hotels cost clearly less in spring and autumn, and the city cards that bundle lifts with transport help on an active trip.

Zurich is among the most expensive cities in the world, and a casual lunch costs what a good dinner does elsewhere. Supermarket picnics and the free lidos help, but a week there costs far more.

Zurich has a serious stage. The Opernhaus is one of Europe's most respected opera houses, the Tonhalle Orchestra plays in a restored nineteenth-century hall, and the Schauspielhaus is a leading German-language theatre. The Rote Fabrik covers jazz and indie.

Innsbruck's Landestheater and its symphony orchestra offer a respectable season. The summer Festival of Early Music, held in settings such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras Castle, is a real draw for lovers of that music.

Zurich has the stronger bathing culture. There are thermal pools and a rooftop pool in the stone vaults of the old Hürlimann brewery, and in winter the wooden lake bathing houses open as saunas. The Roman hot springs of Baden are twenty minutes away by train.

Innsbruck has no thermal baths of its own. Relaxing there means mountain air, hotel spas in Igls and the plateau villages, and quiet evenings in mountain huts, while the large Ötztal and Zillertal spas are about an hour away.