Interlaken or Lausanne?

Neither town is a beach destination, but Lausanne makes more of its water. Lake Geneva gets a little warmer, and swimming is part of everyday city life from the lawns at Vidy and the old Bellerive lido, with its pools.

Interlaken's swimming is a reward after a day in the mountains. Lake Thun's lidos at Neuhaus are the warmest spot, while glacial Lake Brienz looks beautiful but is cold. The setting under the snow peaks is the attraction, but the season is short.

Lausanne eats much better. Its cooking has a strong regional character, with lake perch and papet vaudois, and the Lavaux vineyards next door mean good local Chasselas is poured everywhere. There is also a top tier of celebrated restaurants, although mid-range meals can be ordinary.

In Interlaken, town restaurants mostly serve fondue, rösti and international dishes to visitors. The meals worth remembering are up in the mountains: a hut terrace above Grindelwald or cheese bought at an Alpine dairy.

This is where the two differ most. Lausanne has a Gothic cathedral with a night watchman who still calls the hours, a hilly old town of covered stairways, and enough museums for two or three full days, from the Olympic Museum at Ouchy to Plateforme 10 by the station.

Interlaken offers a row of grand hotels along the Höheweg, the Kursaal and a few timber houses in Unterseen. If you want history, you will find it in Bern or Thun.

Lausanne has a genuine night out, thanks to its large student population. Clubs and late bars fill the old warehouses of the Flon at weekends, and in summer people gather by the lake at Ouchy in the evenings.

Interlaken has a few backpacker pubs, a couple of basement clubs and the casino. Most visitors are up early for trains or paragliding, so the streets are quiet before midnight.

Both are superb, but Interlaken is one of the great Alpine bases. The Jungfraujoch looks out over the Aletsch glacier, the Lauterbrunnen valley has its waterfalls, and lifts take you up to ridges with almost no effort. Adventure sports run from the town every day, and the Jungfrau ski areas take over in winter.

Lausanne's nature is softer and more varied. You can walk the Lavaux vineyard terraces above the lake, sail on Lake Geneva, and hike or ski in the Vaud Alps or the Jura, each about an hour away.

Both are good rail hubs, and Lausanne has a slight edge for variety. Vevey, Montreux and Chillon are minutes along the lake, Geneva and Gruyères are easy trips, and boats cross to the French shore.

Interlaken's trips mix towns with mountain villages. Bern is under an hour away, paddle steamers call at the castles of Thun, Spiez and Oberhofen, and Ballenberg's open-air museum is near Brienz. Lucerne is a longer ride over the Brünig Pass.

Interlaken is slightly ahead for children, because getting up the mountains is the fun. Gondolas, cog railways, summer toboggan runs and playgrounds at the summit stations keep children busy, and the St Beatus caves and Ballenberg's farm animals are reliable favourites. Wet days and high altitudes are the weak points.

Lausanne has more for rainy days, with the hands-on Olympic Museum, a freshwater aquarium-vivarium and the animal park at Sauvabelin. Its steep streets, however, are hard going with a pushchair.

Both are easy without a car, but in different ways. Interlaken is flat and small, and its strength is the regional network: narrow-gauge trains, cog railways, gondolas and steamers connect to cover the whole Jungfrau region.

Lausanne is compact but steep, built in layers linked by stairs and lifts. The m2 metro climbs from the lakeshore to the upper town and does most of the hard work for you.

Lausanne gives you more to browse. Rue de Bourg has watches, fashion and chocolatiers, the Flon has a few design shops, and there are market stalls in the old town squares. It is still a modest place for shopping.

Interlaken's Höheweg is mostly watch stores for tour groups, army knives and souvenirs. Carved woodwork from Brienz is the one local craft worth taking home.

Both are as expensive as Switzerland gets, so the difference is in what drives the bill. In Interlaken it is the mountain railways, with the Jungfraujoch above all, plus adventure activities, all on top of Swiss hotel rates.

In Lausanne the cost goes on restaurants, wine and hotels. Free lakeside promenades and parks make a thrifty day easier to plan, and a tasting in a Lavaux caveau is good value.

Lausanne is far stronger on stage. It is home to the Béjart Ballet and the Prix de Lausanne, the Théâtre de Vidy is known internationally for contemporary work, and the opera and chamber orchestra run full seasons. In July the Montreux Jazz Festival is a short ride along the lake.

Interlaken offers the open-air William Tell in summer and folklore evenings with alphorns, and Bern is the nearest place for serious theatre and orchestral music.

Lausanne is the better place to slow down. As well as lakeside promenades and hotel spas, it has thermal water within reach: Yverdon-les-Bains is under half an hour by train, and Lavey-les-Bains, with the hottest springs in Switzerland, is up the Rhône valley.

Interlaken has no springs, and its centre is busy with activity. Here the calm comes from early mornings by the lake, slow steamer crossings and quiet nights up in Wengen or Mürren.