Lausanne or Maastricht?

Neither city is on the coast, but only Lausanne makes swimming a real part of a summer stay. From late June to early September Lake Geneva is warm enough to swim from the lawns and shingle at Vidy and Bellerive. The old lido at Bellerive makes an afternoon of it, with the Alps across the water.

In Maastricht the only option is the old gravel-pit lakes along the Maas. They have small sandy shores and lifeguards, and they are fine on a hot day but no reason to go. If you want to swim there, a hotel with a pool is the practical answer.

The two eat at a similar level. Both lean on regional cooking and have a fine-dining tier that is strong for a city their size. What differs is what is on the plate and in the glass. Lausanne means lake perch, papet vaudois and winter fondue, with Chasselas tasted straight from the growers in the Lavaux caveaux.

Maastricht's cooking is heartier, with zuurvlees, slices of vlaai and Belgian beer, and its terraces on the Vrijthof and the Markt make eating out more of a social occasion. Neither has much street food, but a cheap meal is easier to find in Maastricht.

Each rewards about two days, but the interest lies in different places. Lausanne's old town is small and steep, crowned by the Gothic cathedral where a night watchman still calls the hours. Most of its weight is in museums: the Olympic Museum at Ouchy, the Plateforme 10 complex by the station and the unusual Collection de l'Art Brut.

Maastricht is more about age and streetscape. It has two Romanesque basilicas, the Helpoort and the medieval walls along the Jeker, a bridge over the Maas that dates from the 13th century, and guided tours through the tunnels in the Sint-Pietersberg. The Bonnefanten is its one major museum.

Neither is a party city, and both depend heavily on students. Lausanne has the clubs. Late bars and dance floors fill the old warehouses of the Flon at weekends, and on summer evenings people gather along the waterfront at Ouchy, though drinks are expensive.

Maastricht is a café town, with Belgian beer in the brown cafés around the Markt and the Vrijthof and very little clubbing. Carnival is the exception, when the whole city turns into a street party for days.

Here Lausanne is in a different league. The French Alps rise straight out of the lake opposite the city, the Lavaux terraces make one of the finest walks in Switzerland, and within an hour you can be hiking or skiing at Les Diablerets, at Glacier 3000 or on the ridges of the Jura.

Maastricht has the surprising hills of South Limburg: marl cliffs on the Sint-Pietersberg, sunken lanes in the Heuvelland that road cyclists love, and heath in the Hoge Kempen park. It is pretty, pastoral country for gentle walks and rides rather than mountain scenery.

Both make excellent bases, but Lausanne comes out ahead thanks to the Swiss trains. Montreux and Chillon are about twenty minutes away, Geneva, Bern, Fribourg and Gruyères are easy days out, and boats cross the lake to Évian, almost all of it without a car.

Maastricht's strength is the range of countries. Aachen and Liège are about half an hour away, Tongeren and Valkenburg are closer still, and Cologne and Brussels are within reach for a longer day. Lausanne has more of the big-name sights close by, while from Maastricht you can visit three countries in one week.

Lausanne has more for children within the city itself. There is the hands-on Olympic Museum, the aquarium-vivarium, the animal park and pedal boats at Sauvabelin, the lakeside pools in summer and trips on the paddle steamers. The downsides are steep streets and costly family meals.

Maastricht is flat and easy with a buggy, but in town there is little for children beyond the tunnel tours. The caves, cable car and fairy-tale park are about twenty minutes away at Valkenburg.

In both, the main sights are within easy reach and you need no car, but getting about feels very different. Lausanne is built on steep levels: the m2 metro climbs more than 300m from the lake to the upper town, stairs and lifts connect the layers, and the main station puts the whole Swiss rail network within reach.

Maastricht is flat and made for walking, with most things about fifteen minutes apart on either bank. Bikes are how the locals get around, and only the countryside villages really call for a bike or a car.

Maastricht is the better place to shop, and people cross borders to do it. The old houses of the Stokstraat quarter hold fashion and designer boutiques, the Grote Staat covers the high-street brands, and Wyck adds independent shops for interiors, vintage and food.

Lausanne's Rue de Bourg has watchmakers, jewellers and chocolatiers. Beyond Swiss specialities and a bottle of Lavaux wine, though, the range is thin.

Neither is cheap, but Maastricht costs far less. Prices there are at the Dutch norm, lower than in the Dutch capital, the walkable centre saves on transport, and staying from Sunday to Thursday helps further.

Lausanne is expensive in every respect, from hotels and wine to taxis and a simple lunch. Travellers watching their money there live on bakery picnics and the free lakeside promenades.

Lausanne has a far more serious stage than its size suggests, and dance leads it. It is home to the Béjart Ballet Lausanne and the Prix de Lausanne, the Théâtre de Vidy stages contemporary work that tours Europe, and there is a full opera season and a respected chamber orchestra. The Montreux Jazz Festival in July is a short train ride away.

In Maastricht most performances take place at the theatre on the Vrijthof, alongside organ concerts in the churches and the big open-air summer concerts on the square. It is solid, but rarely a reason to travel.

The two offer roughly the same amount of rest, but of different kinds. Lausanne's calm comes from the lake and the grand hotels, whose spas are large and polished. For thermal water, Yverdon-les-Bains is under half an hour by train and Lavey-les-Bains, with Switzerland's hottest springs, under an hour.

Maastricht has more spa history close at hand: the thermal baths above Valkenburg, Aachen with its Roman past and the Belgian town of Spa itself. Its flat, slow-paced centre also makes it easier to unwind in town than in Lausanne's steep streets.