Lucerne or Padua?

Neither city is a beach destination, and Lucerne's swimming is slightly easier to fit in. You can walk from the Old Town to the Lido, the wooden lake baths or the lawns at Ufschötti and swim in clean, calm water with mountains behind you. The catch is that it is only warm enough in high summer.

Padua's swimming means a day out, about an hour to the sand at Sottomarina or the Lido of Venice. The Adriatic there is warmer and shallow, which suits small children, but the beaches are flat strips of umbrellas.

Padua is clearly the better place to eat. Its morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, Venetian dishes such as bigoli and baccalà, and the evening spritz with small bites make food part of the day's rhythm. Euganean wines are made just outside town.

Lucerne cooks reliable Swiss comfort food: Chügelipastete, fondue, rösti and lake perch in panelled guild houses. Many tables near the Chapel Bridge serve tour groups, and the choice is narrow and expensive.

Padua has the deeper art. Giotto's Scrovegni frescoes, the UNESCO-listed fourteenth-century fresco cycles, Donatello's work at the Basilica of Saint Anthony and the anatomical theatre at Palazzo Bo are of European importance. Book the timed chapel visit ahead.

Lucerne's sights are fewer but iconic: the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the climbable towers of the Musegg Wall and the Lion Monument, with Picasso and Klee at the Rosengart. Both centres can be covered in a day or two, but Padua gives more to look at closely.

Neither city is for clubbing, but Padua's evenings have more going on. Students and locals fill Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori with spritz glasses until late, and the wine bars around the old ghetto stay busy during term.

Lucerne has a drink by the water and then goes quiet, with only a few cocktail bars in the Neustadt. The exception is Fasnacht, when the whole town stays out in costume until dawn.

This is Lucerne's great strength. A branching lake runs straight into the mountains, Pilatus and Rigi rise above the city with their historic railways, and Titlis keeps snow all year. You can combine a boat, a train and a hike in one day, and there is skiing in winter.

Padua sits on a flat plain. The volcanic Euganean Hills, about 15km away, offer vineyard trails and cycling, and the Brenta towpaths make easy rides. For real mountain walking you need to drive to the pre-Alps.

Lucerne's outings are good ones. Zurich, Bern's arcaded UNESCO old town and Basel's Rhine-side art museums are each under an hour by train. The lake steamers call at Weggis and Brunnen on the way to the Rütli meadow, where by tradition the Confederation's founding oath was sworn, and Altdorf, the town of the William Tell story. Interlaken is a scenic two hours over the Brünig Pass.

Padua is the stronger base. Venice is under half an hour by train, close enough to visit on several days, Vicenza is quicker still, and Verona, Bologna and Ferrara are about an hour away. Add the Brenta villas and the walled towns of Este and Montagnana, and the list is longer and takes in several of Italy's great art cities.

Lucerne gives children more to do. The Swiss Museum of Transport, with its trains, planes and planetarium, is a full day in itself, and the Glacier Garden's mirror maze, the Goldau wildlife park and the Pilatus toboggan run add to it. Rainy days still come up short of ideas.

Padua is relaxed and welcoming with children, and Prato della Valle is a good place to let them run. Its sights are aimed at adults, though, so families usually head out to Gardaland or the Adriatic.

Both are easy without a car. Lucerne has the edge because the station, the steamer piers and the Old Town sit together on the lakefront, and one integrated ticket system runs the boats, cogwheel railways and cable cars into the mountains.

Padua's flat, arcaded centre is walkable in about 20 minutes from end to end, with a tram and bicycles for the rest. Its main-line station makes rail touring simple, but a car still helps for the hills and the villa countryside.

The two are about level for shopping, and neither is a reason to travel, but they suit different buyers. Lucerne is the better stop if you have come for a Swiss watch or a classic souvenir, because its shops are built around that trade and the tour groups it serves. Anyone hunting for clothes, homeware or design will run out of options quickly.

Padua suits someone who likes to browse at a slower pace. Its arcaded streets offer everyday Italian fashion and shoes, and the market squares are where you stock up on cheese and wine to take home. If your dates include the monthly Sunday antiques fair at Prato della Valle, that gives a good reason to linger. For serious fashion shopping, Venice and Milan are both an easy train ride away.

The difference in cost is large. Lucerne is one of Europe's most expensive stops: central hotels, simple meals and especially the mountain railways eat through a budget, and lakeside supermarket picnics only help a little.

Padua's prices are moderate. That is exactly why many visitors stay there and visit Venice by train, and spritzes, trattoria meals and getting around the walkable centre all cost little.

For classical music, Lucerne is clearly ahead. The Lucerne Festival brings the world's leading orchestras to Jean Nouvel's acoustically famous lakefront hall, which has its own programme all year, and the city theatre stages opera and dance.

Padua offers chamber concerts in the Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica, plus plays at Teatro Verdi. For big opera, people go to the Fenice in Venice or the Arena in Verona.

Padua is the better place for a restful stay. Abano and Montegrotto, about 12km away, form one of Europe's largest thermal districts, with hot mineral pools and mud treatments dating back to Roman times, and day visitors are easy to fit in after sightseeing.

Lucerne has no thermal tradition of its own. Its calm comes from quiet evenings, lakeside promenades and slow steamer trips, and the best soak is Botta's mineral bath high on the Rigi.