Lucerne or Saint-Tropez?

Saint-Tropez is the true beach destination of the two. Pampelonne gives about 5km of fine sand and clear Mediterranean water, with beach clubs and public stretches side by side, and the wilder coves at Escalet and Cap Taillat lie further down the coast. The swimming season runs from June to September.

Lucerne has no sand to speak of. Bathing here means jumping in from the Lido, the old wooden lake baths or the lawns at Ufschötti, in calm, clean water with mountains behind it. It is a lovely summer break, but only for a few warm weeks.

Neither town is a food destination in its own right, but Saint-Tropez gives more pleasure at the table. Its Provençal cooking, with grilled fish, bouillabaisse, aïoli and rosé from the nearby vineyards, plus the Place des Lices market, has more character than Lucerne's menu.

In Lucerne, meals are hearty and reliable, with Chügelipastete, fondue, rösti and lake perch served in guild houses and riverside terraces, but the range is narrow. In both towns, the restaurants with the best views tend to cater to tourists.

Lucerne has more to see. The covered Chapel Bridge, the frescoed Old Town squares, the climbable towers of the Musegg Wall and the Lion Monument make a well-preserved medieval core, and the Rosengart Collection and Bourbaki Panorama add depth.

Saint-Tropez's high point is the Musée de l'Annonciade, with its pointillist and Fauvist paintings from Signac's time on the harbour, plus the citadel's maritime museum. Beyond that, the lanes of La Ponche are for wandering, and the setting matters more than the heritage.

Saint-Tropez is clearly the place for a night out, but only in summer. Afternoon parties at Pampelonne lead to champagne on the harbour and a few famous clubs open until dawn, with table service and a dress code rather than bar-hopping.

Lucerne's evenings are calmer: a glass of wine by the river, some cocktail bars in the Neustadt and a small student club scene. Fasnacht is the one time the whole town stays up all night.

Both have beautiful settings, but Lucerne's is in a different league. Pilatus, Rigi and the Stanserhorn rise straight from the lake, cogwheel trains and cable cars take you to the ridges, and Titlis keeps its glacier snow all year. Paddle steamers let you combine a boat ride, a train and a hike in one day, and in winter the same peaks offer skiing.

Saint-Tropez's outdoors are coastal and Mediterranean. The Sentier du Littoral winds past pine-backed coves to the capes, the Massif des Maures offers forest walks, and the gulf is suited to sailing and snorkelling. Summer heat and fire risk limit the walking to spring and autumn.

Lucerne offers bigger day trips that are easier to reach. Zurich, Bern's UNESCO-listed arcades and Basel's art museums are all under an hour by train, and the lake boats go to Rütli and Altdorf, the heart of the William Tell story.

From Saint-Tropez the outings are smaller and more local: the hilltop villages of Ramatuelle and Gassin, the canals of Port Grimaud, wine tastings, and a longer day on Porquerolles. They are charming but modest, and in high summer the roads can turn a short drive into a long one.

Lucerne is the easier choice with children. The Swiss Museum of Transport can fill a whole day, the cogwheel trains, steamers and Pilatus toboggan run make the journeys part of the fun, and the flat, safe centre and lakeside lawns make the days simple.

Saint-Tropez works for a beach-only family vacation, as Pampelonne and Gigaro shelve gently enough for small children. Otherwise, the town is built around adult pleasures, and summer traffic and hot afternoons add to the effort.

This is one of the sharpest differences between the two towns. In Lucerne the station, boat piers and Old Town are side by side, and trains, steamers and cable cars all use one ticket system, so a car is never needed, even for mountain excursions.

Saint-Tropez itself is tiny and walkable, but it has no railway, and the beaches are several kilometres out. Visitors rely on cars, scooters or taxis on a single gulf road that jams in July and August, and the passenger boat from Sainte-Maxime is often the quickest way in.

Saint-Tropez is the better place to shop for style. The big fashion houses keep summer boutiques behind the port, there are resort-wear and swimwear labels, and the hand-stitched Tropézienne sandal is a local craft worth taking home.

Lucerne's shopping revolves around Swiss watches on Schwanenplatz, along with army knives, chocolate and cuckoo clocks. It is the place to go for a fine timepiece, but there is little in the way of fashion or design.

Both are among the costliest places you could choose, so the difference is in where the money goes. In Lucerne, the mountain railways and cable cars eat up much of the budget, though a Swiss travel pass and picnics from the supermarket by the lake soften it a little.

In Saint-Tropez, the summer costs are beach loungers, harbourside meals and taxis. Thrifty visitors stay across the gulf or come in late spring or autumn, swimming from the public beaches.

Lucerne is far ahead for music. The Lucerne Festival brings leading orchestras and soloists to Jean Nouvel's lakefront hall, which is famed for its acoustics, and the local symphony orchestra and the city theatre keep a programme going all year.

Saint-Tropez offers summer concerts in gardens and on the citadel, plus live sets at the beach clubs. Its most memorable event is the Bravade procession in May, and serious opera or theatre means driving to Toulon or Nice.

Neither town has a bathing tradition, so spa time means hotel spas in both. Lucerne has the edge thanks to the Mario Botta-designed mineral bath high on the Rigi, quiet evenings and slow steamer afternoons on the lake.

Saint-Tropez can be restful too, but only outside high summer. In May, June and September it settles into long lunches and pétanque under the plane trees, while July and August are crowded and loud.