Lugano or Luxembourg?

Neither city has a coast, but in summer Lugano's lake is part of daily life. There is the city lido at the mouth of the Cassarate, there are decks and ladders along the shore towards Castagnola and Paradiso, and the villages reached by boat have small lake baths. The water is a little warmer too.

In Luxembourg, a swim means a trip out of town, either to the Upper Sûre reservoir about an hour north or to the gravel pits at Remerschen. For most visitors it stays an occasional outing on a hot day.

The two are closely matched, but the food is very different. Lugano's cooking is Italian and rustic and is best found in a grotto under chestnut trees: polenta, braised meats and a glass of Ticino Merlot. Many visitors cross into Italy for more choice.

Luxembourg mixes French, German, Belgian, Portuguese and Italian cooking, has more serious fine dining for its size, and pours Moselle Riesling and crémant by the glass. Neither is a place for cheap street food, and in both cities lunch is the better-value meal.

Luxembourg has more to see. Its old town stands on a sandstone plateau ringed by the remains of a UNESCO-listed fortress. You can walk through the Bock casemates and look down on the Grund from the Chemin de la Corniche. There are also the Grand Ducal Palace, the national museum and MUDAM across the Red Bridge, enough for two days.

Lugano's sights are gentler and quicker to see. The arcaded Lombard streets around Piazza della Riforma, San Lorenzo above the lake, Luini's Passion fresco in Santa Maria degli Angioli and the art collection at LAC can all be covered in one day.

Neither is a party town, but Luxembourg has a little more going on after dinner. The bars and clubs at the Rives de Clausen, the riverside pubs of the Grund and the later venues in Hollerich draw a young international crowd, and Thursday and Friday are the busy nights.

In Lugano, an evening means an aperitivo on the lakefront and a long dinner, with a few lounge bars by the water. The town is quiet before midnight, and its young people go to Milan to go out.

Nature is Lugano's strongest card. Steep wooded mountains rise straight from the lake. Funiculars climb Monte Brè and San Salvatore, a rack railway goes up Monte Generoso and the green water of the Verzasca and Maggia valleys is about an hour away. Paddleboards and kayaks are easy to hire on the lake.

Luxembourg's countryside is softer. There are wooded gorges right through the city centre, the mossy sandstone passages of the Müllerthal half an hour away, the hills of the Ardennes and cycle paths along the Moselle. It is good walking country, but there are no mountains.

Both cities sit on borders and both make excellent bases, but Lugano's trips carry more weight. Milan's cathedral and The Last Supper are just over an hour away and Como is half an hour. In the other direction lie the castles of Bellinzona, Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands.

From Luxembourg, Roman Trier and Gothic Metz are each under an hour by train. Vianden's castle, Echternach and the Moselle wine villages make quieter outings. These are fine trips, but on a smaller scale than Milan and the Italian lakes.

Both cities are safe and calm, and neither has a zoo or aquarium, but Lugano gives children slightly more to do. Boat rides to the villages, slides at the lidos, mountain funiculars and the park of Swiss landmarks in miniature at Melide fill several outdoor days. The steep streets are hard work with a pushchair, though.

Luxembourg is easier with a buggy, thanks to its public lifts, and the casemate tunnels feel like an adventure. Beyond the natural history museum and the Parc Merveilleux at Bettembourg, however, it suits only two or three days.

Both are easy without a car. Luxembourg's advantage is that all public transport in the country is free. A tram runs to Kirchberg, trains reach Vianden and the Moselle, and public lifts link the upper town to the Grund.

Lugano is a walkable lakefront with a steep hill behind it, and a short funicular runs down from the station. Its extras are the lake boats and the mountain railways. Hotel stays usually include free regional transport as well.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and both cater mainly to wealthy buyers. Lugano's Via Nassa is lined with watchmakers, jewellers and Italian fashion houses under its arcades. There is a designer outlet near Mendrisio, and Milan is close for anything more.

Luxembourg's Grand-Rue has the luxury brands and Avenue de la Gare has the high-street chains. The Villeroy & Boch porcelain outlet and a bottle of Moselle crémant are the most local things to take home.

Both are expensive, and there is little to choose between them. Lugano has Swiss prices for hotels, meals, boats and mountain railways. Grotti, set lunches and the regional transport most hotels include ease the bill a little.

Luxembourg offers a few more savings. Transport is free everywhere, several museums charge nothing, wine by the glass is reasonable and room rates can drop at weekends. In both cities, the cheaper option is to eat or stay across the border.

Luxembourg has more on stage. The Philharmonie on Kirchberg is home to its own orchestra and hosts many touring ones, and the Grand Théâtre brings in opera, dance and drama in several languages. The Rotondes and Neimënster add concerts, including open-air summer evenings in the Grund.

In Lugano, most of the programme is at LAC, home of the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, and much of the theatre is in Italian. Its high point is summer, when Estival Jazz fills Piazza della Riforma with free concerts.

Lugano's calm comes from the lake, while Luxembourg has a real thermal spring within easy reach. In Lugano the day slows down by itself: a morning on a lido, an afternoon on a bench under the palms of Parco Ciani, a grotto lunch that runs on. There are no springs, so for pools and saunas you go to the spas in the lakeside hotels or the large indoor complex near Rivera.

At Mondorf-les-Bains, half an hour from Luxembourg near the French border, a warm mineral spring has supplied a thermal establishment in landscaped parkland since the nineteenth century. It makes an easy day of pools, saunas and treatments. Back in the city, the river walks through the Grund and the Pétrusse valley are the quiet counterpart to Lugano's lakeshore.