Lyon or Annecy?

Annecy has the clear advantage. From late June to early September, Lake Annecy offers clear green-blue water at the Albigny and Marquisats lawns in town and at small village beaches around the shore. There are jetties to swim from but no sand, and it makes for a real summer of bathing.

Lyon has only the supervised lake at Miribel-Jonage on its edge, and the Rhône quays are for sunbathing, not swimming. Anyone in Lyon who wants clean lake water ends up driving to Annecy.

Lyon is one of the great eating cities of France. Its bouchons serve quenelles, andouillette and praline tart, a fine-dining tradition runs back to the Mères lyonnaises, and Les Halles Paul Bocuse supplies oysters and Bresse poultry. Beaujolais and northern Rhône wines are close by, and set lunches make eating well easy.

Annecy's cooking is narrower: mostly Savoyard cheese dishes and lake fish, served on canal-side terraces of uneven quality. Its market mornings and the gastronomic tables at Talloires and Veyrier are the highlights.

Lyon fills several days of sightseeing across two thousand years. There are the Roman theatres of Lugdunum on Fourvière, the traboules and cathedral of Vieux Lyon, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in its old abbey and the silk-weavers' hill of Croix-Rousse.

Annecy's heritage is pretty but compact: the canals, the island prison of the Palais de l'Isle and the château museum above it. One unhurried day covers it.

Lyon has much more going on after dark. There are wine and cocktail bars across the Presqu'île, pubs in Vieux Lyon, barges on the Rhône that turn into bars and clubs, and a serious electronic music scene towards Gerland. Annecy's evenings are a drink on a canal terrace or by the lake. The town stays lively on summer nights but is quiet by midnight the rest of the year, and Lyon is one of the places Annecy's own night owls travel to.

This is where Annecy pulls well ahead. Mountains rise from the shore, with walks from town up Mont Veyrier, full days on the Tournette or the Semnoz, paragliding above Talloires, and paddling and sailing on the lake. In winter the Aravis ski slopes are under an hour away.

Lyon's outdoors are urban and gentle: the car-free Rhône quays, the Parc de la Tête d'Or, and the Monts d'Or and Beaujolais hills. Real mountains in the Chartreuse and Vercors take an hour or more by car.

Both make good bases, and Lyon has the edge for range. Roman Vienne is a short train ride away, and medieval Pérouges, the Beaujolais villages and the Burgundy wine towns around Beaune all fit into a day. Wine and old towns are the main themes.

Annecy's outings lean towards lakes and mountains instead: Geneva, Chamonix under Mont Blanc, and Yvoire and Évian on Lake Geneva, with Chambéry and Aix-les-Bains a short train ride south.

Both are safe and easy with children, but they keep them busy in different ways. Annecy is a summer outdoor playground of lake beaches, pedal boats, the flat cycle path and mountain toboggan runs, but it has little built for children once the water cools.

Lyon works in any season. It has the free zoo and pedalos at the Tête d'Or, dinosaurs at the Musée des Confluences, an aquarium, Guignol puppet shows and the funiculars up Fourvière, though the stepped hill lanes are hard going with a pushchair.

Annecy's old town, lakefront and station are all a short walk apart, and lake boats and a shoreline bike path help in summer. Reaching trailheads, passes or Chamonix, though, is far simpler with a hire car. Lyon is easier to manage without one, with metro, trams, funiculars and bike share all on one network and a tram to the airport, even if the hills mean the odd climb or change.

Lyon gives a shopper far more to work with. It has chains along the rue de la République, luxury labels around Place des Jacobins, the large Part-Dieu mall, silk from the weaving tradition and designer workshops on Croix-Rousse.

Annecy is mostly market stalls, cutlery and outdoor gear around rue Sainte-Claire. In both places the best souvenirs are edible: Savoyard cheese and génépi in Annecy, pralines and chocolate in Lyon.

Neither town is cheap, but Lyon is somewhat easier on the budget. Its hotels are fair for a large city except during big trade fairs and the Fête des Lumières, and set lunches in bouchons are generous.

Annecy charges resort rates in summer, and being next to wealthy Geneva keeps prices up all year. Its lake beaches, trails and cycle path cost nothing, though, and shoulder seasons or a self-catering flat soften the bill.

Lyon has a far fuller stage life. There is the glass-vaulted Opéra with its own opera company and ballet, the Orchestre National at the Auditorium, the old Célestins playhouse, and dance at the Maison de la Danse. In summer, the Nuits de Fourvière festival puts on performances in the Roman theatres.

Annecy has Bonlieu by the lake for theatre, dance and circus, a summer classical festival and the Fête du Lac fireworks. For opera or a major orchestra, it looks to Lyon or Geneva.

Annecy is the calmer place to unwind. Its pace is set by quiet mornings by the water and slow lunches in lake villages, and hotel spas sit in peaceful lakeside spots at Talloires and Veyrier, though the July and August crowds take the edge off.

Lyon's restful side is its rhythm of long lunches and Sunday mornings by the Saône, with a few hammams and day spas. For thermal bathing, both point to Aix-les-Bains, which is closer to Annecy. From Annecy, Saint-Gervais under Mont Blanc is another option.