Lyon or Strasbourg?

Neither city is a swimming destination, and the difference is in how far you go for a dip. Lyon has a supervised bathing lake in the Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage on its north-eastern edge, and the clearer Alpine water of Annecy and the Lac du Bourget makes a separate day out. Strasbourg has several lifeguarded gravel-pit lakes around its edges, and the tram runs to the Baggersee, so a hot-afternoon swim is slightly easier to fit into the day.

Lyon is the city to travel to for food. The bouchon, with quenelles, andouillette and a pot of local red, is backed by a fine-dining tradition that runs from the Mères lyonnaises onwards. Les Halles Paul Bocuse and the markets along the Saône and at Croix-Rousse give you plenty to graze on between meals.

Strasbourg's winstubs are a real pleasure, with choucroute, baeckeoffe and tarte flambée alongside Alsace Riesling, but the cooking is narrower and heavier and suits a cold day better than a summer evening. Both have tourist-menu traps in their busiest streets: rue Mercière in Lyon, and the lanes around the cathedral and Petite France in Strasbourg.

Lyon has more to see and more layers of history. The Roman theatres on Fourvière, the Renaissance lanes and traboules of Vieux Lyon and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, one of the finest collections in France outside Paris, fill a few full days. Croix-Rousse adds the story of the silk weavers.

Strasbourg is built around one great building, the pink sandstone cathedral with its astronomical clock, which stands on the Grande Ile near the half-timbered houses of Petite France. The three museums in the Palais Rohan and the German-built Neustadt round out the city, and two or three days cover it comfortably.

Lyon is clearly the better night out. Wine and cocktail bars crowd the Presqu'île, barges moored on the Rhône quays turn into bars and clubs, and warehouse-style clubs towards Gerland keep a serious electronic music scene going.

Strasbourg's evenings revolve around student bars in Krutenau and around Place Saint-Étienne and summer terraces by the river. There are only a handful of clubs, and on weeknights the city is mostly quiet by midnight.

Lyon's outdoors is about rivers and hills, Strasbourg's about a flat plain made for the bike. In Lyon you run or cycle the car-free Rhône quays, row on the lake in the Parc de la Tête d'Or and climb the stairways of Fourvière, with gentle walks in the Monts d'Or close by. For proper hiking and climbing, the Chartreuse and Vercors massifs are an hour or more away.

Strasbourg sends you along level routes beside the Rhine and the canals, through riverside forests where storks and beavers live, and on into Germany. Within about an hour you reach the forest trails and castle ruins of the Vosges or the higher, fir-covered ridges of the Black Forest.

Both make strong bases, so the choice comes down to what you want from a day out. From Lyon you can reach Roman Vienne, medieval Pérouges, the Beaujolais villages and the Burgundy towns around Beaune, with Annecy's lake and canals further out towards the Alps.

Strasbourg gives you two countries in one stay. Colmar and wine-route villages such as Riquewihr and Eguisheim lie on one side, and Baden-Baden, Freiburg and Heidelberg are across the Rhine on the other. In both cities, a car or a bike makes the wine country much easier to explore.

Families do well in either city, but for different reasons. Lyon's Parc de la Tête d'Or, with its free zoo, pedalos and little train, can fill a day, and the dinosaurs at the Musée des Confluences and the Guignol puppet shows add variety. The stepped lanes of the hills are hard work with a pushchair, though.

Strasbourg is flatter and mostly car-free, which makes it easier with small children, and the boat trips round Petite France and the Le Vaisseau science centre keep them busy in town. Its big draw is Europa-Park, one of Europe's largest theme parks, about an hour away.

You won't need a car in either city, but you get around them differently. Lyon has a small metro, trams, funiculars up to Fourvière and a rack line up Croix-Rousse. The flat Presqu'île is pleasant on foot, but the hills mean the odd climb or change.

Strasbourg is smaller and flatter. You can walk across its island centre in about twenty minutes, trams run out from it in all directions, and one line crosses the Rhine to Kehl. With its separated cycle lanes, a bike is often the quickest way to get about.

Lyon has a little more range. Chains line the rue de la République, luxury labels gather around Place des Jacobins and Part-Dieu has a large mall, while Croix-Rousse adds silk scarves and designer workshops.

Strasbourg's shops cluster around Place Kléber and the lanes near the cathedral, and there is little fashion of note. Its regional crafts are distinctive, though, including Soufflenheim pottery, printed linens and kougelhopf moulds. In both cities, food is still the best thing to take home.

Costs are much the same in both cities: cheaper than Paris, but not cheap. In Lyon you save at lunch, where bouchons serve generous set menus, and the zoo is free. In Strasbourg the savings come from winstub meals, wine by the pichet, cheap trams and free sights such as the cathedral.

In both, hotels are the cost to watch. Lyon's rooms get scarce and expensive during trade fairs and the Fête des Lumières, and Strasbourg's during the Christmas market and the weeks when the European Parliament sits.

Lyon has the fuller stage life. The opera house under its glass vault, the Orchestre National at the Auditorium and the Théâtre des Célestins cover the classics, and dance is a real specialism, with the Maison de la Danse and the Biennale. Strasbourg has nothing to match summer evenings at the Nuits de Fourvière, held in the Roman theatres above the city.

Strasbourg still has the Opéra national du Rhin on Place Broglie, a leading national theatre and the Musica festival of contemporary music each autumn. Less is on at any one time, though, so plan your visit around the season.

Strasbourg is the better pick for unwinding. Its tiled Bains municipaux, dating from the early twentieth century, with a hammam and saunas, are part of everyday local life. The Friedrichsbad and Caracalla thermal baths in Baden-Baden are under an hour away.

Lyon has no bathing culture of its own beyond a few hammams and the open-air pool on the Rhône quays, and real thermal water means a longer trip to Aix-les-Bains. Its restful side comes from long lunches and quiet Sunday mornings by the Saône rather than from spas.