Amsterdam or Baden-Baden?

Neither place is a beach destination, but Amsterdam at least has a coast nearby. The wide sandy shore at Zandvoort and Bloemendaal is about half an hour away by train, and the city beaches at IJburg give you a swim on hot days, even if the North Sea stays cool and windy.

Baden-Baden is far inland. Its summer swimming means gravel-pit lakes on the Rhine plain and outdoor pools, and the town's real water culture is thermal bathing.

Amsterdam has more range, mostly thanks to its trading past: Indonesian rijsttafel, Surinamese roti, herring from street stalls and markets like the Albert Cuyp. Its drinking culture of brown cafés and jenever tasting rooms is the bigger draw, and De Pijp and the Jordaan reward the search for neighbourhood restaurants.

Baden-Baden is smaller and narrower, but its region is the stronger one for eating. Expect Flammkuchen, venison and Black Forest gateau, Riesling and Pinot Noir from the Rebland villages, and a short drive to celebrated Black Forest restaurants.

Amsterdam is in a different league here. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk and the Anne Frank House sit inside a UNESCO canal ring that is a sight in itself, and they need three or four days to see properly.

Baden-Baden's appeal is the whole spa town: the Kurhaus, the Trinkhalle, hillside villas and Roman bath ruins, plus the Museum Frieder Burda and the Kunsthalle. It is a rewarding day or two of sightseeing.

For going out, the gap is wide. Amsterdam has all-night electronic clubs in old industrial buildings, the Amsterdam Dance Event every October, and canal-side terraces in the Jordaan and De Pijp for a gentler evening.

Baden-Baden's signature night out is a dressed-up visit to the Kurhaus casino, followed by a hotel bar or a wine bar. The streets are calm by late evening, and anyone after clubs goes to Karlsruhe or Strasbourg.

Baden-Baden has real upland on its doorstep. The Merkur funicular climbs to views across the Rhine plain to the Vosges, trails run into fir forest from the Battert cliffs, and the Black Forest High Road leads to the Mummelsee and the Hornisgrinde, with mountain biking and some skiing in winter.

Amsterdam's countryside is flat and quiet, best seen by bike: the polders and wooden villages of Waterland, the Amsterdamse Bos and the bison-grazed dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland. It is lovely in its own way but has no hills.

Amsterdam is the stronger base. The Netherlands packs its historic towns close together, and fast, frequent trains put Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam within an hour, so you can see a different city each day without a car. Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Kinderdijk and the Keukenhof are easy outings too, and Antwerp is in reach.

Baden-Baden's appeal is that its trips cross a border. Strasbourg and the Alsace wine route lie on one side, Heidelberg and Freiburg on the other, with the UNESCO sites at Speyer and Maulbronn as well. The distances are longer, though, and many of these trips are much easier with a car.

Amsterdam gives children far more to do in town: the Artis zoo, the hands-on NEMO science museum, canal boat trips, pancake houses and playgrounds in the parks. You will need to watch out for the fast bikes and the unfenced canal edges.

Baden-Baden is safe and easy for families, with the funicular and forest trails to explore, but it is a town made for adults. The Friedrichsbad turns away young children, so families tend to spend their days at Europa-Park, about an hour south.

Amsterdam is the easier place to get around without a car. Trams, a metro, free ferries across the IJ and a direct train from Schiphol cover it all, and a hired bike puts the whole flat centre within reach.

Baden-Baden's centre is compact but hilly in places, and the station is a bus ride away in Oos. Trains work well for Karlsruhe and Freiburg, but the wine villages, the High Road and Alsace really call for a car.

Amsterdam has the depth: the independent boutiques and vintage shops of the Nine Streets, luxury labels on PC Hooftstraat, De Bijenkorf, and markets from Waterlooplein to the floating Bloemenmarkt.

Baden-Baden is polished but small. A stroll along Sophienstraße and Lange Straße takes in jewellers, watchmakers and delicatessens, with cuckoo clocks and local wine to take home. Keen shoppers head over to Strasbourg.

Neither is cheap, but Amsterdam is the harder on your wallet, mainly because its hotel rooms around the canal ring are among the dearest in Europe and the tourist tax adds more on top. Staying in Haarlem or Utrecht helps.

Baden-Baden is a resort built for the wealthy, and every bath visit costs extra. Its guesthouses, wine taverns and bakeries are fair by German standards, though, so a careful stay is a little easier here.

Both are strong on classical music, but Amsterdam goes much further. It has the Concertgebouw and its orchestra, the national opera and ballet on the Amstel, contemporary music and jazz at the Muziekgebouw and Bimhuis, and touring bands at Paradiso and the Melkweg.

Baden-Baden does remarkably well for its size. The Festspielhaus brings in leading orchestras and opera, the jewel-box theatre stages drama and opera, and the town keeps the memory of Brahms and Clara Schumann. Beyond classical music the choice is thin.

This is Baden-Baden's whole reason for being. Hot springs used by the Romans feed the domed Friedrichsbad, with its silent sequence of rooms and pools, and the Caracalla complex next door. The rest of the town, from the grand hotel spas to the Lichtentaler Allee, keeps the same unhurried rhythm.

Amsterdam has good saunas and day spas on its edges, and a quiet early morning on the canals can be restful. But its crowded centre is not somewhere you come to unwind.