Bamberg or Bled?

Neither place has a coast, and Bamberg offers only somewhere to cool off: the river bathing spot in the Hain park, the gravel-pit lakes on the edge of town and the public pools. That is enough for a hot afternoon but not a reason to come.

Bled has a lake you can really swim in. In high summer the water warms up nicely, there are lidos and piers below the castle cliff, and the island gives strong swimmers something to aim for. Colder, wilder Bohinj is half an hour away.

Bamberg eats and drinks with a strong local identity. Smoked Rauchbier is poured from wooden barrels in centuries-old brewery taverns, and summer moves up to the Bierkeller under the chestnut trees. Plates of Schäufele and dumplings come with it. The range is narrow, but each meal feels rooted in the place.

Bled has its famous cream slice on a lakeside terrace and not much more. Hotel dining rooms, pizzerias and inns serving trout and žlikrofi mostly cater to day visitors, and the better cooking is out in the valley farm inns.

Bamberg can fill several days with townscape alone. The Imperial Cathedral and the Bamberg Horseman sit on the cathedral hill, the frescoed Old Town Hall stands on its island in the Regnitz, and Little Venice and Michaelsberg Abbey are a short walk away. The pleasure comes from walking the streets rather than from the small museums.

Bled offers one memorable postcard: the cliff-top castle above the lake and the baroque church on the island, reached by pletna boat. Most visitors have seen it all in a day.

Bamberg is no party town, but its evenings have life. The brewery taverns fill up after work, the student bars of the Sand quarter stay busy in term time, and the beer cellars make for long summer nights. Clubbers head to Nuremberg.

Bled offers a drink on a hotel terrace and a stroll along the lit shore, and the village is quiet well before midnight.

Bled stands at the edge of the Julian Alps, which is why most people go. The lake circuit and the short climbs to Ojstrica and Osojnica come first. Beyond them are the Vintgar Gorge walkways, Bohinj, the Pokljuka plateau and hut-to-hut routes in Triglav National Park, along with rafting, canyoning, paragliding and winter skiing.

Bamberg's surroundings are gentler. There are rock towers and caves in Franconian Switzerland under an hour away, beech woods in the Steigerwald, and cycle paths and village-to-brewery walks through orchard country. It is pleasant, but you won't find big views.

Both make good bases, but the trips are different. From Bamberg, the main rail line puts you among historic cities and palaces: Nuremberg's castle, Würzburg's Residence, Coburg's fortress and Bayreuth's opera house are all easy train rides, with baroque Vierzehnheiligen nearer still.

From Bled you can see a whole small country and its borders: Ljubljana within the hour, medieval Radovljica, the Postojna cave, the Adriatic at Piran and Austria's Wörthersee. More of it is easier by car than by train.

Bled suits active families better. The flat lake path takes pushchairs and young cyclists, children love rowing out to ring the island bell, and summer brings shallow lidos, the toboggan run and the rope park on Straža hill. Wet days are the weak point.

Bamberg is safe and easy-going, with playgrounds in the Hain park, boats on the Regnitz and children playing in the beer gardens. Its leisure pool helps when it rains. Still, the main sights are churches, and the cobbled climbs are tiring for small legs and pushchairs.

Bamberg needs no car at all. The island town, the cathedral hill and Little Venice are minutes apart on foot, buses and bicycles cover the flat lower town, and the station links to the rest of Franconia.

Bled's lakeshore is just as walkable, and buses reach Ljubljana and Bohinj. The trailheads, the Vršič pass and the Soča valley are poorly served, though, so exploring the mountains usually means a hire car or transfers, and lakeside parking is tight in summer.

Bamberg's shopping is modest, but it is there. The pedestrian streets around Grüner Markt and Lange Strasse have chain stores, bookshops and boutiques, and antique dealers sit near the cathedral. Smoked beer and produce from the market gardens make good things to take home.

Bled has little beyond lakeside stalls selling honey, lace and painted beehive panels. For anything more, people go to Ljubljana.

Bamberg goes easier on the wallet. Beer and tavern meals are cheap, rooms are moderately priced outside busy weekends and the Christmas market, and walking costs nothing.

Bled is Slovenia's showpiece resort and charges for its lake views, especially in July and August. Sleeping in Radovljica or Bohinj brings the bill down. The trails and viewpoints are free, but the island boat, the castle and the gorge all charge entry.

Bamberg has a real draw for music lovers in the Bamberg Symphony, which plays its home season in the concert hall on the Regnitz. Drama at the ETA Hoffmann Theatre and organ concerts in the cathedral add to it, and the Bayreuth Festival is an hour away.

Bled has no venue of its own. Its occasional summer concerts and folk evenings can't be planned around, and for a proper performance you go to Ljubljana.

Bled was built for this. It grew up as a nineteenth-century health resort around Arnold Rikli's air and sun cures, and warm springs still feed lakeside hotel spas that sometimes take day guests. Early walks around still water do the rest, especially outside the summer peak.

Bamberg relaxes you through its pace: riverside mornings and slow afternoons in the beer gardens. For thermal bathing, the brine pools of Bad Staffelstein are a short train ride away.