Bamberg or Innsbruck?

Neither city has a sea, but Innsbruck makes the better summer swim. The Lanser See and Natterer See on the plateaus above town warm up to a pleasant temperature in high summer, with mountains all around, and the clear Achensee is beautiful to look at even if it is cold to swim in.

In Bamberg, cooling off means the river bathing spot in the Hain park, the gravel-pit lakes on the edge of town or a public pool. That is fine for a hot afternoon, but it is not a day out in itself.

Bamberg has the more memorable food, and nearly all of it comes back to beer. Smoky Rauchbier poured from wooden barrels in centuries-old brewery taverns, long summer evenings in the Bierkeller under chestnut trees, and the market gardeners' stalls on Grüner Markt give eating there a strong local identity.

Innsbruck's Tyrolean cooking, such as Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn, is at its best in a mountain hut after a hike, and the coffee houses do good strudel. In town, though, there is no market culture, and the inns around the Golden Roof cater largely to tour groups. Neither city offers much international range.

Bamberg comes out ahead because the whole town is the sight. Its UNESCO-listed old centre survived the war almost untouched and spreads over seven hills, from the four-towered cathedral with the Bamberg Horseman to the frescoed Town Hall standing in the Regnitz. Its museums are small, and the reward is walking rather than looking at collections.

Innsbruck's historic core is smaller, but it has stronger single sights. Emperor Maximilian's tomb in the Hofkirche, ringed by bronze figures, and the Renaissance cabinet of curiosities at Ambras Castle beat anything Bamberg has indoors. Two or three days see both cities well.

Neither city is built for big nights, but Innsbruck stays up a little later. The bars and small clubs in the brick arches under the railway viaduct keep going late at weekends, and in winter many visitors head to après-ski in the resorts instead.

Bamberg's evenings are about beer rather than dancing. The brewery taverns fill up after work, the Sand quarter's student bars stay busy in term time, and the hillside beer cellars are the place to spend a summer evening. The town is quiet early, and the big nights out are in Nuremberg.

Here the two cities could hardly be further apart. In Innsbruck, the funicular and the Nordkette cable cars lift you from the old town to a ridge at about 2,300m. The Karwendel lies behind it, and across the valley are the Patscherkofel, the Stubai Glacier and a year of skiing, hut-to-hut hiking, paragliding and rafting.

Bamberg's countryside is gentle by comparison. There are limestone valleys and rock towers in Franconian Switzerland, beech forest in the Steigerwald, and cycle paths along the Main past orchard villages, with walks that link one village brewery to the next.

Both cities make excellent bases, but they reach different worlds. From Bamberg, the trips are short rail hops around Franconia: Nuremberg's castle, Würzburg's Residence, Coburg, Bayreuth and the baroque basilica of Vierzehnheiligen, most of them within about an hour.

From Innsbruck, you can cover three countries but travel further. Hall in Tirol is minutes away, while Munich and Salzburg take nearly two hours, as do Bolzano and Merano over the Brenner Pass. Neuschwanstein is easiest by car.

Innsbruck is the easier choice with children because the outdoors does the work. The Alpenzoo with its ibex, bears and lynx sits just up the funicular. In summer there are mountain adventure trails, playgrounds by the huts and warm plateau lakes, and in winter there are ski schools on gentle slopes.

Bamberg is safe and relaxed, with playgrounds and rowing boats in the Hain, a leisure pool with slides and beer gardens where children play among the tables. Beyond that, little is aimed at young visitors, and the cobbles up the cathedral hill are hard work with a pushchair.

Both are walkable cities where a car is unnecessary, and Innsbruck has a slight edge. Its centre is flat, its main station is central, and trams run out to Igls and the Stubai valley. Above all, the mountain funicular starts at the edge of the old town.

Bamberg's sights are also minutes apart, but reaching the cathedral and Michaelsberg means short, steep climbs over uneven cobbles, and the station is a fair walk from the old town. Buses and bicycles cover the flat lower town.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and what you take home differs in kind. In Bamberg the best finds are things to eat and drink: produce from the town's market gardens and bottled smoked beer from the brewery shops. There are also antique dealers around the cathedral quarter.

Innsbruck leans towards Alpine crafts and gear. The old town arcades sell loden jackets, dirndls, woodcarvings and crystal, and the specialist outdoor and ski shops are excellent if you are kitting out for the mountains.

Bamberg is clearly the cheaper stay. The local beer and the tavern meals cost less than in a big German city, hotels are moderately priced for most of the year, and you walk everywhere.

Innsbruck adds an Alpine resort premium. Hotels are dearest in ski season, the inns are filling but not cheap, and cable car tickets soon add up. The guest and city cards help, and spring and autumn are noticeably cheaper.

The two programmes are of similar size but differ in kind. Bamberg's strength is orchestral: the Bamberg Symphony has a real international reputation and plays in its concert hall on the Regnitz, and there are organ and choral concerts in the cathedral. It has no opera company, though Bayreuth's festival is an hour away.

Innsbruck has more on stage, with opera, operetta and dance at the Tiroler Landestheater. Its summer Festival of Early Music, held partly in the Spanish Hall at Ambras Castle, is the city's musical highlight.

Neither city has baths of its own, so the difference is in how you unwind. Bamberg's calm comes from its slow pace, with mornings by the river and long afternoons in shaded beer gardens. The warm brine pools of Bad Staffelstein are half an hour away by train.

Innsbruck offers the Alpine version: mountain air, hotel spas with valley views up in Igls, and the large thermal complexes of the Ötztal and Zillertal about an hour away.