Bamberg or Maastricht?

Neither city is a place for a beach trip, and they are about equal here. Bamberg's swimming happens at the old river bathing spot in the Hain park on the Regnitz, at gravel-pit lakes on the edge of town and in public pools. Maastricht's gravel-pit lakes along the Maas, on both sides of the Belgian border, have small sandy shores and lifeguarded areas. Bamberg offers a dip in the river in a town park, and Maastricht offers sand underfoot. Either is fine for a hot afternoon and nothing more.

The two are evenly matched at the table, but they eat and drink differently. In Bamberg, beer is the cuisine. Rauchbier is poured from wooden barrels in old brewery taverns, and on summer evenings people head up to the Bierkeller under the chestnut trees. The food is hearty Franconian cooking: Schäufele, dumplings and Bratwurst.

Maastricht is more about good living at the table. You get Limburg dishes such as zuurvlees and vlaai, Belgian beer and white wines from the nearby hillsides, and a fine-dining tier that Bamberg lacks. Neither city has much international range, so go to both for their regional cooking.

Bamberg has the more complete historic setting. It came through the war almost untouched, and its whole old town across the seven hills is listed by UNESCO. Highlights include the Imperial Cathedral with the Bamberg Horseman, the Neue Residenz, the frescoed town hall on its island and the market gardeners' quarter. The pleasure comes from walking it rather than from its small museums.

Maastricht has rich history in individual places rather than one unbroken townscape. These include the basilicas of Saint Servatius and Our Lady, the Helpoort and medieval walls along the Jeker, and the tunnels under the Sint-Pietersberg. Its Bonnefanten museum is better than anything in Bamberg, but nothing here matches the cathedral hill as a whole.

Maastricht has the more sociable evenings. Brown cafés around the Markt, the Platielstraat and the lanes off the Vrijthof stay busy late at weekends in term time. Carnival turns the whole city into a street party lasting several days.

Bamberg's nights centre on brewery taverns, the student bars of the Sand quarter and long summer evenings in the beer cellars. Most of the town is quiet well before the small hours. In both cities, anyone looking for clubs takes the train elsewhere.

Both have gentle, pastoral countryside rather than mountains. The difference is what lies close by. From Bamberg, the limestone valleys, caves and rock towers of Franconian Switzerland are under an hour away, and the Steigerwald beech forests and village-to-village brewery walks offer quieter days.

Maastricht's green space starts at the edge of the city, with the marl cliffs of the Sint-Pietersberg and the Jeker valley. The sunken lanes and short steep climbs of the Heuvelland are a favourite with road cyclists. Across the border lie the heath of Hoge Kempen and the wooded Ardennes.

Both are excellent bases, and the real difference is variety. From Bamberg, the trips stay within Franconia and mostly follow one rail line. Nuremberg, Würzburg's Residence, Coburg and Bayreuth are each about an hour away, with Vierzehnheiligen and Banz Abbey even nearer.

Maastricht changes country with almost every outing. Aachen's cathedral and the stairways of Liège are about half an hour away, Tongeren and Valkenburg are closer still, and Cologne, Brussels and Leuven are possible on longer days.

Maastricht is the easier city with children. The centre is flat and suits a buggy, and the tunnel tour under the Sint-Pietersberg is an adventure. Valkenburg, about twenty minutes away, adds show caves, a cable car and a fairy-tale park, and there is a large zoo at Kerkrade.

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. Its sights are mostly churches up steep cobbled lanes, which are hard work with a pushchair.

Both are compact enough to explore on foot without a car, but the ground is different. Bamberg's lower town is flat and good for cycling, but the climbs up to the cathedral and Michaelsberg are short, steep and cobbled. Its station is a fair walk out. Maastricht is flat throughout, with many pedestrian streets and easy riverside cycling, and its station in Wyck is just over the bridge. Bamberg's rail links reach most of its excursions, while Maastricht's hill villages are easier to explore by bike or car.

Maastricht is a real shopping destination, and neighbouring countries come for the weekend to browse it. The Stokstraat quarter's old houses hold fashion and designer boutiques, the Grote Staat has the main brands, and Wyck adds interiors, vintage and food shops. The Markt fills with the weekly market.

In Bamberg, shopping fills an hour between sights. There are chain stores on the pedestrian streets, a few independent bookshops, antique dealers near the cathedral and good things to take home, such as smoked beer and produce from the market gardens.

Bamberg is noticeably cheaper. The local beer is inexpensive, a brewery-tavern plate of roast pork and dumplings costs less than in a big city, and guesthouses are moderately priced. The exceptions are weekends and the Christmas market season.

Maastricht charges Dutch prices for meals, terrace drinks and hotel rooms, and short-break visitors keep weekend rooms in demand. Bakery stops and brown-café beer help, and coming from Sunday to Thursday makes the biggest difference.

The two are close, but the draw is different. Bamberg's strength is a single orchestra of international standing: the Bamberg Symphony, in its concert hall on the Regnitz. Drama at the ETA Hoffmann Theatre and church concerts add to it, but the town has no opera of its own, so opera lovers look to Bayreuth.

Maastricht puts more in one place. The theatre on the Vrijthof hosts the regional orchestra, an opera company, drama and dance. In summer the square becomes an open-air arena for large concerts, and jazz cafés and carnival brass bands fill in the rest of the year.

Maastricht has better access to proper spa days. The thermal spa above Valkenburg is about twenty minutes away, Aachen's baths are half an hour away, and the town of Spa itself is within an hour.

Bamberg relies on its pace for relaxation: mornings by the river, beer-garden afternoons and quiet evenings once the day visitors leave. The sauna at the leisure pool and the warm brine pools of Bad Staffelstein, half an hour away by train, cover the rest.