Bamberg or Vienna?

Neither city has a coast, but Vienna gives you far more on a hot day. The Danube Island and the Alte Donau have kilometres of grassy banks and long-established lidos a U-Bahn ride from the centre, and the Neusiedler See is within reach for lake bathing.

In Bamberg you swim at the river spot in the Hain park or the gravel-pit lakes on the edge of town. Both are fine for a cooling hour but not worth planning days around.

Both kitchens are hearty and rooted in their region, but Vienna's goes further. Schnitzel, Tafelspitz and the pastries of the grand coffee houses make up a cuisine of its own. There is also a solid fine-dining tier, and wine from the city's own vineyards is poured at the Heuriger taverns.

Bamberg is a beer town first. Smoky Rauchbier comes from the barrel in old brewery taverns and, in summer, in the hillside Bierkeller, with Schäufele and dumplings on the side. A beer lover will be happy for days, but anyone who wants variety from meal to meal will find more of it in Vienna.

Bamberg is one beautiful townscape. Its whole old town is UNESCO-listed, with the cathedral and its Bamberg Horseman, the Old Town Hall on its island and the fishermen's houses of Little Venice. Two or three days of walking show it well, and the museums are small.

Vienna works on another scale. The Hofburg, Schönbrunn and the Ringstrasse carry the weight of an empire. The Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Belvedere and the Albertina hold Bruegel, Klimt and Schiele, which is enough for a week of serious looking.

In Bamberg, evenings are spent in the brewery taverns, the Sand quarter's student bars during term time and the beer cellars in summer, and the town goes quiet early. Vienna offers more after dark: late bars and small clubs under the Gürtel railway arches, the Bermuda Triangle, deckchair bars on the Danube Canal and electronic nights in old industrial spaces.

Neither is a party city, but only Vienna has the winter ball season, when visitors can buy tickets to formal balls in palaces and halls.

Both sit in gentle, wooded country rather than mountains, and Vienna has a little more within easy reach. Its Vienna Woods and vineyard trails up to the Kahlenberg begin at the edge of town, and the Donau-Auen floodplain forest lies to the east. The Rax and Schneeberg plateaus add real Alpine scenery about 90 minutes away.

From Bamberg, the limestone valleys and rock towers of Franconian Switzerland, popular with climbers, are under an hour east. Cycle paths along the Main and Regnitz link the brewery villages.

Both cities make excellent bases, and the difference is the kind of outing. From Bamberg, regional trains reach the Franconian towns: Nuremberg, Würzburg with its Residence, Coburg and Bayreuth. The baroque basilica of Vierzehnheiligen overlooks the Main valley.

Vienna's trips reach further, across borders. Bratislava and Brno are in neighbouring countries, the Wachau valley with Melk and Dürnstein lies along the Danube, and the wine villages around the Neusiedler See are good for a slow day.

Vienna is much the easier choice with children. Schönbrunn Zoo, the Prater's Ferris wheel and rides, the shark tanks at Haus des Meeres and the hands-on Technical Museum can fill a week. The trams are easy to use with a pram.

Bamberg is safe and relaxed, with playgrounds in the Hain park, boats on the Regnitz and children playing between beer-garden tables. But its sights are churches and townscape, and the cobbles up the cathedral hill are hard work with a pushchair.

Bamberg is easy because it is small. The island town, the cathedral hill and Little Venice are minutes apart on foot, though the climbs are steep and cobbled and the station is a fair walk out. Vienna does the harder thing of making a capital simple.

Its five U-Bahn lines, dense trams and buses all run on one ticket, and the U-Bahn runs all night at weekends. Schönbrunn, the Prater and the vineyard villages are each a short ride from the centre.

In Vienna, shopping can take up a real part of the trip. The luxury houses are on the Kohlmarkt and Graben, everyday fashion on Mariahilfer Strasse and independent designers around Neubaugasse. Augarten porcelain, crystal and Loden coats make good things to take home.

In Bamberg, shopping fills an hour between sights. There are chain stores around Grüner Markt and antique dealers near the cathedral, and the souvenirs that feel local are bottled Rauchbier and produce from the market gardens.

Bamberg is the cheaper of the two. Beer costs little, a plate of roast pork and dumplings in a brewery tavern costs less than a big-city meal, and because you walk everywhere, you spend almost nothing on transport.

Vienna asks more, mainly for hotels and the full admission at the major palaces and museums. Even so, day passes, sausage stands, Heuriger buffets and the State Opera's standing places keep it manageable.

This is where the two differ most. Vienna's State Opera stages a different work on most nights, and the Vienna Philharmonic plays at the Musikverein. With the Konzerthaus, the Volksoper, the Theater an der Wien and the Burgtheater as well, there is something worth booking every evening.

Bamberg has one great asset in the Bamberg Symphony, along with drama at the ETA Hoffmann Theatre and concerts in the churches. It has no opera company of its own, so for opera people look to the Bayreuth Festival an hour away.

Both cities are restful by nature. In Bamberg that means mornings by the river and afternoons in beer gardens, and in Vienna it means coffee houses and palace gardens. Vienna has more bathing close at hand: the thermal pools of Therme Wien, the Art Deco Amalienbad and the sulphur springs of Baden half an hour out.

In Bamberg there is the sauna at the leisure pool, and the warm brine pools at Bad Staffelstein make a relaxing half-day trip by train.