Basel or Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

Neither city has a beach, but Basel has something Rothenburg cannot match: from June to early September you can float down the Rhine past the old town, then dry off on the gravel banks. The current is strong, so this is for confident swimmers only.

In Rothenburg, swimming means the town's outdoor pool or about an hour's drive to the grassy bathing areas of the Franconian lake district, at lakes such as the Altmühlsee.

Basel has the better table, mostly because it sits where three kitchens meet. In one evening you can choose between Alsatian tarte flambée, Swiss-German comfort food and a glass of Baden wine, and above that sits a small tier of serious cooking that Rothenburg has nothing to match. The Markthalle stalls and the Marktplatz market add an easy lunch, although ordinary restaurants can feel dear for what arrives.

Rothenburg does one thing, and does it plainly: Schäufele, dumplings and bratwurst in timbered inns, with Silvaner in its squat Bocksbeutel or a regional beer. It is worth walking away from the main square, where kitchens serve the day-trippers, to the family guesthouses and the taverns pouring Tauber valley wine. Neither town is a reason to travel for food, but over several nights Basel keeps offering something different, while Rothenburg's menus soon start to repeat."}

Each offers a different kind of culture. Basel's strength is its collections: Holbein in the Kunstmuseum, modern art at the Fondation Beyeler, the Tinguely by the river and the Vitra campus over the border. A compact old town runs from the red sandstone Münster to the Spalentor, and the whole city fills three or four rich days.

Rothenburg is the sight itself, a nearly complete medieval walled town. It has a covered walkway along the walls, the classic view at the Plönlein and Riemenschneider's carved Holy Blood Altar in St Jakob's. It is memorable but quickly seen, and beyond the Medieval Crime Museum it has nothing like Basel's museums.

Basel's nightlife is modest but real. In summer people drink at the riverside buvettes on the Kleinbasel bank, there are bars around the Kaserne and the Rheingasse, and a few clubs in old harbour and industrial buildings play electronic music at weekends. Fasnacht, the late-winter carnival, takes over the city for three days and nights.

In Rothenburg an evening means dinner, a glass of wine and the night watchman's tour, and the lanes are quiet by eleven. For a real night out you have to go to Würzburg or Nuremberg.

Basel has three upland regions close by: the wooded Jura just to the south, the Black Forest within an hour with summits above 1,400m, and the Vosges to the west. All have marked trails, and flat paths along the Rhine make for easy cycling into Germany and France.

Rothenburg's outdoors is gentler, but it starts right at the walls. Paths drop into the Tauber valley past mills and meadows, the well-known Tauber valley cycle path follows the river through vineyards, and the rolling Frankenhöhe lies to the south and east. It is lovely for an easy walk or ride, but there are no mountains or wild country to aim for.

Both are fine bases, but Basel's position on three borders gives it the edge. Colmar and the Alsace wine villages, Freiburg, Lucerne, Bern and Zurich are each about an hour away. Fast, direct trains reach almost all of them, so a week of outings needs no car.

Rothenburg has a smaller but excellent circuit along the Romantic Road. It takes in walled Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen inside its meteorite crater, Schwäbisch Hall, Würzburg's Residenz and Nuremberg's castle. Most of these really need a car.

Basel has more for children. Its Zolli is one of Europe's best zoos, the Natural History and toy museums fill wet mornings, and the little Rhine ferries pulled by the current are a treat. Europa-Park is about an hour away, and the trams take prams without fuss.

Rothenburg delights children for a day or two, with ramparts to walk, the Rathaus tower to climb and the night watchman's lantern tour. After that the list runs out, and the cobbles and steep valley paths are hard on pushchairs and small legs.

Basel makes getting around effortless. The centre and both riverbanks are walkable, green trams cover the rest of the city, and hotel guests get a free local transport card. Four small ferries carry you across the Rhine.

Rothenburg is simple only inside its walls. You can cross the old town on foot in fifteen minutes, though the cobbles and the climb back up from the valley take some effort. Beyond the gates the railway means a change at Steinach and the buses are sparse.

Basel has a proper high street, while Rothenburg has a Christmas trade. Freie Strasse and Gerbergasse have Swiss watchmakers, jewellers and chocolatiers, and the lanes of Spalenberg add small design and craft shops, though few visitors come to Basel just to shop.

On the Herrngasse and Schmiedgasse in Rothenburg, glass baubles, nutcrackers, Erzgebirge carvings and teddy bears are sold all year round, and there is little fashion or everyday shopping. Both towns hold fine Christmas markets. Rothenburg's on the Marktplatz is among the most atmospheric in Germany, and Basel's around the Münster is one of the prettiest in Switzerland.

Rothenburg is much the cheaper of the two. Prices are those of small-town Germany with a tourist premium, and they peak in December and on summer weekends. Staying just outside the walls or in a nearby village saves a good deal.

Basel is very expensive for everything from rooms to museum tickets, and rooms get scarce during trade fairs such as Art Basel. The free transport card and cheaper meals over the German and French borders help, but the bill will still be far bigger.

Basel has a serious stage life for a city its size. Theater Basel stages opera, ballet and drama, and the Stadtcasino is home to the Sinfonieorchester Basel. Early-music concerts and a jazz school that supplies small clubs round out the calendar, though it is quieter in July and August.

Rothenburg's performances are mostly historical. The costumed Meistertrunk play re-enacts the wine-drinking feat said to have saved the town in the Thirty Years' War, a small open-air theatre stages summer productions, and St Jakob's holds organ and choral concerts. On most evenings there is no show to go to.

Basel has proper bathing close by. The saline thermal baths at Rheinfelden are about twenty minutes away, the mineral pools and saunas of Badenweiler and Bad Krozingen are just over the German border, and Baden-Baden makes a longer day out. In the city itself, quiet Sundays and the riverbank suit an unhurried stay.

Rothenburg's calm comes at set times, in the early morning and after the coach groups leave, when the walls and valley paths go quiet. Some larger hotels have small spas, but for thermal bathing you drive up to an hour to Bad Windsheim's salt-water pool or to Bad Mergentheim.