Belgrade or Budva?

Budva is a proper beach resort, while Belgrade is an inland capital with one good place to swim. In Budva you can walk straight onto Slovenska Plaza or down to the Mogren coves below the walls, and Becici, Jaz and the beach facing Sveti Stefan are a short ride away. The shore is mostly fine pebble or coarse sand, and in August it is lined with sunbeds.

Belgrade's answer is Ada Ciganlija, a lake on the Sava with gravel shores and lifeguards that locals use like a lido after work. The wilder sandy Lido on Great War Island is the other option. Both are fine for a summer swim but are no substitute for the open sea.

Belgrade is the better place to eat. Food there centres on the grill and the kafana, with ćevapi and slow-roasted meats served with kajmak and ajvar, and the old style survives in Skadarlija and Zemun. Zeleni Venac and Kalenić markets and the wines of Fruška Gora give you a reason to explore beyond your plate.

Budva's promenade restaurants feed the summer crowds, and the quality is uneven. The rewards are regional: Njegusi ham and mountain cheese, the day's catch at family-run konobas and Vranac red from around Lake Skadar. Neither town is the place for refined dining.

Belgrade has far more to see. Kalemegdan stacks Roman, Ottoman and Austrian walls above the meeting of two rivers, the Temple of Saint Sava has its gold mosaic interior, and the Museum of Yugoslavia holds Tito's mausoleum. Add the Habsburg streets of Zemun and the socialist blocks of New Belgrade, and two or three days are well filled.

Budva has one sight, Stari Grad, with its marble lanes, churches and Citadel. Much of it was rebuilt after the 1979 earthquake, and a slow walk takes an hour or two. The region's real heritage lies in the towns along the coast.

Going out is one of Belgrade's main draws, and it lasts all year. In summer the splavs moored along the Sava and Danube play everything from turbo-folk to house. In winter the scene moves to basement clubs and old industrial spaces, and Dorćol's bars fill the pavements whenever it is warm. Bigger clubs work on table bookings and sharp dress.

Budva is a seasonal party town. Beach bars and terrace clubs line Slovenska Plaza, and a big open-air club on the hill keeps going until dawn, but from October to May most of it shuts. It also lacks Belgrade's range, from kafana evenings to cocktail bars.

Budva has much grander scenery. Bare limestone mountains climb straight from the shore, Lovcen's beech forests and high trails look over the Bay of Kotor, and Lake Skadar offers kayaking among the reeds. Closer to town there are coastal paths, sea kayaking and paragliding above Becici.

Belgrade's outdoors is gentler and shaped by its rivers. You get long promenades for cycling, herons on Great War Island, wooded Košutnjak and Topčider, Avala to the south and easy vineyard walks on Fruška Gora.

Budva makes the better base for day trips, and the trips are shorter. Kotor's walled town is about half an hour away, with Perast just beyond and the old royal capital of Cetinje under an hour inland. Further down the coast are Stari Bar and Ulcinj, and Dubrovnik is a long day across the border.

Belgrade's best outing is Novi Sad and the Petrovaradin fortress, under an hour by fast train. You can pair it with the baroque town of Sremski Karlovci and the Fruška Gora monasteries. Smederevo and Viminacium lie along the Danube, but most trips beyond Novi Sad need a car or a tour.

Budva works a little better for families, mainly because a beach vacation is easy with children. The town beaches shelve gently, Becici has calmer water and there is a water park above town. In July and August the nights are loud, so families often stay down the coast or come in June or September.

Belgrade suits older children who like history. They can climb the ramparts at Kalemegdan, see the tanks outside the military museum and visit the small zoo inside the walls, and Ada Ciganlija is easy in summer. Heavy traffic and crowded pavements make pushchairs hard work.

Belgrade is easier to get around. Kalemegdan, Knez Mihailova, Dorćol and Skadarlija sit within a short walk of each other, although the slopes up from the rivers are steep. Trams, trolleybuses and buses reach Zemun and New Belgrade, and cheap taxis fill the gaps.

Budva's centre is compact, and you can walk along the shore to Becici. Beyond that, though, there is no railway, and the single coast road jams in summer. Lovcen and Cetinje are far easier by car or on a tour, and boat taxis from the marina are the quickest way to the coves.

Belgrade has more to offer, though neither is a place for a shopping trip. Knez Mihailova and the big malls in New Belgrade cover the chains, and young designers in Dorćol and Vračar, along with honey, ajvar and rakija at Kalenić market, make better finds.

In Budva, shopping means the stalls in the old town and on the promenade: beachwear, silver filigree jewellery, olive oil and honey. A modest centre near the marina covers the basics.

Belgrade is the cheaper of the two. Kafana meals, terrace coffee and taxis cost little, and the fortress park is free. Your main expense will be a central room in Dorćol.

Budva is Montenegro's priciest resort, and in July and August seafront rooms, sunbeds and promenade restaurants all charge resort prices. Bakeries, grill houses and apartments a few streets back stay moderate, and June or September brings costs down noticeably.

Belgrade has a real performing arts season, and Budva does not. The National Theatre stages opera and ballet, the Philharmonic plays at Kolarac and the Madlenianum in Zemun adds musicals, while BITEF and BEMUS fill the autumn. For something more local, the tamburica bands in Skadarlija's kafanas are worth an evening.

Budva's one fixture is the Grad Teatar summer festival on open-air stages in the old town squares. The rest of the year brings little beyond cover bands in seafront bars.

Neither is a wellness destination, and neither has a bathing tradition of its own. In Belgrade, rest means long coffees on the terraces and calm afternoons by the lake on Ada Ciganlija, set against a loud centre and late, smoky nights.

Budva's resort hotels in Becici and around Sveti Stefan have proper spas, and in May, June or late September the town is quiet and the sea is still warm enough for a slow seaside stay.