Belgrade or Sarajevo?

Neither city has a sea, but Belgrade comes far closer to a bathing life. Ada Ciganlija gives it kilometres of lifeguarded lake shore that fills after work from June to September, and a boat crosses in summer to the sandy Danube beach on Great War Island.

Sarajevo has nothing comparable. Swimming there means cold mountain rivers, the lake at Jablanica on the road south, or a pool. Anyone who wants proper sea time should add a few days on the Adriatic coast.

The two eat well in much the same register, built on the grill, with ćevapi, kajmak, burek and fruit rakija on both tables. Belgrade leans heavier and more festive, with pljeskavica and roast meats served at long kafana tables in Skadarlija and Zemun, plus local wine from Fruška Gora.

Sarajevo is more Ottoman in character. Its Baščaršija grills serve ćevapi in somun bread, pita bakeries sell by weight, and a slow Bosnian coffee comes with rahat lokum and baklava. Vegetarians and anyone after refined international cooking will find both limited.

Sarajevo has the richer and more affecting set of sights. In a few walkable streets you move from the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and the bazaar to the Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals and the Old Synagogue. The Latin Bridge, the Tunnel of Hope and the War Childhood Museum tie the city to the two great ruptures of the twentieth century.

Belgrade has been rebuilt too often to keep much of a continuous old town. Its highlights are the layered Kalemegdan fortress above the river confluence, the vast Temple of Saint Sava and the Museum of Yugoslavia with Tito's tomb. These are worth two or three days, but they are less moving.

This is Belgrade's strongest card and one of the sharpest differences between the two. Summer nights on the splavs moored along the Sava and Danube run from turbo-folk to house until dawn, and the bars around Strahinjića Bana spill onto the pavements. At the big clubs people book tables, order by the bottle and dress up.

Sarajevo's evenings are gentler and cheaper. Café-bars around Ferhadija get louder after dark, and a student crowd keeps a few cellar bars and small clubs open late at weekends. Many nights end over rakija rather than on a dancefloor.

Sarajevo is ringed by real mountains, and they start at the edge of the Old Town. The Trebević cable car leads to forest trails and the abandoned Olympic bobsleigh track. Within an hour you reach Jahorina and Bjelašnica for skiing or ridge hiking, and the high village of Lukomir above the Rakitnica canyon.

Belgrade's outdoors is flatter and tamer, shaped by its rivers. You get long promenades for cycling, herons on the Great War Island wetland and rowing on Ada Ciganlija. For hills there are Avala and the low vineyard ridge of Fruška Gora.

Both cities have rewarding day trips. Belgrade's are easier to reach and Sarajevo's are more striking. A fast train takes you from Belgrade to Novi Sad and Petrovaradin in under an hour, and baroque Sremski Karlovci and the Fruška Gora monasteries make a day of churches and wine. Smederevo's riverside fortress and Roman Viminacium lie to the south-east.

From Sarajevo the scenic Neretva railway runs to Mostar's famous bridge, with Konjic, Blagaj and Počitelj along the way. Travnik and the Višegrad bridge are also within reach, though roads are slow and winding.

Belgrade is a little easier with children, mainly because of summer. Ada Ciganlija's shallow lake water, playgrounds and bike hire fill a day without effort, and Kalemegdan adds ramparts, tanks outside the military museum and a small zoo.

Sarajevo has a flat Old Town, the Trebević cable car and carriage rides to the streams of Vrelo Bosne, plus gentle skiing in winter. Its main sights deal with war, though, and grill smoke and winter smog are hard on small lungs. Both suit older children better than toddlers.

Both centres are walkable, but the cities move differently. Sarajevo's narrow valley makes it easy to grasp: one tram line runs from Baščaršija to Ilidža along a flat floor, and taxis are cheap for anything beyond it.

Belgrade spreads across two rivers. Its core from Kalemegdan to Skadarlija is walkable but hilly, and reaching Zemun or New Belgrade means a bus or a long riverside walk. Neither city has a metro, and Belgrade's crowded trams and buses are harder to decode in its heavy traffic.

Neither city is worth a trip for shopping, and they differ mostly in what you bring home. Sarajevo's draw is craft. Coppersmiths still hammer coffee sets on Kazandžiluk, and the Bezistan sells kilims, slippers and filigree, though you need to sort it from the souvenir stock.

Belgrade is better for food gifts and young design. Look for honey, ajvar and rakija at Kalenić market and for small boutiques in Dorćol and Vračar, with chain stores along Knez Mihailova.

Both are inexpensive by European standards, but Sarajevo stretches a budget further. Central guesthouses and mid-range hotels there cost noticeably less, and a plate of ćevapi or a bazaar coffee costs very little.

In Belgrade, food, drink and taxis are cheap too. Rooms in Dorćol and around Knez Mihailova are priced closer to Central Europe, though, and the smart river clubs add up quickly.

Belgrade offers more for an evening out at the theatre or concert hall. The National Theatre on Republic Square stages opera and ballet, the Philharmonic plays at Kolarac, and Madlenianum and the Sava Centre widen the choice. In autumn there are the BITEF and BEMUS festivals.

Sarajevo has its own National Theatre and Philharmonic on a smaller scale. Its standout events are the MESS theatre festival and the November jazz festival. Its most local sound, the melancholy sevdah song, is quieter than the tamburica bands playing in Belgrade's kafanas.

Sarajevo has the edge for anyone who wants to slow down. At the end of the tram line, Ilidža's thermal springs, used since Roman times, feed a spa with warm pools, and the shaded avenue to Vrelo Bosne makes a calm walk afterwards.

Belgrade has no springs of its own, only hotel spas. Its restful moments are an afternoon by the lake or on the Danube promenade, set against a loud centre and late nights. In both, the local habit of a long, unhurried coffee is the easiest way to unwind.