Bern or Munich?

Neither city has a coast, but in Bern swimming is closer to hand and more of a ritual. The Aare runs right past the old town, and confident swimmers float downstream from the Marzili past the Federal Palace. Lake Thun is about twenty minutes away by train for calmer water.

In Munich the swimming mostly happens out of town. The Isar's gravel banks at the Flaucher are for sunbathing and barbecues, while the real swims are in the Starnberger See and the Ammersee, under an hour away by S-Bahn. Both cities have the same short season, from June to early September.

Munich gives eating out more character and more choice. Beer gardens under chestnut trees, white sausage with pretzels before noon and the Viktualienmarkt next to Marienplatz make meals part of the sightseeing, and there is a respectable tier of starred restaurants on top.

Bern's food is narrower and more homely: the Berner Platte, rösti and fondue in vaulted cellars and guildhall dining rooms, Emmental cheese at the weekly markets, and very good chocolate. It is satisfying for a few days, but the range is that of a small city and the bills are steep.

Munich has far more to see. The Kunstareal alone could fill several days, with the old masters in the Alte Pinakothek, the Blue Rider painters at the Lenbachhaus and the Glyptothek's sculpture. The Residenz, Nymphenburg and the Deutsches Museum come on top of that.

Bern's strength is the town itself. Its intact UNESCO old town of sandstone arcades, fountains and the Zytglogge holds together in a way that Munich, much of it rebuilt after the war, cannot. Add the Zentrum Paul Klee and Einstein's flat on Kramgasse, and two days cover it well.

In Bern, a night out usually means a vaulted cellar bar under the arcades or, in summer, a terrace by the Aare. Aarbergergasse and the streets near the station fill up at weekends, and the Reitschule is the one place for late, rough-edged parties. On weeknights the city goes quiet early.

Munich's evenings start in a beer hall or beer garden and often stay there, but there is much more for anyone who wants to move on. Cocktail and gay bars are packed close together around the Glockenbachviertel and Gärtnerplatz, Schwabing has student pubs, and a few techno and house clubs run until morning at weekends. During the Oktoberfest the tents take over the whole city.

Both cities have the Alps in view and real mountains about an hour away, so the outdoors is equally strong. The setting is what differs. From Bern, the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau line the horizon above the old town, and the Jungfrau region is an hour away by train. The Gurten funicular and the wooded paths along the Aare start at the edge of town.

Munich lies on a flat plain, so getting to Garmisch and the Zugspitze takes a deliberate trip. In return, the city has more green space inside it: the English Garden with its Eisbach surfers, and long cycle paths along the Isar. The Five Lakes add gentle sailing and cycling country.

Both are excellent bases, so the choice is between Swiss towns and Bavarian and Austrian ones. Bern's trips are short and close together. Fribourg is twenty minutes away, Gruyères, walled Murten, Thun and Solothurn are all near, and Lucerne, Basel and Zurich are about an hour off.

Munich's trips are longer but grander: Neuschwanstein and the other royal castles, Salzburg and Innsbruck across the border, and Nuremberg and Regensburg. Expect more time on the train per outing from Munich, and a wider sweep of history.

Bern's bear park below the old town, the Dählhölzli zoo along the Aare and the big playground at the top of the Gurten funicular each make a good half-day, and the city is calm and safe. There is no theme park or major aquarium, though, and the fast Aare is no place for small swimmers, so families often head up into the mountains.

Munich keeps children busy for longer without leaving town. Hellabrunn zoo spreads along the Isar meadows, the Deutsches Museum has hands-on sections and a children's area, and the Olympic Park has an aquarium. Many beer gardens come with playgrounds, and a Lego theme park is about an hour and a half away by car.

Both are easy without a car, and the difference is size. Bern's centre is a twenty-minute walk from end to end, under arcades that keep off the rain, and the main station sits at the top of the old town. The catch is the steep climbs up from the Aare, eased by funiculars and a public lift.

Munich is bigger, so the U-Bahn and S-Bahn do more of the work, running to Nymphenburg, the Olympic Park, the airport and the lakes. The city is flat and good for cycling, though delays on the central S-Bahn line are a regular irritation.

Bern is good for an easy browse, not a shopping trip. Watch and chocolate shops line the arcades of Spitalgasse and Marktgasse, and antique, book and craft shops sit in cellars down steep steps off Gerechtigkeitsgasse. The Zibelemärit sells woven onion braids in late November. There is little fashion or luxury.

Munich goes much further. Maximilianstrasse has the luxury houses, Neuhauser Strasse and Kaufingerstrasse the department stores, and Glockenbach and Schwabing the independent boutiques. The city's distinctive purchase is Tracht, the dirndls and lederhosen made by specialist tailors around the centre, and Munich is one of the best places to buy it.

Neither city is cheap, but Munich is easier on a budget. Hotels are its main expense, especially during the Oktoberfest and the trade fairs. Beer-hall meals are fair value, you can bring a picnic to a beer garden, and several museums charge only a token fee on Sundays.

In Bern almost everything costs more, from a plain guesthouse to a beer on a terrace. The hotel transport pass, the free bear park and Federal Palace tours, and supermarket lunches all help, but a stay there is still a real expense.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Munich has the Bavarian State Opera in the National Theatre, three orchestras of real standing, the rococo Cuvilliés Theatre and a long-running summer opera festival, so a music lover can plan a whole trip around the programme.

Bern offers what a small capital usually does: opera and drama at the Stadttheater, the symphony orchestra in the Casino, new dance at the Dampfzentrale and the Gurtenfestival in July. It makes for a good evening out, but not a reason to come.

Munich has the stronger bathing culture. There is the Art Nouveau Müller'sches Volksbad with its Roman-style steam bath, public saunas with the German infusion rituals, and the huge thermal complex at Erding about forty minutes away.

Bern has no bathing tradition of its own, only a thermal complex on the western edge and some hotel spas. Its slow pace, quiet Sundays and riverside terraces still make it an easy place to unwind, and anyone after serious spa time goes up to the Bernese Oberland.