Bled or Cesky Krumlov?

Bled is the better place to swim, simply because the lake is right there. You can walk to grassy lidos and wooden piers below the castle or at the shallow western end, and in high summer the water is warm enough for a long swim, even out to the island. Lake Bohinj adds a wilder, colder alternative.

Cesky Krumlov's river is for rafting, not bathing, so swimming means a half-hour drive to the Lipno reservoir in the Bohemian Forest. Its sandy and grassy shores are pleasant, but the water stays cooler and the trip has to be planned.

Neither town is somewhere to travel for food, but Cesky Krumlov eats a little better. Its South Bohemian cooking of roast duck, svíčková in cream sauce and forest game, served in vaulted cellars with beer brewed in the town for centuries, has more character than most of what Bled offers.

In Bled, the famous kremšnita custard slice on a lakeside terrace is the treat, and trout and žlikrofi dumplings appear at a few inns. Much else is hotel dining rooms and pizzerias, and the best Slovenian meals are out in the valley farm inns.

This is where Cesky Krumlov pulls far ahead. The entire old town is a preserved Renaissance and Baroque townscape, and its castle has painted towers, the three-level Cloak Bridge and a castle theatre with its original stage machinery, which few places in Europe can match. St Vitus church and the Schiele centre fill out a second day.

Bled has a handful of memorable sights rather than a townscape. There is the cliff-top castle with its small museum and printing workshop, the pletna boat ride to the island church with its wishing bell, and a few old spa villas. It makes a lovely picture, but most people finish within a day.

Both are early-night places, though Cesky Krumlov keeps going a little longer. A few cellar bars and pubs, some favoured by backpackers, stay open after dinner, and the riverside terraces fill on summer nights. Bled offers a drink in a hotel bar and a walk along the lit shore before the village goes to sleep. Ljubljana, under an hour away, is the nearest real night out.

Bled is the stronger base for the outdoors, and by a wide margin. The Julian Alps start at the village edge, with the Vintgar Gorge walkways, the Ojstrica and Osojnica viewpoints, and Triglav National Park's Bohinj, Savica waterfall and Pokljuka pastures all close by. The activities run from meadow walks to multi-day hut routes, rafting and canyoning on the Sava, paragliding and downhill skiing at Vogel.

Cesky Krumlov's landscape is soft and wooded. The best day is spent floating down the Vltava's meanders by canoe, and beyond that there are long, quiet trails through the Bohemian Forest's spruce and peat bogs, the views from Klet hill and sailing on Lipno. It is restful country rather than dramatic country.

From Bled, the outings are more varied. Ljubljana's old town and Plečnik architecture are under an hour away, Radovljica is next door, Postojna cave and Predjama Castle make a full day, and the Venetian harbour of Piran puts the Adriatic within reach. Klagenfurt and Villach in Austria are close through the Karawanks tunnel.

Cesky Krumlov's day trips stay within South Bohemia: the arcaded square and Budvar brewery of České Budějovice, the white castle at Hluboká, the Baroque farmhouses of Holašovice and the fish-pond spa town of Třeboň. They are rewarding, but Prague is really too far to see in a day.

Bled is the easier place to bring children. The flat lake path suits pushchairs and small bikes, rowing a hired boat to the island and ringing the church bell is a highlight, and Straža hill has a summer toboggan run and a rope park. The weak spot is rain, as there is no large indoor attraction to fall back on.

In Cesky Krumlov, the castle bears in the moat and a gentle raft trip delight children, and Lipno's treetop walk makes a good day out. However, the steep cobbled lanes are hard going with a pushchair, and the castle interior tours are aimed at adults.

These two are much alike: each has a small centre you can walk, and each is hard to explore beyond it without a car. In Bled, walking means a long, level shoreline path around the lake, with a summer tourist train and two railway stations a little way out of the centre. Cesky Krumlov packs everything into a tight bend of the river that you can cross in a quarter of an hour, though the cobbles and the climb to the castle are tiring.

Bled has better buses to Ljubljana and Bohinj, but its summer lakeside parking is tight. Cesky Krumlov's stations are an easy walk from the old town, while its forests and smaller castles are poorly served.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Cesky Krumlov at least gives you lanes to browse. You'll find Bohemian glass and crystal, garnet jewellery, marionettes, wooden toys and green moldavite from the region, along with some handmade ceramics and prints. Bled has only a few lakeside stalls selling honey, lace and painted beehive panels, plus a supermarket.

Cesky Krumlov is the cheaper stay. Family guesthouses fill its old houses, and Czech meals and local beer stay moderately priced, though rooms with castle views and the separately ticketed castle tours add up.

Bled is Slovenia's best-known resort and charges for its lake views, especially in high summer. The usual way to save is to sleep in Radovljica, Bohinj or the lakeside campsite, and to remember that the trails and viewpoints cost nothing.

Cesky Krumlov has the more interesting performances, at least in summer. Plays and opera are staged in the castle garden's open-air theatre, whose revolving auditorium turns between scenes, and an international music festival brings classical concerts to the castle and churches. Bled has nothing regular beyond occasional summer concerts and folk evenings for visitors, so anyone wanting opera or theatre heads to Ljubljana.

Bled has the deeper wellness tradition. It grew up in the nineteenth century as Arnold Rikli's air-and-sun-cure resort, and mild springs still feed the indoor pools of several lakeside hotel spas, some of which take day guests. Add early walks by still water and slow boat rides, and it makes a good place to unwind outside the summer peak.

Cesky Krumlov's offer is quieter evenings once the day visitors leave, a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths. For proper treatments, you would go to Třeboň's peat baths for the day.