Bled or Ohrid?

Neither town is on the sea, and both lakes warm to about 24°C at the height of summer, so the swimming is closely matched. Bled's is quieter and greener, with grassy lidos, wooden piers and rocks to slip in from along the walking path. The shallow western end at Velika Zaka is good for paddling, and the colder, wilder Lake Bohinj is nearby.

Ohrid's shore is more of a summer social scene. There are concrete platforms and short pebble strips near the old town at Kaneo and Potpeš, and longer stretches with loungers and beach bars further south at Lagadin and Gradište. Both seasons are short and finish by mid-September.

Neither town is a reason to travel for food, but Ohrid eats better. Its tables carry a fuller Macedonian home kitchen: beans baked in earthenware, stuffed peppers, ajvar, sheep's cheese and lake fish such as belvica, with honest Tikveš wine and burek from the bakeries in the morning.

Bled's one speciality is kremšnita, eaten on a lakeside terrace. Beyond that it offers hotel dining rooms, pizzerias and inns serving trout and žlikrofi. The better cooking is out in the valley farm inns or in Ljubljana.

The gap here is wide. Ohrid is a historic town in its own right, listed with its lake by UNESCO. A walk uphill passes the frescoes of St Sophia, Ottoman-era houses, the icon gallery and Plaošnik, with its Hellenistic theatre and mosaics, before reaching Samuel's Fortress, with St John at Kaneo on its rock below.

Bled offers one memorable morning: the castle on its cliff with a small museum and a printing workshop, then a pletna boat to the island church and its wishing bell. After that, culture means going to Ljubljana or Radovljica.

Ohrid has a real summer night out and Bled has none. In July and August Ohrid's promenade and the streets around the old bazaar fill with café-bars, and beach clubs on the southern shore play into the small hours, although the town is quiet out of season. Bled's evenings end with a drink on a terrace and a walk along the lit shore, and the village is asleep before midnight in any month.

Both are lakes ringed by mountains, but Bled is the stronger base for the outdoors. The Julian Alps start at its edge. Within easy reach are the Ojstrica and Osojnica viewpoints, the Vintgar Gorge walkways and Triglav National Park with Bohinj and Pokljuka. There is also hut-to-hut hiking, rafting and canyoning on the Sava, the Soča valley over the Vršič pass, and skiing in winter.

Ohrid's outdoors centres on the lake itself and Galičica National Park, where a road climbs to views over both Ohrid and Prespa and trails reach summits above 2,000m. With kayaking, paragliding and the spring-fed pool near St Naum added, it is a fine setting, but it has less range than Bled.

Bled sits in a small, well-connected country, which gives it the better choice of outings. Ljubljana is under an hour away and medieval Radovljica is next door. Postojna cave and Predjama Castle make a full day, as does Piran on the Adriatic, and the Austrian lakes are through the Karawanks tunnel.

Ohrid's trips are good but fewer and slower to reach: St Naum by summer boat, Struga, Bitola with Heraclea Lynkestis, Bigorski monastery, and Korçë across the Albanian border. A car helps from both towns, but on Ohrid's slow roads it is closer to a necessity.

Both are small, calm and safe towns where children spend summer days in the water, but Bled gives them more to do. The flat lake path suits pushchairs and young cyclists, rowing out to ring the island bell is a favourite, and Straža hill has a summer toboggan run and a rope park, with sledging in winter.

Ohrid has the pile village at the Bay of Bones, boat rides and a warm welcome for children in restaurants, but its steep, cobbled old town is hard work with a pushchair. Neither town has a zoo or an aquarium, so rainy days are the weak point in both.

The two are evenly matched and work in a similar way: a compact centre you can walk, and a car for the hills. Bled's lakeside path is flat and has a small tourist train in summer. Regular buses and two railway stations link it to Ljubljana, Radovljica and Bohinj, though parking by the lake is tight in summer.

Ohrid's centre is just as walkable but steep, with cobbles and stairs. Taxis are plentiful for short hops, and the southern shore relies on infrequent buses and summer boats.

Ohrid has something particular to take home, and Bled has hardly anything. In the old bazaar, workshops sell the Ohrid pearl, a bead coated with a lustre made from lake fish scales by a few families, alongside carved wood, icons and filigree silver. It is worth buying from a long-established workshop. Bled's lakeside stalls go no further than honey, lace, painted beehive panels and postcards.

Ohrid is much the cheaper of the two. Guesthouses, meals with local wine, taxis and church entry all cost little, and only lakefront rooms in July and August push the bill up.

Bled is Slovenia's best-known resort and charges for its views, and the castle, the gorge and the island boats all charge entry. Its walks are free, and staying in Radovljica, Bohinj or at the campsite brings costs down, but it remains the more expensive stay.

Ohrid's summer festival, held every year since the early 1960s, is what sets the two apart. Bled has no theatre or concert hall, only the odd summer concert in the castle, the churches or by the lake and folk evenings staged for visitors. None of it is reliable enough to plan around, so opera and theatre mean an evening in Ljubljana.

In Ohrid the festival brings classical concerts, opera and theatre into the frescoed church of St Sophia and the ancient theatre on the old town hill, with a choral festival of sacred and folk singing alongside. Outside summer there is little beyond folk music in restaurants, so music lovers should time their visit to the programme.

Bled has the deeper roots. It began as a health resort in the nineteenth century under Arnold Rikli, and warm springs at the lake's eastern end feed the spa pools of several large hotels, some of them open to day guests. Ohrid has only a few hotel spas, and its nearest thermal springs are a long drive away near Debar.

Both reward a slow pace away from August. In Bled the calm comes from early walks around still water and the mountains at dusk. In Ohrid it comes from coffee by the lake and evenings on the promenade in May, June or September.