Bled or Sarajevo?

Neither city has a coast, but only Bled makes swimming part of the trip. The lake reaches about 24°C in midsummer. You bathe from lidos below the castle cliff or from the shallower end near Velika Zaka, or you swim out to the island, and the colder, wilder lake at Bohinj is half an hour away.

Sarajevo's options are cold mountain rivers, the Jablanica lake on the road south, and hotel or public pools. If swimming matters to you there, add a few days on the Croatian or Montenegrin coast.

Sarajevo is far stronger for eating. Baščaršija is lined with grills serving ćevapi in somun bread with kajmak, pita bakeries sell burek by weight, and traditional kitchens cook begova čorba and lamb under a metal lid. Coffee from a copper džezva with rahat lokum is worth slowing down for. The range is narrow, but nearly all of it is local and done with care.

Bled has kremšnita on a lake terrace and little else to seek out. The trout and žlikrofi in its inns and hotel dining rooms are mostly aimed at day visitors, and the better cooking is in the valley farm inns.

Bled's sights are a castle on a cliff with a small museum and a printing workshop, and the baroque island church with its wishing bell, reached by pletna boat. They are lovely, but you will have seen them in a day.

Sarajevo has far more to explore. Within a few streets you pass the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, the Orthodox and Catholic cathedrals and the Old Synagogue, and then the Latin Bridge where the First World War was set off. The Tunnel of Hope, the War Childhood Museum and the Haggadah in the National Museum can easily fill several days.

After dinner in Bled you have a drink by the lake and walk along the lit shore, and that is about it. There are no clubs, and anyone who wants a night out has to go to Ljubljana.

Sarajevo has real evenings out, though it is sociable rather than wild. The café-bars around Ferhadija and the Old Town get louder as night falls, and the student cellar bars and small clubs stay open past midnight at weekends. Drinks are cheap, and plenty of nights end over rakija rather than on a dancefloor.

Both are mountain bases, but Bled's setting is grander and offers more to do. The lake circuit and the climbs to Ojstrica and Osojnica are right in the village. Vintgar Gorge, Bohinj, the Savica waterfall and Pokljuka are all close, and the Soča valley lies over the Vršič pass. You can choose between hut-to-hut hikes, rafting, canyoning and paragliding.

Sarajevo's strength is how close the mountains are. A cable car from the Old Town climbs Trebević past the old Olympic bobsleigh track, and the grassy ridges of Bjelašnica lead to the shepherds' village of Lukomir. Trails are lightly marked, though, and winter smog can sit in the valley.

Bled has more variety close by. Ljubljana is under an hour away, medieval Radovljica is next door, and Postojna cave with cliffside Predjama Castle or Venetian Piran on the Adriatic each make a full day. Austria's Wörthersee is through the Karawanks tunnel.

Sarajevo has one outstanding trip: the train along the Neretva gorge to Mostar's bridge, with Konjic, Blagaj and Počitelj along the same route. Travnik and the bridge at Višegrad are further off, and slow winding roads mean most trips need a car or a tour.

Bled is easier with children. The flat lake path suits pushchairs, rowing out to ring the island bell is a guaranteed hit, and the summer toboggan and rope park on Straža keep older children busy. A rainy day can be hard to fill, though.

Sarajevo welcomes children warmly, with pigeons at the Sebilj, the cable car and the small zoo at Pionirska dolina. Its main sights are about war, the hillside streets are steep, and grill smoke and winter smog are hard on small lungs.

The two are about equally easy to get around, but in different ways. In Bled you walk: the shoreline path links everything, and buses and two railway stations connect it to Ljubljana and Bohinj. The wider Julian Alps, though, really need a car.

Sarajevo is a city with a tram line that dates back to the nineteenth century. It runs along the valley floor from Baščaršija to Ilidža, and cheap taxis fill the gaps. Away from that corridor the steep slopes and less obvious bus routes are harder to manage.

Shopping is no reason to visit Bled. A few lakeside stalls sell honey, lace and painted beehive panels, and that is it.

Sarajevo's bazaar is a real place to browse. Coppersmiths still hammer coffee sets on Kazandžiluk, and the Bezistan and the lanes around it sell kilims, leather slippers and filigree. Look carefully, because plenty of it is souvenir stock, and beyond the bazaar there are mostly chains and malls.

Sarajevo is much easier on the wallet. Ćevapi, pastries, coffee, trams, taxis and museum entry all cost little, and central guesthouses are priced well below Western European levels.

Bled is Slovenia's priciest resort, and July and August are the dearest months. You can cut costs by staying in Radovljica, Bohinj or the lakeside campsite, and by spending your days on the free trails and viewpoints.

Bled has no stage at all, beyond the odd summer concert in the castle or a church. For an evening of music or theatre you have to go to Ljubljana.

Sarajevo has a modest but real programme. The Austro-Hungarian National Theatre stages drama, opera and ballet, and the Philharmonic gives regular concerts. MESS in autumn and the November jazz festival are the high points, and sevdah can be heard in traditional restaurants.

Bled is the more restful place. It began as Arnold Rikli's nineteenth-century air and sun cure resort, and lakeside hotel spas still use the warm springs at the eastern end. More than anything, the calm comes from early walks by still water and slow pletna rides.

Sarajevo's best option is the thermal springs at Ilidža, in use since Roman times, followed by a walk under the trees at Vrelo Bosne. The old hammam no longer works as a bath, and the city can feel less restful when winter smog fills the valley.