Bled or Zermatt?

Bled is the one of the two where swimming is part of the stay. In July and August the lake reaches about 24°C, and you can swim from the lido below the castle cliff, from the shallow western end near Velika Zaka or out to the island, with colder, wilder Lake Bohinj half an hour away.

Zermatt has no bathing water at all. Its tarns are glacial meltwater, there to reflect the Matterhorn rather than to swim in, so a swim there means a hotel pool.

Neither is a place to travel to eat, but Zermatt has more to offer. It feeds a wealthy international crowd, so there are a few serious fine-dining kitchens in the village. The best of it is lunch at the wooden chalets around Findeln, Furi and Zum See, with raclette, air-dried beef and Valais wines such as Petite Arvine on a terrace facing the Matterhorn.

Bled's one famous taste is kremšnita, the tall cream slice eaten by the lake. Beyond that it is trout, žlikrofi dumplings and buckwheat dishes in inns and hotel dining rooms, and the better meals are out in the valley farm inns.

The two are broadly level, each with sights that fill a day at most, but the stories they tell are different. Bled's are romantic and picture-book: the castle on its cliff with a small museum and printing workshop, and the baroque island church with its wishing bell, reached by a traditional pletna boat.

Zermatt's heritage is about mountaineering. The underground Matterhorn Museum recounts the first ascent of 1865 and the deaths on the way down, the climbers' cemetery holds those the peaks claimed, and the larch barns of the Hinterdorf recall the farming village that came before the hotels.

Zermatt has a real night out, but only in season. On winter afternoons the slope-side bars fill with ski boots and loud music, and a few bars and small clubs on the main street carry on past midnight at weekends. In summer the hikers turn in early.

Bled stays quiet all year: a drink on a lakeside terrace, a walk along the lit shore and bed. For anything livelier you have to go to Ljubljana, under an hour away.

Both are superb mountain bases, but Zermatt plays in a higher league. The Matterhorn rises straight above the village, dozens of four-thousand-metre peaks ring the valley, and lifts reach the glacier at over 3,800m, with summer skiing, guided ascents and the end of the Haute Route.

Bled is gentler and greener, at the edge of the Julian Alps. It offers the level lake circuit, the Vintgar Gorge walkways, Triglav National Park and Bohinj close by, plus rafting and canyoning on the Sava and paragliding, which suits mixed groups who don't want to climb high.

Bled is by far the better base for seeing more than one place. Ljubljana's old town and Plečnik architecture are under an hour away, medieval Radovljica is next door, and the Postojna cave, Venetian Piran and the Austrian lakes around Klagenfurt all make easy full days.

From Zermatt every outing starts with the long train ride down the valley. Sion's castle hills and Brig's Stockalper Palace are worthwhile, but most visitors happily spend their spare days up the mountain instead.

Bled is the easier choice with young children. The flat lake path takes pushchairs and small bikes, the lidos are shallow, and rowing out to ring the island bell, the summer toboggan and the rope park on Straža hill fill the days.

Zermatt's car-free streets are a real plus, and its ski schools, nursery slopes and marmot-spotting walks work well for families who ski or hike. The thin, cold air at the highest viewpoints can be too much for small children, though. Neither has a zoo or big indoor attraction for rainy days.

Zermatt is simpler once you arrive. With no ordinary cars, you walk the compact village, electric taxis and ski buses cover the edges, and the cog railway, the Sunnegga funicular and the gondolas all start within walking distance. Leaving takes over an hour by train, but it links smoothly into the Swiss rail network.

Bled's lakeside is easy on foot and buses reach Ljubljana and Bohinj, but trailheads, Pokljuka and the Vršič pass are thinly served. Most people exploring the Julian Alps end up hiring a car and fighting for summer parking by the lake.

Zermatt at least has a proper shopping street, lined with Swiss watch and jewellery boutiques and some well-stocked ski and mountaineering outfitters, useful if you need good gear. Bled has little more than lakeside stalls selling honey, lace and painted beehive panels, and real shopping means a trip to Ljubljana.

Bled costs more than the rest of Slovenia, but it is still far cheaper than Zermatt. Village guesthouses, the lakeside campsite and stays in Radovljica or Bohinj cut costs, and the lake path and mountain trails are free.

Zermatt is expensive even by Alpine standards, from plain hotel rooms to a drink on a mountain terrace, and the lifts most visitors rely on add a lot more. Self-catering and a bed down in Täsch help, but it remains a place to save up for.

Neither village has a theatre or concert hall, but Zermatt has two festivals worth planning a trip around: Zermatt Unplugged with acoustic sets on mountain stages in spring, and a late-summer chamber music festival in the village church.

Bled offers only occasional summer concerts in the castle or churches and folk evenings put on for visitors. Anyone wanting opera or theatre heads to Ljubljana.

The two are evenly matched, but they relax you in different ways. Bled has a history as a health resort dating from Arnold Rikli's sun and air cures, mild springs warming the hotel spa pools, and a slow rhythm of early walks around still water and boat rides to the island.

Zermatt has no springs but many excellent hotel spas with mountain views, and car-free quiet. In peak weeks the mood is more active than restful, and proper thermal baths are further down the Valais.