Brasov or Cluj-Napoca?

Neither city is anywhere near the sea, and neither should be chosen for swimming. What differs is the summer dip. Brasov has its large indoor and outdoor water park and cold mountain lakes, while Cluj has the outdoor salt lakes at Turda, where the water holds you up, plus lidos and reservoirs on the city's edge.

Both serve hearty Transylvanian cooking, and you will find ciorbă, sarmale and papanași in each. Brasov's food is solid, with Saxon touches in the smoked sausages, sheep's cheese from the hills, and cellar dining rooms under the merchant houses of Council Square.

Cluj eats somewhat better. Its students support a real specialty coffee scene around Piața Unirii, Piața Mihai Viteazul market is good for farm cheese and smoked meats, and local Târnave whites are on most wine lists. Neither city has much international or fine dining.

Brasov has the more memorable historic core. Its walled Saxon town is still laid out around Council Square, the Black Church with its Anatolian carpets dominates the skyline, and the Weavers' Bastion, the towers and the Schei quarter fill out a day or two of walking.

Cluj's centre is handsome too, with St Michael's Church, the Corvinus statue and the Bánffy Palace art museum. Its strength is the Ethnographic Museum and its open-air village of wooden houses in the Hoia hills. There is less here that stops you in your tracks.

Cluj is the livelier place after dark, because roughly a fifth of its residents are students. Bars around Piața Muzeului and Strada Iuliu Maniu stay full late, and a few clubs in old industrial spaces play electronic music until morning, best in term time.

Brasov's evenings are gentler. Cellar bars and craft beer pubs around Council Square and Republicii Street suit a drink after dinner, and most nights are over well before the small hours. In winter the ski crowd adds some après-ski noise.

Brasov is the real mountain town of the two. Tampa hill rises straight from the old walls, Poiana Brasov is about 12km up the road, and the Bucegi plateaus and the limestone ridge of Piatra Craiului are within an hour. The surrounding Carpathian forests also offer guided bear watching from hides.

Cluj's setting is softer, with the Făget and Hoia woods on the edge of town and Turda Gorge for a half-day hike. The Apuseni karst and caves are rewarding but need a car and an early start.

From Brasov the famous names are close. Bran Castle and the Rasnov fortress are about half an hour away, the fortified churches of Prejmer and Harman are just outside town, Peles Castle at Sinaia is about an hour off, and Sighișoara and Viscri make full days out.

Cluj has one standout outing, the Turda Salt Mine with its underground lake. Alba Iulia's star-shaped citadel, Bánffy Castle at Bonțida and the village of Rimetea fill other days, but Sighișoara and Sibiu are about three hours away and work better as overnight stops.

Brasov gives children more variety. The Tampa cable car, a forest rope adventure park, a water park for wet days, castles that fire the imagination and a bear sanctuary near Zarnesti cover a week easily, with sledging at Poiana Brasov in winter. The steep cobbled lanes are hard work with a pushchair, though.

Cluj relies on the Turda Salt Mine, with its Ferris wheel and play areas underground, plus rowing boats in Central Park and the Botanical Garden. It works better as a stop on a wider trip than as a base.

Both centres are easy on foot, but the cities work differently. Brasov's walled old town takes about a quarter of an hour to cross, and buses run up to Poiana Brasov. Cluj's centre is flat, and its trams, trolleybuses and nearby airport serve a larger city with real rush-hour traffic.

In both, the countryside is where it gets slow. Rural buses are sparse, so a hire car or a tour helps for the castles and villages around Brasov and is close to essential for the Apuseni beyond Cluj.

Shopping is a small part of a visit to either city. Brasov's Republicii Street mixes chains with Dracula souvenirs, and its best buys are plum brandy, honey and sheep's cheese. Cluj has a few independent fashion and design shops and folk crafts from the ethnographic museum shop, and its Christmas market on Piața Unirii is the busiest time of year.

Both are cheap by European standards, and your money goes far in either. Brasov is slightly easier on the wallet, with the main extra costs at Council Square restaurants and peak-season lift passes. Cluj's tech and university economy keeps its prices among the highest in Romania, and rooms become scarce and expensive during its big summer festivals, although opera seats there are a bargain.

Cluj has far more on stage. Romanian and Hungarian companies run parallel operas and theatres, including the ornate house on Piața Avram Iancu, and the Transylvania State Philharmonic adds a concert season. In summer the city hosts some of Eastern Europe's largest music festivals.

Brasov's offer is regional by comparison. It has a philharmonic, a small opera company and Romanian-language drama, and its highlight is an organ recital in the Black Church in summer.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, so relaxing comes from the slow pace more than from spas. Brasov has the more appealing hotel spas up at Poiana Brasov, with mountain views and a water park sauna in town. Cluj looks to Turda, where people breathe the salty mine air and float in the salt lakes, and its Botanical Garden is a quiet place to slow down.