Brasov or Sibiu?

Neither city is a beach destination, as both lie deep inland, far from the Black Sea. Summer swimming in Brasov means its big water park, hotel pools or a chilly mountain lake.

Sibiu has the slightly more unusual option: the salt lakes at Ocna Sibiului, in old mine workings, are dense enough to float in and warm up well in high summer. That is a pleasant afternoon, not a reason to choose either city.

The food is much the same Transylvanian cooking, with sarmale, polenta, sour cream and papanasi in both, served in cellar dining rooms under old merchant houses. Brasov leans more on its mix of Romanian, Saxon and Hungarian traditions, with grilled mici and warm covrigi from the bakeries for breakfast, and terraces that look onto the Black Church.

Sibiu draws on the shepherd villages of the Marginimea Sibiului for cheese and smoked meats, gives its name to a well-known dry salami and has a handful of more ambitious modern kitchens. In both, the international choice is thin and the main-square terraces sell the view more than the cooking.

Sibiu has more to see. Its Upper Town spreads across three linked squares with the Council Tower, the Lutheran Cathedral and the Bridge of Lies, and stairways drop to a separate Lower Town. Two serious museums, the Brukenthal in its baroque palace and the ASTRA open-air museum in the forest, fill a second and third day.

Brasov's old centre is smaller but has a showpiece in the Black Church, with its Anatolian carpets, plus the bastions and towers along Tampa hill and the old Romanian quarter of Schei. Its museums are slight, so a day or two covers it.

Brasov has the busier evenings, though neither is a party town. Cellar bars, craft beer pubs and terraces gather around Council Square and Republicii Street, students keep a few clubs going at weekends, and in winter skiers coming down from Poiana Brasov add some noise.

Sibiu is quieter still: student pubs and cellar bars around the squares, terraces that stay full on summer nights and a few clubs that come alive mainly in term time. In both, most nights end well before the small hours.

Both are excellent bases for the Carpathians, but the mountains work differently. In Brasov they come right into town: Tampa hill rises from the walls, Poiana Brasov is about 12km away, and Piatra Craiului and the Bucegi plateaus are within an hour. Guided bear watching from hides is a speciality.

From Sibiu the landscape is bigger and farther off. The Fagaras range, Romania's highest, offers ridge walks, glacial lakes and the Transfagarasan drive to Balea Lake in summer, while the Dumbrava forest and the rolling Saxon hill country suit gentle cycling. Most of it needs a car.

Brasov has the stronger list of excursions, and the best-known ones are close. Bran Castle and the Rasnov fortress make an easy half day, Prejmer and Harman lie just outside the city, and Peles Castle in Sinaia is about an hour away by train. Viscri and Sighisoara round off a programme that could fill a week.

Sibiu's outings are more about Saxon village life: Biertan, Valea Viilor and Cisnadioara, the painted gates of the Marginimea Sibiului and, farther west, Alba Iulia's citadel and Corvin Castle. Sighisoara is a little closer from here, but slow trains mean a car matters more.

Brasov gives children much more to do. The cable car up Tampa, a forest rope park, a large water park for wet days, a small zoo, the castles at Bran and Rasnov and rescued bears near Zarnesti fill several days, and Poiana Brasov adds sledging in winter.

Sibiu is calm and safe but has fewer outings: the ASTRA museum with its windmills and lakes, the zoo and playgrounds in Dumbrava park, the Natural History Museum and the Christmas market. Neither old town is kind to pushchairs, Brasov for its cobbles and Sibiu for its stairways.

Both centres are walked rather than ridden, and both need a car or tour to reach the countryside. Brasov's old town crosses in a quarter of an hour on the flat, buses climb to Poiana Brasov, and trains to Sinaia and Sighisoara make two of the main excursions easy without driving.

Sibiu's one effort is the climb between the Upper and Lower Town, but its airport sits close to the centre and a bus runs to the ASTRA museum. Its regional trains are slow, so a hire car pays off sooner here.

Neither is a shopping destination, and neither has fashion or luxury. Brasov's Republicii Street mixes chains with Dracula souvenirs, and the better buys are sheep's cheese, plum brandy and honey from markets.

Sibiu leans more towards crafts, with ceramics, wooden toys and icons painted on glass along Nicolae Balcescu Street, plus a summer pottery fair and the Christmas market stalls on the Large Square.

Both are cheap by European standards, with affordable guesthouses in the old towns, hearty meals and inexpensive taxis. The costly moments differ: in Brasov, peak-season lift passes at Poiana Brasov and the Council Square restaurants, and in Sibiu, rooms during the June theatre festival and the Christmas market season.

Sibiu takes the stage far more seriously. The Radu Stanca National Theatre is known well beyond Romania, the International Theatre Festival fills halls, churches and squares every June, and a jazz festival, the State Philharmonic and a children's theatre add to the year, though most plays are in Romanian.

Brasov's highlight is an organ recital in the Black Church during summer. Beyond that, a philharmonic, a small opera company and open-air concerts on Council Square make pleasant evenings rather than a draw.

Sibiu is the better place to unwind. Ocna Sibiului, a spa resort with salt lakes, floating and mud cures, lies about 20km away, and Paltinis offers quiet mountain stays with clean air.

Brasov has no bathing tradition of its own, so it relies on hotel spas, mostly up at Poiana Brasov, and the saunas at its water park. Its restful side is the slow pace and an afternoon on a terrace under Tampa.