Bratislava or Hallstatt?

Neither is a swimming destination, but Hallstatt gives the better dip. Its clear, deep Alpine lake has a jetty and lawn in the village and a proper lido at Obertraun, though the water only reaches about 20°C at best.

Bratislava's river is off limits, so bathing means Zlate piesky on the tram line or the Senec lakes half an hour out. They are warmer and sandier, but crowded at weekends and flatter in setting.

Bratislava eats far better. Bryndzove halusky, roast duck with lokse and Bratislava rolls come in generous Old Town portions, with brewpub lagers and Veltliner or Frankovka from vineyards at the city's edge.

Hallstatt is a village of guesthouse dining rooms serving schnitzel and goulash, with smoked or pan-fried char from the lake as its single local speciality. Kitchens close early, and anyone wanting more drives to the patisseries of Bad Ischl.

Bratislava has more to see and spreads it over a day or two: the coronation cathedral of St Martin, the Primate's Palace, Michael's Gate, the Blue Church, the castle museum and the ruins of Devin above the rivers.

Hallstatt's draw is deeper history in a smaller package. Seven thousand years of salt mining, the Iron Age finds that named the Hallstatt culture and the painted skulls of the Beinhaus make a fascinating half day or full day, but the village itself is the main sight.

Bratislava has a real if modest night out: Old Town pubs, wine bars and cocktail bars that fill on Friday and Saturday, with students and weekend groups keeping things going late. In Hallstatt the evening ends with dinner and a walk by the dark lake, which is lovely, but there is no bar scene to speak of.

Hallstatt is in another league here. The lake lies in a glacial trough under the Dachstein, with the Five Fingers platform, karst plateau, ice caves, via ferratas, glacier paths and winter ski touring all close at hand.

Bratislava's outdoors is gentle by comparison: beech woods up to Kamzik, the vineyard ridge of the Little Carpathians, the steppe meadows of Devinska Kobyla, Danube floodplain forest and whitewater rafting at Cunovo. It is pleasant for a half day on foot or by bike, but there are no real mountains.

Bratislava has the stronger set of outings, above all because Vienna is an hour away by train or a scenic boat ride. Add the Small Carpathian wine towns, Trnava, Carnuntum, Lednice-Valtice and Pannonhalma, and three countries are within easy reach by rail.

Hallstatt's Salzkammergut excursions are lovely, from Bad Ischl's Kaiservilla to St Wolfgang, Gmunden and Altaussee, with Salzburg as a long day. Without a car they need careful planning around buses and the lakeside railway.

Both work for a short family stay, in different ways. Bratislava is calm and easy with children, with a pedestrian Old Town, bronze statues to hunt for, the Kamzik forest park and chairlift, a hillside zoo and the Senec water park.

Hallstatt has the bigger single thrills, the salt mine slides and underground lake, the Krippenstein cable car and the ice caves, but its steep, crowded lane is hard with a pushchair. Families usually base themselves in Obertraun and visit for a few hours.

Bratislava is easier to manage without a car. The sights lie within a twenty-minute walk, and trams, trolleybuses and buses on one ticket reach Kamzik, Devin and the lake, though without a metro the longer trips are slow.

Hallstatt is tiny and walkable, but steep, and simply arriving involves a boat across from the station. Buses to Obertraun, Gosau and Bad Ischl are sparse outside summer, so many visitors hire a car.

Bratislava offers more, though still not much: genuine Modra majolica, lace and blue-print cloth at the folk-craft centre, chain-store malls by the river and bottles of Small Carpathian wine. Hallstatt's lane of souvenir shops is a half-hour stroll, with salt from the local mine as the one purchase worth making.

Bratislava is much kinder on the wallet. Beer, wine, transport and museums are cheap, and a modest budget buys a central room and good meals once you step off the main squares.

Hallstatt is costly on every front: scarce rooms that fill early, resort-priced meals and the salt mine, funicular and cable car adding up. Budget travellers sleep in Obertraun, Bad Goisern or Bad Ischl and come in for the day.

Bratislava has a proper cultural calendar, with opera and ballet at the Slovak National Theatre, the Slovak Philharmonic in the Reduta and tickets that are easy to come by from autumn to spring. Hallstatt offers a brass band on feast days and the occasional church concert, and anyone wanting a real evening of music heads to Salzburg or to Bad Ischl's summer operetta.

Hallstatt makes the better retreat, though neither has baths of its own. The brine spas of Bad Ischl, Bad Aussee and Bad Goisern are close by, and early mornings on the misty lake are deeply restful once you avoid the midday crowds.

Bratislava's calm comes from slow café afternoons and quiet forest paths. For real bathing you need to go out to Senec or to the mud and sulphur cures of Piestany, an hour away by train.