Brno or Hallstatt?

Neither is a place for a swimming vacation, but Hallstatt at least has clean Alpine water at the door. In high summer you can take a cold, clear swim in Hallstätter See from the jetty in the village or the lido at Obertraun.

Brno's choices are the city reservoir on the Svratka, reached by tram, and the Nove Mlyny lakes an hour south. Both are pleasant on a hot afternoon, but algae can spoil the water in a heatwave.

Brno gives you far more to eat and drink. Its beer halls serve dumplings and roast pork, and beyond them it has a serious specialty coffee scene, careful cocktail bars, and Moravian whites and Frankovka from vineyards just south of the city. The stalls of Zelny trh add seasonal produce.

In Hallstatt you are limited to guesthouse dining rooms serving Austrian standards. Smoked or pan-fried char from the lake is the one local dish worth seeking out. Kitchens close early, and for coffee and cake with real history behind them you go to Bad Ischl.

Brno has more to see and keeps you busy for longer. Villa Tugendhat and the interwar functionalist districts are architecture of European importance. The cathedral, Spilberk Castle, the crypts, the Moravian Gallery and the Mendel Museum fill two or three days.

Hallstatt's culture is compact and very old. The village itself is the heart of a UNESCO landscape, salt has been mined in the mountain for seven thousand years, the museum tells the story of the Hallstatt culture, and the Beinhaus holds its painted skulls. It is memorable, but a day covers it.

Brno has a proper night out and Hallstatt has none. During term, the cocktail bars, wine bars and student cellars around Jakubske namesti stay full until late. Clubbing is thin, though, and the city goes quiet in July and August.

In Hallstatt the evening means dinner, a glass of wine by the water and a walk along the dark lakeshore. That is exactly what some overnight guests come for.

This is Hallstatt's great strength. Real Alpine country starts at the village. There is the Krippenstein cable car with the Five Fingers platform, the Dachstein ice caves, hut-to-hut routes, via ferratas and the Gosausee, and ski touring in winter.

Brno's countryside is gentler and lower. The Moravian Karst, with its underground boat ride beneath the Macocha Abyss, and the Palava ridge and Podyji valley make good days of walking and cycling. There are no mountains, though.

Both towns work as bases, but Brno has the longer list and the easier travel. Lednice-Valtice, Austerlitz, Kromeriz, Trebic, Telc and Olomouc all lie within a couple of hours, mostly by regional train or bus. Vienna and Bratislava each make a day out by rail.

From Hallstatt the outings are lake towns rather than a string of heritage cities: imperial Bad Ischl, St Wolfgang, Gmunden and the Ausseerland, with Salzburg as the big day out. Without a car they take planning.

Neither place is built around children, and each offers a handful of strong outings rather than a full week. Brno's are urban and easy: the VIDA science centre, the hillside zoo, the planetarium and the cave boat ride in the karst, all simple to reach by tram or train.

Hallstatt's highlights are more of an adventure, with the miners' slides in the salt mine, the ice caves and boats on the lake. The steep, crowded lane is hard going with a pushchair, so families often stay in Obertraun instead.

Brno is much easier to manage without a car. The centre is walkable and the tram network is dense. One integrated ticket also covers regional trains, which makes both the city and day trips simple.

Hallstatt itself takes a few minutes to cross on foot, though some paths are steep. Getting in and out is harder: the station is across the lake by boat and buses are sparse outside summer, so many visitors decide a car is worth having.

Brno has the wider choice: high-street chains on Ceska and Masarykova, a few independent design and vintage shops in the old town arcades, malls by the station, and Moravian wine from cellars and specialist shops. Still, it is something to fit around sightseeing, not a reason to come.

Hallstatt's shopping is one lane of souvenir shops. It is worth half an hour, mainly for salt from the mine above the village.

Brno is by far the cheaper stay. Mid-range rooms, pub lunch menus, beer and local wine, transport tickets and museum entries all cost little. Only the big trade fairs push room prices up.

Hallstatt has few lakeside rooms, they are in heavy demand, and they cost well above the Austrian average. The salt mine, the funicular and the Dachstein cable car add up too. Sleeping in Obertraun, Bad Goisern or Bad Ischl brings the cost down.

Brno has a real stage culture, rooted in Janacek. There are opera and ballet at the Janacek Theatre, the Brno Philharmonic's season, the historic Reduta where the young Mozart played, and a festival devoted to Janacek. Most drama is in Czech, so visitors do best with the music.

Hallstatt has a brass band on feast days and the odd church concert. For an evening of music, you have to go to Salzburg or to the summer operetta in Bad Ischl.

Hallstatt is the better place to slow down, though much of the help comes from the towns around it. Bad Ischl's brine baths and thermal complex are half an hour away, and Bad Aussee and Bad Goisern have their own spa traditions. Early mornings and evenings on the empty lakeshore are restful in themselves.

Brno has no springs and no spa history, only pool complexes with saunas and a few hotel spas. Its calm comes from café afternoons, Luzanky park and the Spilberk slopes.