Brno or Karlovy Vary?

Both cities are far from the sea, and swimming in either is something for a hot afternoon, not the reason to go. Brno has the Brno Reservoir, reached by tram and river boat, with grassy banks and small beaches, and the Nove Mlyny lakes lie about an hour south.

Karlovy Vary's nearest open water is Lake Medard, a flooded mine near Sokolov. What it has that Brno lacks is warm outdoor pools fed by the springs, which you can use well beyond summer.

Brno eats and drinks better. The cooking is the same hearty Czech fare, but Brno adds wine from vineyards less than an hour south, a serious specialty coffee scene, a handful of modern bistros and the morning market on Zelny trh.

Karlovy Vary's table is narrower. The memorable parts are warm spa wafers from the colonnade stalls, Becherovka distilled in town, and cake in the riverside cafés. The promenade restaurants mostly cook international menus for hotel guests.

The two are about level, but the sights are very different. Brno's highlights are modernist: Mies van der Rohe's Villa Tugendhat and a wealth of interwar functionalist buildings. Add Spilberk Castle, the Capuchin Crypt's mummified monks and proper regional museums like the Moravian Gallery and the Mendel Museum.

In Karlovy Vary the attraction is the town itself. Pastel Belle Époque tiers rise up the Teplá valley, and colonnades of stone and carved timber frame the hot springs, with the Vřídlo geyser spouting at 72°C. The museums are small and specialised.

Brno has a real evening scene thanks to its students. During term the bars around Jakubske namesti stay full late, and its cocktail bars are known across the country. Clubbing is limited, though, and the city goes quiet in July and August.

Karlovy Vary is a place for one more drink in the hotel bar, a pub or a casino. The exception is film festival week in early summer, when the valley fills with parties and outdoor bars.

Both have green, rolling countryside rather than drama, and Karlovy Vary has a slight edge for easy access. Its beech and spruce forests start at the edge of the colonnades, with gentle spa paths up to the Diana tower. Further out are the Slavkov Forest moors and skiing in the Ore Mountains around Klínovec in winter.

Brno's best nature is underground. The Moravian Karst, half an hour north, has the boat ride through the Punkva Caves and the Macocha Abyss. To the south, the Palava limestone ridge and the Podyji valley mean cycling through wine country rather than snow.

Brno is the better base. Within an hour or two you can reach the Lednice-Valtice estate, the Austerlitz battlefield, Kromeriz, Trebic, Telc and Zelena Hora, all UNESCO-listed. Olomouc is a short train ride away, and Vienna and Bratislava can each be done as a day out.

Karlovy Vary's outings are fewer and closer to home. Loket's castle in a loop of the Ohře is twenty minutes away, the sister spa towns of Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně take about an hour, and Bečov's reliquary is worth the trip. Prague is a long coach day.

Brno does more for children. The VIDA science centre, a hillside zoo, the Anthropos mammoths and the Kravi hora planetarium fill several days, and the Punkva cave boat is a day out children remember.

Karlovy Vary is safe and pleasant, but it is built for adults taking cures. The geyser, tasting the spring water, the funicular and the wafers will charm children for a day or two, but the steep valley sides are hard work with a pushchair.

Brno's small, mostly pedestrian centre is backed by a dense tram network, and a single ticket also covers regional trains across South Moravia. That makes it easy to go without a car, even for day trips.

Karlovy Vary is a long riverside strip that you can walk along, but the climbs to hotels and viewpoints call for the buses or funicular. Its rail links are slow regional lines, so a car helps more here for the forests and villages.

Karlovy Vary has the more distinctive shopping. Moser crystal comes from its own showroom, along with local porcelain, Bohemian garnets and the boutiques on Stará louka that serve well-off spa guests.

In Brno, the high-street chains on Ceska are much like those anywhere. The best things to bring home are Moravian wine bought from the cellars and flowers or produce from the Zelny trh market.

Brno is the cheaper stay, with low prices for a central European city. Pub lunch menus, beer, local wine and museum tickets all cost little. Watch out for big trade fairs, which can fill the hotels.

Karlovy Vary charges for its setting in the grand spa hotels and colonnade restaurants. You can still eat at local prices one street back, and many of its pleasures, like the colonnades and the springs, are free.

Brno has the stronger stage life, built around Janacek. The modernist Janacek Theatre stages his operas and ballet, the Mahen Theatre is an ornate 1880s house, and the Reduta is where the young Mozart once played. The Philharmonic adds a full concert season.

Karlovy Vary's music grew out of the old spa orchestras. Expect light classical concerts, some of them outdoors on the colonnades in summer, plus touring operetta in the Fellner and Helmer theatre. It makes a pleasant evening rather than a reason to go.

Karlovy Vary exists for wellness. You can drink from thirteen springs out of a spouted porcelain cup, and stay in sanatoria with carbonated baths, peat wraps and pools of warm spring water, all at an unhurried pace. Public bathhouses are scarce, though, so it pays to book a proper spa stay.

Brno has no thermal springs. Relaxing there means a sauna at a swimming complex and a slow afternoon in Luzanky park.