Brno or Piran?

Only one of these two has the sea. Swimming in Brno means the city reservoir on the Svratka, with grassy banks and algae in hot spells, or the Nove Mlyny lakes an hour south. Either is fine for a hot afternoon, but neither will carry a beach vacation.

Piran has clear Adriatic water right below the old town. You climb down ladders from concrete platforms around the Punta, swim off the pebbles at Fiesa, or take the shuttle to Portoroz for sand and sunbeds. Anyone after long sandy beaches will still find it limited.

The two eat at much the same level, but in different ways. Brno is hearty Czech cooking in beer halls, and the real interest is in what you drink: Starobrno lager, Moravian whites and Frankovka by the glass, specialty coffee and serious cocktails.

Piran is simple seafood by the water, such as grilled fish and scampi buzara, with Malvazija or Refosk, Istrian olive oil and truffles, and salt from its own pans. Both have a narrow range. In Brno you go for the bars and cafés, in Piran for fish with a view of the harbour.

Brno has more to see and keeps you busy for longer. Villa Tugendhat leads a city full of interwar functionalist architecture. Around it are a Gothic cathedral, Spilberk fortress, the Capuchin Crypt and the ossuary, the Mendel Museum and the Moravian Gallery, enough for two or three days.

In Piran, the main sight is the town itself: the Venetian Gothic peninsula, Tartini Square, St George's campanile and the walls above the red roofs. Its museums are small, and you can see it all in a day of wandering.

Brno is the place for an evening out. During term, students fill the bars around Jakubske namesti, and the hidden cocktail bars, wine bars and cellars stay open late. Clubbing is limited, and the city goes quiet in July and August, just when Piran is at its busiest.

In Piran, evenings end early: a glass of wine on Tartini Square or a sunset drink on the Punta, then quiet lanes. Portoroz adds beach bars, a casino and a few summer clubs, but nobody comes to this coast for the nightlife.

The outdoors is evenly matched and gentle in both, and both have famous caves. From Brno, the Moravian Karst half an hour north has the boat ride through the Punkva Caves, the Macocha Abyss and wooded trails. To the south are the Palava ridge, the Dyje valley in Podyji and cycling routes through the vineyards.

Piran's outdoors is coastal: the flysch cliffs and the path above them at Strunjan, wading birds in the Secovlje salt-pan lagoons, kayaking along the shore and the Parenzana cycle route inland. The Skocjan caves on the Karst are about an hour away. Neither city is near mountains.

Both make excellent bases, but the trips are of different kinds. Brno's are full of heritage and easy by train on one regional ticket: the Lednice-Valtice estate, Austerlitz, a string of UNESCO towns from Kromeriz to Telc, Olomouc, and Vienna or Bratislava for the day.

Piran's take you into three countries: Trieste, Rovinj and the Istrian hill towns, Predjama Castle and Ljubljana, plus boats to Venice in summer. Most of these need a car.

Both are safe and easy with children, and neither has much built for them, so the real choice is between a city and the seaside. Brno has the VIDA science centre, the hillside zoo, the mammoths at Anthropos, a planetarium and the Punkva Caves boat ride, which fill rainy days well.

Piran offers a car-free old town, a calm warm sea in summer, a small aquarium and the shallow sandy beach at Portoroz. With swimming from concrete ledges and steep lanes up the hill, it suits a few days with small children better than a long stay with older ones.

Both centres can be crossed on foot in a quarter of an hour, but Brno is much easier once you go further. Trams, trolleybuses and night buses reach Villa Tugendhat, the zoo and the reservoir. The same ticket covers regional trains across South Moravia, so most day trips need no car.

Piran's old town is car-free and pleasant to stroll, and a shuttle runs to Portoroz. Beyond that it has no railway, and buses to Istria and the Karst are slow, so plan on hiring a car to explore.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Brno at least has a high street. There are chains on Ceska and Masarykova, a few independent design and vintage shops in the old-town arcades, and malls on the edge. The best things to buy are Moravian wine from the cellars and produce from Zelny trh.

Piran has a few craft shops and galleries and souvenir stalls along the harbour. Take home Secovlje salt and salt flower, olive oil and coastal wine, and leave serious shopping for Trieste or Ljubljana.

Brno is clearly the cheaper vacation. Rooms, pub lunch menus, beer, local wine, transport and museums all cost little. Big trade fairs can fill the hotels, and the cocktail bars charge more.

Piran is mid-priced and dearer in July and August, when rooms in the old town are scarce and harbourside tables charge for the view. Staying in Portoroz or out of season and eating in simple konobas keeps costs fair, and swimming and walking cost nothing.

Brno is far ahead here. Janacek's city has the National Theatre's three houses: opera and ballet at the Janacek Theatre, drama at the Mahen and the historic Reduta, where the young Mozart played. Add a Philharmonic season and a Janacek festival. Most plays are in Czech, but opera, ballet and concerts work for any visitor.

Piran's music is mostly summer concerts in honour of Tartini, held in churches, the monastery cloister and on the square, plus occasional recitals at the Tartini Theatre. Out of season there is little on.

Piran is the place to unwind. Portoroz has a long spa tradition with seawater pools, brine baths and mud from the salt pans. There is an outdoor thalasso spa among the Secovlje lagoons and a seawater health resort at Strunjan, and the car-free lanes slow you down.

Brno has no thermal springs or spa culture. It offers swimming complexes with saunas, a few day spas, and quiet hours in Luzanky park or on the Spilberk slopes.