Budapest or Zakopane?

Neither place has a coast, but Budapest gives swimmers more to work with. The big open-air lidos such as Palatinus on Margaret Island make a full summer day, and shallow Lake Velence, which warms well in high summer, is under an hour away by train.

Zakopane's glacial lakes are off limits for bathing, and the nearest open water is the reservoir at Czorsztyn, about an hour's drive away. Here swimming means the outdoor thermal pools around town, which do at least stay warm in any season.

Budapest has the wider table. Goulash, paprikash and lángos sit alongside the Great Market Hall, the layered cakes of the old coffee houses and a serious modern restaurant scene. Its biggest advantage is wine, with Tokaji, Eger reds and Balaton whites poured across District V and VII.

Zakopane's cooking is narrower and more rustic. Grilled oscypek with cranberry jam, kwaśnica with smoked rib and lamb in timber inns are satisfying after a day on the trails. The best meals are in the family inns on the side streets rather than on Krupówki.

These two are far apart here. Budapest needs several days: Parliament facing the Royal Palace across the Danube, Matthias Church and the Fishermen's Bastion, the Dohány Street Synagogue, Art Nouveau landmarks and the communist statues of Memento Park.

Zakopane's heritage is small but its own. The Zakopane style of carved highland timber shows in Villa Koliba, the chapel at Jaszczurówka and the old cemetery at Pęksowy Brzyzek, and the whole of it fits into a single day.

Budapest is the place to go out. The ruin bars of the old Jewish Quarter, the cocktail bars and late clubs of Kazinczy and Király streets, and summer garden bars and party boats on the Danube keep weekends going long after midnight. For a quieter evening, the wine bars of District V are easy to find.

Zakopane's nights gather on Krupówki, with pubs, a few clubs and inns that turn rowdy. It comes alive mainly with the après-ski crowd and at New Year, and it is quiet midweek and out of season.

Zakopane is the stronger destination for the outdoors. The Tatra national park begins at the town's edge. Hikes range from flat valley walks through Kościeliska to Giewont, Rysy and the chained Orla Perć ridge. A cable car climbs to Kasprowy Wierch, and rafting on the Dunajec gorge is about an hour away.

Budapest's green side is gentler. Forest walks in the Buda Hills, cave tours under them and the wooded ridges of the Danube Bend make good half-days, but they are low hills rather than mountains.

Budapest has the easier and more varied outings. Szentendre, Visegrád and Esztergom on the Danube Bend, and the royal palace at Gödöllő, are all within reach by suburban train or boat. Eger, Hollókő and Pannonhalma are further out but still manage as a long day.

From Zakopane the excursions mostly need the road. Kraków and the Wieliczka salt mine are about two hours away, the wooden church at Dębno is close, and Spiš Castle and Levoča lie across the Slovak border. Weekend traffic can make all of these journeys considerably longer.

Both work well for children, in quite different ways. Budapest offers city attractions: the old zoo in City Park, the Children's Railway run by schoolchildren, the hands-on Palace of Wonders and lidos with wave pools.

Zakopane is about being outside. Families can ride the funicular and the summer toboggan on Gubałówka, push buggies along the flat valley trails, try sledging and ski school in winter, and spend wet days at the thermal water parks.

Budapest is far simpler to move around. Central Pest is flat, tram line 2 doubles as a sightseeing ride along the river, the boulevard trams run all night and the little Line 1 metro is quick to learn. Nobody needs a car.

Zakopane's pedestrianised centre is easy on foot, and minibuses run to Kuźnice and the valley entrances. Getting there and getting out are harder, though: the road jams at peak times, the train from Kraków is slow, and the Slovak side is easier with a car.

Budapest has more worth buying, even if it is not a shopping capital. Herend and Zsolnay porcelain, paprika and Tokaji from the Great Market Hall, small design boutiques in Districts V and VII, and communist-era finds at Ecseri flea market all beat the souvenirs on Váci utca.

In Zakopane, shopping comes down to highland craft. The market at the foot of Gubałówka has wool sweaters, sheepskins, felt slippers, carved boxes and wheels of oscypek, and the handmade pieces are the ones to look for.

The two cost about the same overall, but the costs build up in different ways. In Budapest it is about where you eat and drink. Transport, wine and ordinary coffee houses are cheap, while Váci utca and the grand historic cafés add to the bill.

In Zakopane it is about when you go. Guesthouses, inn meals and minibuses are cheap compared with alpine resorts, but Christmas, New Year and the school breaks push up room rates, and spring and autumn are the cheapest seasons.

Budapest offers music on most nights. There is opera at the State Opera House and the Erkel Theatre, chamber music in the Art Nouveau hall of the Liszt Academy, the national concert hall at Müpa, operetta, church concerts and folk ensembles. Spoken theatre is in Hungarian, so visitors mostly come for music and dance.

Zakopane's stage life is smaller and local. The Witkacy Theatre, highland fiddle bands playing in the inns, and the mountain folklore festival that fills the streets each August are its high points.

Both towns sit on hot springs, but Budapest makes far more of them. Its baths are inside the city and are landmarks in their own right: the neo-Baroque Széchenyi, the mosaics of the Gellért, and the Ottoman domes of Rudas and Király. An afternoon soak is easy to fit between sights.

In Zakopane, the thermal complexes are in the nearby villages of Chochołów, Białka Tatrzańska and Bukowina. Their outdoor pools look out on the Tatras and make a fine end to a day of hiking or skiing, but you need to travel out for them, and the town centre is far from restful in high season.