Cesky Krumlov or Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Neither town is a swimming destination, but Cesky Krumlov at least has Lipno. This large reservoir half an hour south has grassy and sandy shores and water near 20°C in high summer, while the Vltava in town is for rafting rather than swimming.

Cortina has nothing comparable. Its alpine lakes stay snowmelt-cold all year and the Adriatic is more than two hours away, so a swim usually means the hotel pool.

Cesky Krumlov serves hearty South Bohemian cooking, such as roast pork, duck with dumplings and river trout, in vaulted cellars and on riverside terraces. The locally brewed beer is the best thing on the table. The range is narrow, though, and many menus are written for day-trippers.

Cortina eats noticeably better because it cooks for a wealthy crowd. Ampezzan dishes such as beetroot-filled casunziei have a Venetian accent, and the wine bars pour Veneto and South Tyrolean wines. Lunch on a rifugio terrace among the peaks is often the meal of the trip, though very little of it comes cheap.

For sights, Cesky Krumlov is in another league. The entire old town is UNESCO-listed, with painted Renaissance and Baroque houses packed into a bend of the Vltava below one of the largest castles in the country. The castle's Baroque theatre still has its original stage machinery. Seeing the town well takes a day or two, ideally early or late, once the tour buses have gone.

Cortina is a resort with a pleasant centre: a basilica, painted Tyrolean-style houses, the 1956 Olympic ice stadium and three small museums, the best of them the Rimoldi collection of modern Italian art. Its most striking heritage is the First World War tunnels and trenches on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, and reaching them takes a day in the mountains.

Neither town is for a night out, and the difference is mainly one of style. In Cesky Krumlov, evenings mean a beer on a riverside terrace or in a cellar bar, some of them popular with backpackers, and there are no clubs at all.

Cortina has a little more going on in the peak winter weeks. Après-ski drinks, the evening passeggiata along the Corso Italia, a few smart bars and a club or two draw a glamorous Italian crowd. In summer it is quiet by late evening too.

Cesky Krumlov's outdoors is soft and green. You can spend a day canoeing or rafting down the Vltava's wooded meanders, walk and cycle in the Bohemian Forest half an hour away, or look towards the Alps from Klet on a clear day.

Cortina sits in one of the world's great mountain landscapes, with the Dolomites ringing the valley and lifts climbing straight onto the peaks. Winter brings the Dolomiti Superski area and the Sella Ronda, while summer brings the Alta Via 1, via ferrata, climbing and paragliding, and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo are under an hour away. For anyone who wants real mountains, there is no contest.

Cesky Krumlov has the better range of excursions. České Budějovice, with its huge arcaded square and the Budvar brewery, is half an hour away. Hluboká castle, the UNESCO-listed village of Holašovice, the monastery at Zlatá Koruna and the spa town of Třeboň are all close, and Linz is across the Austrian border.

From Cortina, most outings lead further into the mountains. San Candido, Dobbiaco and Brunico in South Tyrol are pleasant, and Bolzano with its Iceman is about two hours away. Venice makes a long day at around two and a half hours each way.

Cesky Krumlov charms children with the bears in the castle moat, a tower to climb and a gentle family raft trip. The steep cobbled lanes are hard going with a pushchair, though, and the interior tours suit adults better.

Cortina works a little better for active families. It has ski schools for all ages, beginner slopes at Socrepes, public skating at the Olympic stadium and easy summer walks to huts and lakes. Rainy days are harder, because nothing is built for children beyond the outdoors, and costs climb quickly.

Both centres are small enough to cross on foot, but Cesky Krumlov is easier to reach and to leave. Its bus and railway stations are within walking distance, with regional links to České Budějovice. Inside town the cobbles and the climb to the castle take some effort, and the countryside still calls for a car.

Cortina has had no railway since 1964, so arriving means a coach from Venice or a long drive. Ski buses and lifts work well in winter. In summer, buses to the passes and the Tre Cime run a limited service, and the roads get crowded in August.

Cesky Krumlov's lanes sell souvenirs: Bohemian glass, garnet jewellery, marionettes and the green moldavite stone. There are a few ceramics workshops, and little beyond that.

Cortina has more for anyone looking to buy something serious. The pedestrian Corso Italia is lined with luxury fashion, jewellers and upmarket mountain wear, and the Cooperativa di Cortina, founded in 1893, sells everything from local food to outdoor gear. It is still only one short street.

Cesky Krumlov is good value, with guesthouses in old houses and Czech meals and beer at moderate prices. Only castle-view rooms and restaurants on the main lanes charge extra for their position.

Cortina is one of the most expensive places to stay in Italy. It charges luxury-resort rates in the winter peak and in August, and lift passes and equipment hire come on top. Rifugio meals and early summer or late September ease the bill, but many budget travellers stay in cheaper valleys nearby and drive in.

Neither town has much of a season, but Cesky Krumlov's summer is the more memorable. Plays and opera are staged in the castle garden's open-air theatre, whose revolving auditorium turns between scenes, and an international music festival brings classical concerts into the castle and its churches.

Cortina's offer is thinner. There are summer chamber and classical concerts in churches and halls, sometimes out in the mountains, a programme of talks and the odd concert over Christmas and New Year.

Cesky Krumlov offers calm more than treatments. There are only a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths, but the old town grows still once the day visitors leave. For a proper spa, Třeboň's peat baths are within reach for a day.

Cortina is the better place to unwind in comfort. Many of its hotels have Alpine-style spas with saunas, hay baths and indoor pools, and an afternoon on a hut terrace in June or September is restful in itself. In the peak weeks, traffic and crowds take much of that calm away.