Cesky Krumlov or Heidelberg?

Neither town is a swimming destination, but Cesky Krumlov at least has a lake for summer. Lipno, about half an hour's drive into the Bohemian Forest, has grassy and sandy shores and water warm enough to swim in during July and August.

Heidelberg has nothing like it. On hot days locals go to outdoor pools or the gravel-pit lakes on the Rhine plain, which are fine for an afternoon and no more.

Heidelberg eats better, mainly because of its wine. Vineyards on the Bergstrasse and the Palatinate wine villages supply every list, white asparagus season gives spring a focus, and Neuenheim and the village taverns are better than the tourist strip.

In Cesky Krumlov the menu is mostly South Bohemian roasts, dumplings, trout and game, served in vaulted cellars. The locally brewed beer is the highlight. Beyond that the choice is narrow and much of it is aimed at day visitors.

Both towns have a castle above an old town on a river, and both can be seen in a day or two. Cesky Krumlov has slightly the stronger set. The whole UNESCO-listed old town survives intact, and the castle still has a working Baroque theatre with its original stage machinery, which is very rare.

Heidelberg's castle is a Romantic red sandstone ruin, not a furnished palace. What it adds is university history: the Old University, the graffiti-covered Student Prison and the Kurpfälzisches Museum give it more to see indoors.

Heidelberg is clearly the livelier town after dark, at least during term. The narrow Untere Strasse fills with students late in the evening, old student taverns with carved tables are close by, and a few clubs operate near the station. Mannheim and Frankfurt are a train ride away for bigger nights.

In Cesky Krumlov, evenings mean a handful of cellar bars and riverside terraces in summer. There are no clubs at all.

Both offer gentle, wooded country rather than mountains, and Cesky Krumlov has slightly more of it. Floating down the Vltava by canoe or raft is the outing it is known for. The Bohemian Forest national park, with peat bogs, spruce woods and cross-country skiing in winter, is half an hour away.

Heidelberg's woods start right at the edge of the old town. The funicular goes up the Königstuhl, the Philosophers' Walk climbs the opposite slope, and the Neckar cycle path runs upriver past castles. It suits walkers who don't want to drive.

For day trips, Heidelberg has the clear edge. Speyer's cathedral, Schwetzingen's palace gardens, Worms, Maulbronn monastery and the Neckar castle villages are all an easy trip away, and Frankfurt, Mainz, Baden-Baden and even Strasbourg are within range.

Cesky Krumlov has a good regional circuit: the arcaded square of České Budějovice, the white castle at Hluboká, the farmhouses of Holašovice and the fish ponds of Třeboň. Most of it is easier with a car, though, and Prague is too far for a comfortable day.

Heidelberg keeps children busy for longer. The funicular, the fairy-tale park, the zoo and the riverboats are all in town, and the Technik Museum Speyer, where children can climb into a space shuttle, and a theme park are not far off.

Cesky Krumlov's highlights for children are the bears in the castle moat and a gentle raft trip, with Lipno's treetop walk nearby. Both old towns are cobbled and hilly with a pushchair.

Inside either old town you walk, and Cesky Krumlov's is small enough to cross in a quarter of an hour. The difference shows once you leave. Heidelberg's trams, buses and S-Bahn share one fare system across the Rhine-Neckar, so the region is easy to explore without a car, and a funicular saves the climb to the castle.

From Cesky Krumlov, regional connections are sparse beyond České Budějovice. Most visitors who want to see the forest or the smaller castles hire a car or join a tour.

Heidelberg has proper shopping. The long pedestrian Hauptstrasse has department stores and high-street chains at one end, with bookshops and boutiques in the side lanes, and Bergstrasse wine makes a good thing to take home.

Cesky Krumlov sells almost nothing but souvenirs: Bohemian glass, garnets, marionettes and green moldavite from the region.

Cesky Krumlov is the cheaper stay. Family-run guesthouses and moderately priced Czech meals keep costs down, although rooms with castle views and each separate castle tour cost more.

In Heidelberg, hotels are the main expense. There are not many rooms, and congresses and graduations push prices up. Student cafés and the regional travel ticket help make up for it.

Heidelberg has a performance season all year. The municipal theatre stages opera, drama and dance, the philharmonic gives concerts, the Heidelberger Frühling festival brings chamber music in spring, and Mannheim's larger opera house is twenty minutes away.

Cesky Krumlov comes alive on summer evenings, with plays and opera in the revolving open-air theatre in the castle garden and a classical festival. For the rest of the year there is little on.

Neither town has baths of its own. Heidelberg is better placed for them, with thermal complexes in the Kraichgau half an hour away and Baden-Baden about an hour off, and its riverside meadows and forest paths are easy places to slow down.

Cesky Krumlov offers mostly stillness: an empty old town at dusk and quiet winter stays. Hotel beer baths and a day trip to Třeboň's peat spa are the only treatments nearby.