Cesky Krumlov or Innsbruck?

Neither town is a swimming destination, and the difference lies in what sort of water you reach. From Cesky Krumlov it is a half-hour drive to Lipno, a large reservoir with grassy and sandy shores and room for sailing and windsurfing. The Vltava in town is for rafts, not for swimming.

Innsbruck's swimming happens on the small, shallow lakes on the plateaus above the city, which warm up nicely by August. The Achensee is the more beautiful lake, but it stays too cold for most people.

Innsbruck eats a little better, mainly because of where you eat. Its Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn taste best at mountain huts reached by cable car. Viennese-style coffee houses in the old quarter and cheaper international places near the university add some variety.

Cesky Krumlov serves roast duck, svíčková and river trout in vaulted cellars and on riverside terraces, and its beer, brewed in the town for centuries, is the real treat. The choice is narrower, though, and many menus are aimed at day-trippers.

As a single sight, Cesky Krumlov is the more memorable. The whole UNESCO-listed old town is the attraction, crowned by the castle with its painted tower, the three-level Cloak Bridge and a Baroque theatre that still has its original stage machinery. A day or two covers it, and it is best seen early or late, when the tour buses have gone.

Innsbruck's appeal is Habsburg rather than picturesque. It has the Golden Roof, the Hofburg and the Hofkirche with Maximilian I's tomb and its bronze figures, and Ambras Castle with its cabinet of curiosities. Its museums hold more, but the town as a whole is less of a set piece.

Innsbruck has the livelier evenings, thanks to its university. Bars and small clubs fill the brick arches under the railway viaduct and stay open late at weekends, and in winter many visitors go to après-ski in the nearby resorts.

Cesky Krumlov has no clubs at all. A few cellar bars and summer riverside terraces are as far as it goes, and outside the peak months the lanes are empty early.

This is where the two differ most. From Innsbruck you can be on the Nordkette ridge, at about 2,300m, in under half an hour. The Karwendel lies behind it and the Stubai Glacier across the valley, with paragliding, via ferratas, mountain biking and skiing for most of the year.

Cesky Krumlov's outdoors is soft and green rather than dramatic. You can float down the wooded meanders of the Vltava, walk or cross-country ski in the spruce forests and bogs of the Bohemian Forest, or climb Klet for views that reach the Alps on clear days.

Innsbruck sits on the main rail lines through the Alps, which puts three countries within reach without a car. Munich and Salzburg are each a little under two hours away, Bolzano and Merano lie over the Brenner Pass, and Hall in Tirol is just ten minutes away.

Cesky Krumlov's excursions are closer and more rural. There is the arcaded square of České Budějovice, the white castle at Hluboká, the Baroque farmhouses of Holašovice and the fish ponds of Třeboň. Most are much easier by car, and Prague is too far for a comfortable day.

Innsbruck gives children more to do. The Alpenzoo with its ibex and lynx is reached by funicular, and the mountains have adventure trails, playgrounds by the huts and gentle slopes for a first ski lesson. Rainy days take some planning, though.

Cesky Krumlov charms younger children with the bears in the castle moat and a gentle raft trip. Its steep cobbles are tiring with a pushchair, and the castle interiors suit adults better.

Both centres are walkable, but Innsbruck's is flat and its trams, buses and funicular carry you on to the villages and mountains, so you do not need a car.

Cesky Krumlov can be crossed in a quarter of an hour, with some climbing on the cobbles up to the castle. Beyond the town, though, connections into the forest and to the smaller castles are thin, and most visitors hire a car or join tours.

Innsbruck has more to browse, though neither town is worth a trip for its shops. Maria-Theresien-Strasse has high-street chains, the old-town arcades sell loden jackets, dirndls and woodcarvings, and the specialist outdoor and ski shops are excellent.

In Cesky Krumlov the lanes sell souvenirs: Bohemian glass, garnet jewellery, marionettes and the green moldavite stone found in the region.

Cesky Krumlov costs a good deal less, and most of what you pay above the basics is for position: a window onto the castle or the river, or a table on the main lanes. The castle tours are bought one by one, so seeing every interior adds up. Summer is its dear season, and a bed a few streets out of the centre saves more than anything else.

Innsbruck starts from a higher base, and its calendar runs the other way, with winter the costliest time because ski season and the Christmas markets fill the hotels. The bigger difference is what a day costs. An afternoon on Cesky Krumlov's lanes costs next to nothing, while a day in Innsbruck usually means riding the lifts up, so check whether a card that bundles lifts with transport covers your plans.

Innsbruck has a programme all year. The Tiroler Landestheater stages opera, drama and dance, the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra gives concerts, and the summer Festival of Early Music uses settings such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras Castle.

Cesky Krumlov comes alive only in summer, with an international music festival and plays and opera in the castle garden, where the auditorium revolves between scenes. The rest of the year there is very little to see.

Innsbruck does Alpine wellness well. Hotels in Igls and on the plateaus have saunas with mountain views, and the large thermal spas of the Ötztal and Zillertal are about an hour away.

Cesky Krumlov's spa options stop at a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths, and serious treatment means a day trip to the peat baths at Třeboň. What it does offer is stillness once the day visitors have gone.