Cesky Krumlov or Ljubljana?

Neither is a place for swimming. Both are inland, and a summer swim means heading for a lake. From Cesky Krumlov that is Lipno, a reservoir half an hour south with grassy and sandy shores. The Vltava in town is for rafting, not swimming.

Ljubljana has more options, though none is in the centre: the Sava on the city's edge, Bled and the colder, clearer Bohinj about an hour away, and the Adriatic at Piran, where the shore is concrete and pebble rather than sand.

Ljubljana is the better place to eat. The riverside Central Market under Plečnik's colonnades and the gostilna inns serve the country's food, from štruklji to jota. Wines from Vipava, Brda and Styria, orange wines among them, give your evenings a focus.

Cesky Krumlov's food is narrower: roast pork, duck, svíčková and river trout in vaulted cellars, and many menus are aimed at day-trippers. Its strength is the beer brewed in the town for centuries, so it suits beer drinkers more than people who travel to eat.

Both are compact UNESCO-listed townscapes where the whole place matters more than any single museum, but Cesky Krumlov makes the stronger impression. One of the country's largest castles rises over painted Renaissance and Baroque houses, with the three-tiered Cloak Bridge and a Baroque theatre that still has its original stage machinery.

Ljubljana's appeal is quieter and more architectural: Plečnik's bridges, library and embankments, a castle reached by funicular, and good but not world-class galleries. Metelkova adds an alternative streak that Krumlov has nothing like. You need two or three days for the capital and one or two for Krumlov.

Neither is a clubbing city, but Ljubljana has real evenings out. Bars and terraces along both banks of the Ljubljanica fill on warm nights, students keep the city lively during term, and Metelkova's scruffy clubs run late at weekends.

In Cesky Krumlov a night out means a beer in a cellar bar or on a riverside terrace. There are no clubs, and outside summer the lanes empty early.

Cesky Krumlov's outdoors is soft and green. You can spend a day floating down the Vltava by canoe, walk or cycle in the spruce woods of the Bohemian Forest, or take in the views from Klet. It is lovely but gentle.

Ljubljana has far more within reach, starting with Tivoli Park and Šmarna Gora on the edge of the city. The Kamnik-Savinja and Julian Alps, Triglav National Park, whitewater on the Soča and the Postojna and Škocjan caves are all about an hour or so away. Anyone after real mountains will do better here.

Cesky Krumlov has a good South Bohemian circuit: the arcaded square of České Budějovice, Hluboká's white castle, the Baroque farmhouses of Holašovice and the monastery at Zlatá Koruna. Most of these are easier with a car, and Prague is too far for a comfortable day trip.

Ljubljana sits in the middle of a small country, so the choice is wider: Bled, Škofja Loka, Predjama's cliff castle, Idrija, Piran on the coast and the Brda wine villages, with Trieste and Zagreb across the borders. Buses and trains reach the main ones.

Cesky Krumlov has the more storybook moments: bears in the castle moat, a climb up the painted tower and a gentle family raft trip. On the other hand, its steep cobbles are hard work with a pushchair and the castle interiors suit adults.

Ljubljana is easier with small children. The centre is flat and car-free, and there are the funicular and the dragons, Tivoli's playgrounds, a modest zoo, a science centre and a puppet theatre. Neither city has a theme park or a big museum built for children.

You walk both centres rather than ride. Cesky Krumlov's old town takes a quarter of an hour to cross, though the climb to the castle tires the legs. Bus and train links into the countryside are thin, so most visitors hire a car or join tours.

Ljubljana is flat and largely pedestrianised, with bike-share and electric shuttles, and its intercity buses reach much of the country. You can manage there without a car for longer, though the remote mountain valleys are still easier with one.

In both towns shopping stops at souvenirs and local goods, and Ljubljana has the wider range. Cesky Krumlov's lanes sell Bohemian glass, garnet jewellery, marionettes and moldavite, the green stone found in the region, and there are a few ceramics workshops.

In Ljubljana the Central Market has honey, pumpkin-seed oil and salt from the coastal pans. There is also Idrija lace, a Sunday antiques market on the embankment and small design boutiques on Trubarjeva street. There is still no luxury quarter.

Cesky Krumlov is the cheaper stay. Guesthouses in the old houses and Czech meals with local beer are moderately priced, though rooms with castle views and the separately priced castle tours add up.

Ljubljana sits in the middle for Europe. Set lunch menus at the inns and cheap sights help, but central hotel rooms in summer cost as much as in Western Europe. In both places, staying a little out of the centre or avoiding high summer saves money.

Ljubljana has something to attend all year. There is the Slovenian Philharmonic, the National Opera and Ballet and the programme at Cankarjev dom, and in summer the Ljubljana Festival fills Plečnik's open-air Križanke courtyard. Smaller venues and Metelkova host jazz and alternative music.

Cesky Krumlov's performances are almost all in summer: plays and opera at the castle garden's revolving open-air theatre and a classical music festival in the castle and churches. Out of season there is very little.

The real difference is access to proper spas, and here Ljubljana is ahead. In Cesky Krumlov the options stop at a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths, and the nearest real treatments are Třeboň's peat baths, a day trip away. What the town does offer is stillness once the day visitors have gone.

From Ljubljana, several of Slovenia's thermal spa towns, with mineral pools and saunas, are within about an hour's drive. The city also has a large water park with a sauna complex, and its quiet, car-free centre makes even a stay without treatments restful.