Cesky Krumlov or Padua?

Neither city is a place to come for swimming. In Cesky Krumlov the only option is the Lipno reservoir, about half an hour's drive away, which has grassy and sandy shores and lake water that stays fairly cool even in July and August. The Vltava in town is for rafts, not swimming.

Padua has the edge because it has a real sea within about an hour. The Adriatic at Sottomarina or on the Venice Lido is shallow, calm and warmer than the lake, so it is easy with small children, even if the beaches are flat rows of umbrellas rather than anything to look at.

Cesky Krumlov serves hearty South Bohemian food in vaulted cellars and on river terraces: roast pork or duck with dumplings, svíčková, trout and game. The town's own beer is the best part of it, but the range is narrow and many menus are written with day visitors in mind.

Padua is clearly the better place to eat. Its kitchens follow Venetian home cooking, from bigoli with duck sauce to baccalà and spring risotto. The morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, along with the delicatessens beneath the Palazzo della Ragione, give each day a rhythm of buying, tasting and an early-evening spritz with Euganean wine close at hand.

In Cesky Krumlov the sight is the town itself. The UNESCO-listed townscape has painted Renaissance houses, a huge castle with a three-tiered Cloak Bridge and a rare Baroque theatre with its stage machinery intact, and you can take it all in within a day or two.

Padua goes deeper. Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel is a landmark of European painting, and it sits within a wider group of fourteenth-century fresco cycles. The city also has Donatello's work at the Basilica of Saint Anthony, the oldest permanent anatomical theatre in the world at Palazzo Bo and a sixteenth-century botanical garden, so its sights are about great art and learning rather than a picture-book setting.

Cesky Krumlov goes to bed early. Apart from a few cellar pubs and summer evenings on the riverside terraces, there is no real night out, and the lanes are empty early outside the peak months.

Padua is much livelier after dark, though it is sociable rather than wild. The aperitivo fills Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori from early evening, and students keep the wine bars of the old ghetto and the streets around the Bo busy during term. Clubs are few, and the city goes quiet in the university breaks.

Cesky Krumlov has the outdoors on its doorstep. A day floating down the wooded meanders of the Vltava starts in town, and the Bohemian Forest national park, with its bogs, ridges and long walking and cycling routes, is half an hour away. Klet hill adds views towards the Alps, and in winter there is cross-country skiing.

Padua sits on a flat plain, so getting outdoors takes a short journey. The Euganean Hills, about 15km away, are good for vineyard walks and road cycling, and the Brenta towpaths make easy, level rides. Real mountain walking means driving about an hour and a half to the pre-Alps.

Cesky Krumlov has a pleasant regional circuit: the arcaded square and Budvar brewery in České Budějovice, the white castle at Hluboká, the Baroque farmhouses of Holašovice and the fish ponds around Třeboň. Most of these are far easier by car, and Prague is too far for a comfortable day.

Padua is one of the best bases in northern Italy. Venice is under half an hour away by train, so you can sleep somewhere calmer and still spend several days there. Vicenza, Verona, Bologna and Ferrara are all an easy rail trip, and the Brenta villas, the walled towns below the Euganean Hills and the Prosecco country fill any spare days.

The two are about equal for families, but for different reasons. Cesky Krumlov has the more magical setting for children: bears in the castle moat, a tower to climb and a gentle raft trip on the river, plus Lipno's treetop walk nearby. The steep cobbles are tiring with a pushchair, though.

Padua is the easier place to get around with small children. It is flat, largely pedestrianised and welcoming in any trattoria, but its sights are mostly frescoes and churches. The fun comes from day trips to Gardaland, Lake Garda or the Adriatic.

Cesky Krumlov's centre takes a quarter of an hour to cross on foot, with some climbing up to the castle. Leaving town is the hard part: buses and trains to the forest and the smaller castles are thin, so most visitors hire a car or join a tour.

Padua is easier on both counts. Its flat, arcaded centre puts the main sights within a 20-minute walk, and a tram and buses cover the rest. Above all, the station has fast trains in every direction, so you can explore the whole region without driving.

Cesky Krumlov sells souvenirs and little else: Bohemian glass, garnet jewellery, marionettes and the green moldavite stone found in the region, plus a few workshops selling ceramics and prints.

Padua has more ordinary shopping to offer. Italian fashion and shoe shops line the arcades between the station and the squares, and there are university bookshops and independent boutiques. The best things to take home are cheese and Euganean wine from the markets, and once a month there is a large Sunday antiques market on Prato della Valle.

Cesky Krumlov is the cheaper of the two. Family guesthouses, local beer and Czech meals keep daily costs moderate, although rooms with castle views and the separately priced castle tours add up. Staying just outside the centre or coming outside summer helps most.

Padua is moderate for a northern Italian city and good value as a base compared with sleeping in Venice. Market food and a standing spritz cost little, and you can walk everywhere. Expect normal museum fees and dearer rooms during trade fairs and graduation season.

Cesky Krumlov has a summer stage and little else. On warm evenings the open-air theatre in the castle garden, whose auditorium turns between scenes, puts on plays and opera, and an international festival brings classical concerts to the castle and its churches. Most visitors only see the Baroque castle theatre on a tour, and from autumn to spring there is very little to attend.

Padua comes out ahead because it has something on in every season. Teatro Verdi, a nineteenth-century horseshoe theatre, stages plays and some opera, and the city's chamber orchestra plays in the frescoed Sala dei Giganti and in the Basilica of Saint Anthony. If you want grand opera, the Fenice in Venice and Verona's summer Arena are both an easy train ride away.

Cesky Krumlov's restfulness comes from its quiet. Evenings by the river after the day visitors leave are very still, but treatments go no further than a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths. For a real spa you would need to travel to Třeboň's peat baths for the day.

Padua has one of Europe's largest thermal districts about 12km away. At Abano and Montegrotto, hot mineral water fills indoor and outdoor pools, and the local mud has been used for treatments since Roman times. You can easily add a soak to a day of sightseeing.