Cesky Krumlov or Pula?

There is no real contest here. Cesky Krumlov's only swimming is at the Lipno reservoir, half an hour south, which has grassy and sandy shores for July and August. The Vltava in town is for rafting, not bathing.

Pula has a long, indented coastline of clear water, with pebble coves and concrete platforms around Verudela and Stoja and the wild inlets of Cape Kamenjak as the high point. It is rock and pebble rather than sand, so water shoes help, and Medulin's sheltered bays suit small children.

Cesky Krumlov's cooking is heavy and hearty: roast pork, duck and dumplings, river trout and game. It is best with the town's own beer in a vaulted cellar. It is pleasant but limited, and many menus are aimed at day-trippers.

Pula draws on the Istrian kitchen, which brings more variety and lighter dishes: fuži with truffle, scampi buzara, pršut, and olive oil with Malvazija or Teran from nearby estates. The city's own restaurants are only modest, so the best meals tend to be in hinterland taverns or harbourside konobas.

Both towns' sights take a day or two, but they come from different eras. Cesky Krumlov is a complete Renaissance and Baroque townscape below one of the largest castles in the country, with the three-level Cloak Bridge and a Baroque theatre that still has its original stage machinery.

Pula's draw is Roman: the Arena with its outer ring still complete, the Temple of Augustus on the Forum and the Arch of the Sergii, with Venetian and Austro-Hungarian layers on top. In Krumlov the appeal is the whole ensemble, while Pula has single, striking monuments set in a working port city.

Neither is a party town, but Pula gives you more to do after dinner. Cesky Krumlov has a handful of pubs and cellar bars and busy riverside terraces in summer, and no clubs at all.

In Pula, summer evenings start on the terraces around the Forum and move on to cocktail and beach bars on Verudela and in Medulin, and a few small clubs fill up at weekends. Out of season it goes quiet too, apart from a few student bars.

Both have good, gentle outdoors, one inland among rivers and forest and the other on the coast. Around Cesky Krumlov the highlights are a canoe or raft trip down the Vltava, the spruce woods and peat bogs of the Bohemian Forest, cross-country skiing there in winter, and the wide views from Klet.

Around Pula the land is stony macchia, pine and olive groves, with car-free Cape Kamenjak for walking and cycling, plus sea kayaking, windsurfing and wreck diving. Pula's countryside is best in spring and autumn, Krumlov's from late spring to early autumn.

Pula has the wider choice of day trips. Rovinj, the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, the hill towns of Motovun and Grožnjan with their truffle and wine estates, and the Brijuni islands are all about an hour away or less, and Piran and Trieste are further out.

Cesky Krumlov's region is quieter. It has the arcaded square of České Budějovice, Hluboká castle, the Baroque farmhouses of Holašovice and the fish ponds of Třeboň. In both places a car makes the difference.

Pula works better with children, mainly because of the sea. It has shallow bays at Medulin and Premantura, the aquarium in a Verudela fort, the Arena's underground passages and the safari park on Brijuni. The drawbacks are summer heat and rocky shores.

Cesky Krumlov charms younger children with the bears in the castle moat and a gentle raft trip, and its centre is largely car-free. But the steep cobbles are hard work with a pushchair, and the castle interiors suit adults.

Both have small historic centres you can cover on foot, and both need a car for the surrounding region. Cesky Krumlov is slightly easier while you stay in town: the bus and railway stations are within walking distance and you can cross the town in a quarter of an hour, despite the cobbles and the climb to the castle.

Pula's centre is flat, but the hotels and swimming coves are out on Verudela and towards Premantura, so you will use buses or a bike every day. Parking near the centre is tight in summer.

Neither town is worth a trip for shopping, and the real difference is what you bring home. Cesky Krumlov sells things for a shelf: Bohemian crystal, garnets and the region's green moldavite, plus a few craft workshops, all in the same old-town lanes you walk for the sights. Once you have browsed those, there is little else, not even everyday clothes shops.

Pula has a bit more variety, and most of what is worth buying there can be eaten or drunk. Truffle products, olive oil and a bottle of rakija from the market hall or straight from a farm in the hinterland tend to last longer in the memory than any trinket. The pedestrian street through the old town also has ordinary high-street chains if you forgot something you need for the trip.

Cesky Krumlov is the cheaper stay. It has guesthouses in old houses and reasonably priced Czech meals and beer, although rooms with castle views and the separately priced tours add up.

Pula is reasonable in spring and autumn, but in July and August rooms cost about as much as on Western European coasts, and car hire and boat trips add to the bill.

In both towns, live performance is mostly a summer thing. Pula has the stronger draw: its Roman Arena hosts touring concerts, classical galas and screenings for the Pula Film Festival, and the Istrian National Theatre puts on some drama all year.

Cesky Krumlov has the revolving open-air theatre in the castle garden and a classical music festival in the castle and churches. Out of season there is very little to attend.

For a proper spa day from Cesky Krumlov, you need to go to Třeboň's peat baths. In town there are only a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths. What Krumlov has instead is stillness: once the day visitors leave, the old town goes quiet, and a winter stay there is especially restful.

Pula's spas are inside the large resort hotels on Verudela and in Medulin, so pools, saunas and massages may be right where you sleep. Beyond the hotels, you unwind with long coffees on the Forum and evening walks along the pine-shaded coastal paths, and both are best outside high summer.