Cesky Krumlov or Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

Neither town is a swimming destination, but Cesky Krumlov is the closer of the two. Half an hour south, the Lipno reservoir has sandy and grassy shores and water close to 20°C in July and August. The Vltava in town is for rafts, not swimmers.

Rothenburg has less to offer: the town's outdoor pool, or an hour's drive to the grassy bathing areas of the Franconian lakes such as the Altmühlsee.

Both towns serve the same sort of hearty food, roast pork and dumplings, from a narrow menu that is often aimed at day visitors. Neither is worth the journey for its food alone.

The difference is in the glass. Cesky Krumlov is a beer town, with a long brewing history, plus river trout and game served in vaulted cellars. Rothenburg leans towards wine, with dry Silvaner and Tauber valley wines in its taverns, along with Schäufele and the sugary Schneeball.

Both are intact historic towns that take a day or two to see, but they show different periods. Cesky Krumlov is Renaissance and Baroque, with painted facades in a river bend below one of the country's largest castles. Its castle theatre still has its original stage machinery, and the Egon Schiele art centre adds some modern art.

Rothenburg is medieval and walled. You walk its covered ramparts, look down the Plönlein and see Riemenschneider's carved altar in St Jakob's. The Medieval Crime Museum is the most substantial museum in either town.

Cesky Krumlov keeps its evenings going a little longer. In summer the riverside terraces stay busy until late, and a few cellar bars popular with backpackers keep serving after dinner, though there are no clubs.

Rothenburg is quieter still. Evenings mean dinner in an inn or a glass in a wine tavern, and the lanes are mostly silent by eleven. For a proper night out you have to drive to Würzburg or Nuremberg.

Cesky Krumlov has far more to do outdoors. You can float down the Vltava by canoe or raft, and the Bohemian Forest national park, half an hour away, has spruce woods, peat bogs and long walking and cycling routes, plus cross-country skiing in winter. On clear days Klet looks towards the Alps.

Rothenburg's countryside is pleasant but more limited. Paths drop from the walls into the Tauber valley, the well-known Tauber valley cycle path runs past vineyards, and the Frankenhöhe nature park offers orchards and farm roads, but there are no lakes or wild country nearby.

Rothenburg has more within reach. The Romantic Road leads to Dinkelsbühl, another walled town, and to Nördlingen's ring of walls inside a meteorite crater. Würzburg's Residenz, Nuremberg's castle and Schwäbisch Hall are all about an hour away.

Cesky Krumlov has a good South Bohemian circuit: the arcaded square of České Budějovice, the white castle of Hluboká, the farmhouses of Holašovice and the monastery of Zlatá Koruna. Few of these are as well known as Rothenburg's neighbours, and Prague is too far for a comfortable day trip.

Children in Cesky Krumlov spend their time doing things. They can see the bears in the castle moat, take a gentle family raft trip on the river and go on Lipno's treetop walk nearby.

Rothenburg relies more on its stories. Children can walk the covered ramparts and follow the night watchman with his lantern, and older ones are often gripped by the shame masks in the crime museum. Either town fills a day or two with children, and in both the cobbles are hard going with a pushchair.

You can cross either old town on foot in about a quarter of an hour, and in both you need a car to explore the region properly. In Cesky Krumlov the effort is the climb to the castle and the hilltop railway station, and buses and trains go little further than České Budějovice.

Rothenburg keeps cars outside its gates, so the centre is pleasant to walk, and the station is just beyond the walls. However, it sits at the end of a branch line, so most rail journeys mean changing at Steinach.

Rothenburg has slightly more reason to shop, thanks to Christmas. Shops selling baubles, nutcrackers and Erzgebirge carvings stay open all year, and the Christmas market on the Marktplatz is one of the most atmospheric in Germany.

Cesky Krumlov sells mostly Bohemian glass, garnet jewellery, marionettes and green moldavite, with a few workshops for ceramics and prints. Neither town is a place to shop for clothes.

Cesky Krumlov is clearly cheaper. Family guesthouses in old houses, Czech meals and local beer stay moderately priced, although every castle tour is paid for separately. Rothenburg puts a tourist premium on top of small-town German prices, and rooms within the walls cost most in December and on summer weekends.

In both towns, staying just outside the historic centre saves a good deal.

Cesky Krumlov has more on in summer. Its open-air theatre in the castle garden has an auditorium that turns between scenes, and it stages plays and opera, while an international music festival brings classical concerts to the castle and churches.

Rothenburg's best-known performance is the Meistertrunk, a costumed play about how the town was saved in the Thirty Years' War, along with organ and choral concerts in St Jakob's. Outside summer, neither town has much to attend.

Rothenburg is the better choice for spa days. Bad Windsheim's salt-water pool, where you float, and the older spa town of Bad Mergentheim are both within about an hour, and a walk on the walls at dawn is very quiet.

Cesky Krumlov has only hotel wellness rooms and beer baths. For proper treatments you go to Třeboň's peat baths, so its rest comes mainly from slow evenings by the river once the day visitors have gone.