Cesky Krumlov or Zurich?

Neither has a coast, but Zurich makes far more of its water. Its lake lidos and wooden bathing houses at Utoquai or Mythenquai, plus the river baths at Letten, put a clean swim minutes from the old town all summer.

Cesky Krumlov's Vltava is for rafting, not swimming, so a dip means driving half an hour to the Lipno reservoir, which at least has grassy and sandy shores, something Zurich's piers and concrete decks lack.

Zurich eats better and more widely: veal with rösti and fondue in guild-house dining rooms, famous chocolate and confectionery, and a mix of international places and fine dining around Kreis 4 and 5.

Cesky Krumlov keeps to roast pork, duck with dumplings, river trout and game, served in vaulted cellars and riverside terraces. The beer is the highlight, and meals cost a fraction of Zurich's, but the choice is narrow and many menus are aimed at day-trippers.

Cesky Krumlov edges ahead because the whole town is the sight: a UNESCO-listed tangle of painted Renaissance and Baroque houses below one of the country's largest castles, with a rare Baroque theatre that still has its original stage machinery. Its museums are minor, and a day or two covers it.

Zurich works the other way round, with stronger collections at the Kunsthaus, the Swiss National Museum and the Rietberg, and a tidy but less striking Altstadt around the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster's Chagall windows.

This is one of the widest gaps between them. Zurich has a serious electronic music scene, with clubs in Kreis 4 and 5 and Zurich West open until morning at weekends, the rough-and-ready bars of Langstrasse and summer drinks in the lake bathing houses.

Cesky Krumlov has no clubs at all, just a few cellar bars and pubs and busy riverside terraces on summer nights. Come for a quiet beer, not a night out.

Zurich has the bigger landscapes: the lake with the Glarus Alps at its far end, the Uetliberg ridge on the edge of town, and Rigi, Pilatus and ski areas such as Flumserberg about an hour away by train.

Cesky Krumlov's outdoors is softer and greener. The highlight is a day canoeing or rafting the wooded meanders of the Vltava, with the spruce forests and quiet cycling routes of the Bohemian Forest half an hour south and the views from Klet close by.

From Zurich, the rail network turns much of Switzerland into easy outings: Lucerne in under an hour, Bern, Basel and St Gallen at about an hour each, and the Rhine Falls to the north, all without a car.

Cesky Krumlov has a good regional circuit, with České Budějovice's arcaded square, Hluboká's white castle, the farmhouse village of Holašovice and the fish ponds of Třeboň. These are pleasant but smaller in scale, and most are much easier with a hire car.

Zurich is the more practical family base: safe, clean and easy with a buggy, with a zoo that includes a rainforest hall and an elephant park, shallow lake lidos and boat trips.

Cesky Krumlov delights children with its storybook castle, the bears in the moat and a gentle raft trip on the river, and Lipno's treetop walk makes a good day out. Its steep cobbles and adult-oriented castle tours wear thin sooner, though.

Both centres are walkable, but beyond that they part ways. Zurich's trams, S-Bahn, funiculars and lake boats share one punctual ticket, and the airport and the rest of the country are a short train ride away.

Cesky Krumlov can be crossed on foot in a quarter of an hour, cobbles and castle climb aside, but buses and trains into the surrounding countryside are thin, so most visitors exploring the region drive or book tours.

Zurich is the shopping destination here, with Bahnhofstrasse's watchmakers, jewellers and department stores, boutiques in the Niederdorf and design shops under the Zurich West viaduct arches, though it all comes at a high price.

Cesky Krumlov is mainly about souvenirs: Bohemian glass, garnet jewellery, marionettes and green moldavite, with a few ceramic and print workshops but no fashion streets.

Cesky Krumlov is by far the cheaper stay. Family guesthouses, Czech meals and local beer remain moderately priced, and only castle-view rooms and main-lane restaurants charge a premium.

Zurich sits at the other extreme, where a simple hotel room or casual lunch costs far more than in most European capitals. The visitor card, free lidos and lakeside picnics help a little, but a few days here can cost what a week in South Bohemia does.

Zurich offers a full year of stage life: the Opernhaus for opera and ballet, the Tonhalle Orchestra, the Schauspielhaus and alternative venues such as the Rote Fabrik for jazz and indie acts.

Cesky Krumlov's offer is mostly a summer one, with the castle garden's revolving open-air theatre and a classical music festival in the castle and churches. Outside the warm months there is little to see.

Zurich has more to soak in, from the thermal pools and rooftop pool in the old Hürlimann brewery vaults to winter saunas in the wooden lake baths, with Baden's hot springs twenty minutes away.

Cesky Krumlov has only a few hotel wellness rooms and beer baths. Its restfulness comes from the stillness of the old town once the day visitors leave, with Třeboň's peat baths within reach for proper treatments.