Cluj-Napoca or Krakow?

Neither city has any beach life, so the difference is only in how locals cool off. From Cluj, the outdoor salt lakes at Turda, about forty minutes south, let you float in dense salty water. In Krakow, the flooded Zakrzowek quarry is a tram ride away, with turquoise water and cliffs but swimming only in fenced areas.

Krakow gives more to eat and drink. Pierogi in every filling, zurek served in bread, cheap milk-bar lunches and late-night zapiekanki from the round market hall on Plac Nowy cover every hour of the day, and flavoured vodkas and craft beer make the drinking side much broader.

Cluj's cooking is the more unusual mix, Romanian and Hungarian at once, with varză à la Cluj and papanași worth seeking out, plus serious specialty coffee around Piața Unirii. Beyond that the range runs out sooner, and in neither city is fine dining the point.

Cluj fills a handsome, compact day or two. You have Gothic St Michael's and the statue of Matthias Corvinus on Piața Unirii, the national art collection in the Bánffy Palace, the Tailors' Bastion on the old walls, and the wooden houses and churches in the open-air section of the Ethnographic Museum. A walk along the quiet paths of Hajongard cemetery rounds it off, but no single sight is enough to carry a trip.

Krakow has far more to see. Its medieval centre came through the war intact, so the Cloth Hall, Veit Stoss's carved altarpiece in St Mary's and the bugle call from its tower every hour belong to a living old town, and you can see the medieval street level beneath the square. Across the river, the Schindler Factory museum carries the story into the twentieth century. Plan on two or three days here rather than one.

Both are student cities, but Krakow goes out harder and in more places. Cellar bars under the Old Town run past midnight, and the courtyards and vodka bars of Kazimierz give the night real character, though weekend stag groups in the Old Town are something to steer around.

In Cluj the evening comes down to a few streets around Piața Muzeului and Strada Iuliu Maniu, plus a handful of electronic clubs in old industrial spaces. It is lively in term time and noticeably quieter in summer once the students leave.

The two are about even, with the difference in distance and terrain. Cluj has forest right on its edge in Făget and Hoia, Turda Gorge under an hour away, and the caves, karst plateaus and shepherds' villages of the Apuseni Mountains for those with a car. Krakow's near landscape is gentler, the Planty, Wolski Forest and the small limestone valley of Ojcow, but the Tatras, with true alpine hiking, and rafting on the Dunajec lie about two hours south.

Krakow has the two outings most visitors to Poland make, the carved salt chapels of Wieliczka and the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial, both easy without a car, with Zakopane and the wooden churches beyond.

Cluj's Turda Salt Mine is just as memorable, and Alba Iulia's star-shaped citadel, Bánffy Castle at Bonțida and the village of Rimetea fill more days. The best-known Transylvanian towns, Sighișoara and Sibiu, sit nearly three hours off, though, so the strongest trips from Cluj need an overnight stay.

Cluj is safe and manageable with children, but there isn't much for them to do. The Turda Salt Mine, with play areas and a small Ferris wheel deep underground, is the day they will remember. Beyond that there are rowing boats on the Central Park lake and a morning in the Botanical Garden, so most families treat the city as one stop on a wider Transylvanian route.\n\nKrakow keeps children busy over several days.

The dragon legend gives a visit to Wawel a story to follow, from the Dragon's Den cave under the hill to the metal beast by the river, and the horse carriages and street performers on the Main Square entertain younger ones. The indoor water park fills a wet or cold afternoon, the zoo sits in the Wolski Forest, Wieliczka suits older children, and Energylandia is about an hour's drive away. The drawbacks are cobbles that are hard on pushchairs and several sights, Auschwitz above all, that are too heavy for young children.

Both centres are compact and walkable, but Krakow is easier once you widen the circle. Trams link the Old Town, Kazimierz and Podgorze, a train runs to the airport, and the main day trips work by train or bus.

Cluj's flat centre around Piața Unirii is just as easy on foot, but slow trains and sparse buses mean the gorge, the mountains and the villages really call for a hired car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Krakow has more worth carrying home. The Cloth Hall stalls sell amber, carved boxes and lace, blue-patterned Boleslawiec pottery is the classic buy, and Kazimierz adds vintage shops and a weekend flea market.

In Cluj, the best finds are Transylvanian crafts, embroidered blouses, painted ceramics and woodwork, from folk-art fairs and the ethnographic museum's shop, with the Christmas market on Piața Unirii as the busiest time.

Both are cheap by Western European standards, and they differ in where costs creep up. Cluj is dearer than most of Romania because of its tech and university economy, and rooms sell out during the summer festivals. In Krakow the premium is around the Main Square and on organised tours, and simply moving into Kazimierz or Podgorze, or taking the train to the salt mine yourself, brings it down.

The two are evenly matched but different in flavour. Cluj has two cultures on stage, Romanian and Hungarian, each with its own opera, so ballet and opera run most of the year, and summer brings huge electronic and pop festivals. Krakow is more intimate: Chopin recitals in churches and palaces most evenings, jazz in brick cellars and klezmer in Kazimierz, ending in the open-air concert of the Jewish Culture Festival.

Neither has a bathing tradition, but Krakow offers a little more for a slow day. Its water park has saunas, Wieliczka runs underground salt-air sessions, and the naturally hot pools of Podhale are about two hours south.

Cluj's nearest equivalent is Turda, with its old salt-mine air cure and summer salt lakes, otherwise it is hotel spas and quiet hours in the Botanical Garden.