Colmar or Hallstatt?

Neither place is for a beach trip, but Hallstatt at least has water at the door. Its clear, dark green lake has a small bathing lawn in the village and a lido at Obertraun. It stays cold even at the height of summer, so a swim there is a bracing dip after a hike.

Colmar has no water of its own beyond the municipal pools. Its nearest natural swimming is in the small lakes up in the Vosges valleys, a drive away.

Colmar is far ahead here. Alsace cooking draws on both France and Germany: munster cheese, fleischschnacka and kougelhopf in panelled winstubs, a covered market by the canal, a few ambitious restaurants and wine from the surrounding villages in every glass. Just avoid the tired menus on the most photographed streets.

Hallstatt is a village of guesthouse dining rooms serving schnitzel and dumplings, and some kitchens close early. Its one local speciality is char or whitefish from the lake. Food lovers usually head to Bad Ischl and its old patisseries for anything more.

Colmar offers much more to see. The old town has survived as a complete whole, with the Maison Pfister, the Koïfhus and the canals of Petite Venise. On top of that come the Unterlinden Museum with Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece, Schongauer's Madonna in the Dominican church and the Bartholdi museum.

Hallstatt's culture is deep in time but small in scale. Salt has been mined in the mountain above for some seven thousand years, the village gave its name to an Iron Age culture, and you can see this in the salt mine, the museum and the painted skulls of the Beinhaus. Hallstatt fills a day at most, while Colmar fills two.

Neither place is for a night out, though Colmar has a little more going on after dinner. It has wine bars, pubs and brasseries around Petite Venise and summer terraces open late, with Strasbourg a short train ride away for anything livelier. In Hallstatt the evening is a lakeside dinner and a walk by the dark water once the day visitors have gone.

Hallstatt is in a different league for the outdoors. It sits in a glacial trough under the Dachstein, with the Five Fingers platform over a sheer drop, the giant ice caves, via ferratas, ski touring on the Krippenstein and the Gosausee, one of the classic views of the Alps. The price is Alpine weather, with mist that can sit over the lake for days.

Colmar's countryside is softer and drier. There are vineyard paths between the wine villages, flat country for cycling, and the rounded, forested Vosges with the Route des Crêtes along their ridge. The Black Forest is about an hour away, and autumn among the turning vines is the high point.

Colmar is one of the best bases in this part of Europe. Strasbourg is half an hour by train, Basel and Freiburg are about an hour, and Eguisheim, Riquewihr and Kaysersberg lie a few kilometres apart along the wine route. Three countries are within a day's reach.

Hallstatt's outings stay mostly within the Salzkammergut. They include the Kaiservilla at Bad Ischl, the altarpiece at St Wolfgang and the lake castle at Gmunden, with Salzburg a long day away. These trips are lovely, but slower to reach without a car.

Colmar is easier with children. The town is flat and safe for pushchairs, with boat rides through Petite Venise and storks on the roofs. Nearby are the Montagne des Singes, the eagle show at Kintzheim, the stork park at Hunawihr and, an hour away, Europa-Park.

Hallstatt has a few real highlights, above all the salt mine with its wooden miners' slides and the ice caves for older children. But the single steep lane, crowded at midday, is hard work with young ones, and families usually stay in Obertraun instead.

Both are easy on foot and awkward beyond. Colmar is flat, with the station a short walk from the old town and fast trains to Strasbourg and Mulhouse. The wine villages and the Vosges need a car or a bike, and cycling through the vineyards is a pleasure in itself.

In Hallstatt the distances are tiny but the walking is steep, with steps up to the church. The railway station is across the lake, reached by a small boat. Buses to the Dachstein cable car and Bad Ischl are thin outside summer.

Colmar gives shoppers more to work with. You can buy wine straight from the producer, Soufflenheim pottery, Alsatian table linen and foie gras, browse the boutiques around Rue des Marchands, and in December visit the Christmas markets spread over several squares.

Hallstatt has one souvenir lane. Its distinctive buy is salt from the mountain mine, in grinders or bath mixes.

Colmar is noticeably cheaper overall. Set lunches, regional wine and village tastings are reasonable, and rooms only become expensive in summer and during the Christmas market weeks.

Hallstatt has very few beds for its worldwide fame, so rooms cost well above the Austrian norm. The salt mine, funicular and cable car add up quickly. Staying in Bad Goisern or Bad Ischl and coming in for the day helps.

Colmar has at least a small programme to plan around. It has an Italian-style municipal theatre, visits from the Opéra national du Rhin, and a classical festival in July plus jazz in autumn.

Hallstatt has the village brass band, the odd church concert in summer and folk music at feast days. For an evening of music, people go to the operetta in Bad Ischl or to Salzburg.

Hallstatt has the edge for a restorative stay, mostly because of the region around it. Bad Ischl's brine baths and thermal complex are half an hour away, and Bad Aussee and Bad Goisern have their own spa traditions. In the village itself, the misty mornings on the lake are calm, but the middle of the day is crowded.

Colmar offers hotel spas and no bathing culture. It does have a gentle pace: long lunches, evenings by the canals and slow walks through the vines.