Colmar or Innsbruck?

Neither town is a place to swim, but Innsbruck at least gives you a summer dip. Colmar has its municipal pools and the small Vosges lakes up near the Route des Crêtes, which are a drive away and an afterthought.

Innsbruck has shallow lakes on the plateaus just above the city, such as the Lanser See, where the water warms to about 22°C in high summer. The Achensee, further out, is long and beautiful but too cold for most swimmers.

Colmar is the better place to eat. Alsatian cooking mixes French and German traditions, with choucroute, baeckeoffe, tarte flambée and munster cheese, and the region's own white wines are served alongside. The covered market by the canal and a handful of serious restaurants on the wine route widen the choice.

Innsbruck's food is hearty Tyrolean cooking: Gröstl, dumplings and Kaiserschmarrn. It tastes best at a mountain hut after a walk. In town the range is narrow, there is no market culture, and the wine is brought in from elsewhere.

The two are fairly close, and Colmar is slightly ahead. Its strength is a whole old town that survived intact, with the painted houses of Petite Venise and the tanners' quarter, and the Unterlinden Museum, whose Isenheim Altarpiece alone justifies the visit.

Innsbruck's heritage is imperial rather than burgher. It has the Golden Roof, the Hofburg, Maximilian's bronze-ringed tomb in the Hofkirche and Ambras Castle with its cabinet of curiosities, plus modern pieces such as the Bergisel ski jump. In both towns two or three days covers the sights.

Innsbruck has the livelier evenings, thanks to its university. Bars and small clubs fill the brick arches under the railway viaduct and stay open late at weekends, and in winter there is après-ski in the nearby resorts.

In Colmar, the evening is a long dinner and a glass of Alsace wine by the canals, and the streets are quiet early. For anything more, you take the train to Strasbourg.

Innsbruck is in a different league. The Nordkette ridge, at about 2,300m, is under half an hour from the old town, with the Karwendel nature park behind it and the Stubai glacier and valleys across the Inn. Hiking, via ferratas, paragliding, mountain biking and real skiing all start from the city.

Colmar's countryside is gentler and pretty in its own way. There are vineyard paths between wine villages, the forested Vosges and the Route des Crêtes, good cycling on the plain, and autumn colour in the vines. Most of it needs a car.

Colmar is the better base for day trips, because everything is close. Riquewihr, Eguisheim and Kaysersberg are a few kilometres apart, Strasbourg is about half an hour by train, and Basel and Freiburg are about an hour or less. That puts three countries within easy reach. The villages are easiest by car or bike.

Innsbruck's rail links give it range more than closeness. Hall in Tirol and Rattenberg are near, but Munich, Salzburg, Bolzano and Neuschwanstein each take around two hours.

Both towns work about equally well with children, in different ways. Colmar is easy for children to enjoy on foot, with boat rides in Petite Venise and storks on the roofs. The bigger outings are by car: the Hunawihr stork park, the monkey and eagle parks near Kintzheim, and Europa-Park about an hour away.

Innsbruck offers mountains rather than theme parks. There is the Alpenzoo on the funicular line, adventure trails and hut playgrounds in summer, plateau lakes for swimming and ski schools in winter. Rainy days take more planning.

Innsbruck is easier to get around without a car. Trams and buses cover the city, the funicular to the Nordkette starts at the old town, and ski buses and valley trains run out to the resorts and nearby towns.

Both centres are small and walkable, and Colmar's trains to Strasbourg and Mulhouse are quick. The problem is the wine villages and the Vosges, where buses are thin, so a hired car or bicycle becomes part of the plan.

There is little to choose between them, and in both shopping fills an afternoon rather than a trip. Colmar's best buys are things to eat and drink: wine bought direct from producers, Alsatian pottery, table linen and gingerbread, plus the Christmas markets in December.

Innsbruck has more high-street chains on Maria-Theresien-Strasse, loden jackets and dirndls, and very good outdoor and ski shops.

Colmar is the slightly cheaper of the two. Meals, wine and village tastings are reasonably priced. Rooms are its weak point in summer and during the Christmas market weeks, and staying in a nearby village helps.

Innsbruck has an Alpine premium on top of Western European prices. Ski season is dearest, inns are filling but not cheap, and lift tickets add up quickly. The city cards, which bundle transport and lifts, soften the cost.

Innsbruck has the fuller season. The Tiroler Landestheater stages opera, drama and dance, the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra plays in the congress hall, and the summer Festival of Early Music uses historic settings such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras.

Colmar's small Italian-style theatre and touring opera are pleasant, but its year really comes alive only for the July classical festival, the autumn jazz and the wine fair concerts.

Neither town has thermal baths of its own, but Innsbruck does more to help you unwind. Hotels in Igls and on the plateaus have good spas with mountain views, and the big thermal complexes of the Ötztal and Zillertal are about an hour away.

In Colmar, relaxing means quiet evenings by the canals and long lunches among the vines, with hotel spas the only real treatment option.