Cologne or Luxembourg?

Neither has a beach, and in both cases a swim means a lake on a warm day. Cologne's flooded gravel pits, such as Fühlinger See and Otto-Maigler-See, sit on the edge of the city and are an easy tram-and-towel afternoon.

Luxembourg's best water is the Upper Sûre reservoir, about an hour north among wooded hills, which makes more of a scenic day out. Remerschen's gravel pits in the Moselle valley are the closer option.

The two eat about equally well, but in very different ways. In Cologne the experience is the Brauhaus: a Köbes keeps the Kölsch coming alongside black pudding with apple or sauerbraten. Ehrenfeld's Turkish and Middle Eastern cooking makes casual eating cheap and easy.

Luxembourg leans French, with a surprisingly serious fine-dining tier for a small capital. Its real treat is Moselle Riesling and crémant by the glass. The everyday, inexpensive meal is harder to find there, so lunch menus do the work that Cologne's brewhouses do.

Cologne has the weightier sightseeing. The cathedral alone justifies a visit, and behind it stand twelve Romanesque churches, Roman remains and museums of real standing, from Museum Ludwig's Pop Art to Kolumba. What it lacks is a historic townscape, because much of the city was rebuilt plainly after the war.

Luxembourg works the other way round. Its strength is the whole setting rather than individual treasures: a UNESCO fortress city on a rock, casemate tunnels to walk through and the Grund below. The museums and palace are good but compact, and two days covers them.

This is where the two differ most. Cologne goes out with enthusiasm, from brewhouse evenings to student crowds on Zülpicher Strasse, late clubs in Ehrenfeld and one of Germany's largest gay scenes around Rudolfplatz. Carnival turns the whole city into a street party.

Luxembourg's evenings are small and early. The Rives de Clausen and the Grund's pubs draw an international office crowd on Thursdays and Fridays, and many residents leave town at weekends. Anyone hoping for a night out should pick Cologne.

They are close here, but the landscapes differ. Luxembourg has wilder country on its doorstep. Wooded gorges run through the centre, and the Müllerthal's sandstone passages and beech forest are half an hour away, with the Ardennes beyond.

Cologne is flat and greener than expected, with the Grüngürtel parks and long Rhine cycle paths. For hills you take a train to the Siebengebirge's Drachenfels or further to the Eifel's crater lakes.

Both are excellent bases, so the choice comes down to which region you want to see. Cologne's fast trains reach Bonn, Düsseldorf, Aachen's Carolingian cathedral and the castle towns of the Rhine Gorge, and Brussels is close enough for a day too.

Luxembourg looks towards Roman Trier, Gothic Metz and the grand squares of Nancy. Within the country, Vianden's castle, Echternach and the Moselle wine villages are all reachable on free buses and trains. From either city, the day trips are among the best parts of the stay.

Cologne gives children far more to do. The zoo with its elephant park, the Chocolate Museum's fountain, the cable car to the Rheinpark's playgrounds and Phantasialand at Brühl can fill a week. Only Carnival is a time to avoid with small children.

Luxembourg is calm and safe, and the casemate tunnels and ramparts feel like an adventure. Beyond those, the small Parc Merveilleux is the only attraction made for families. It works for a quiet two or three days, not a long school vacation.

Luxembourg is the easier of the two. Trams, buses and trains are free across the country, so you never buy a ticket, and public lifts and a funicular link the town's different levels, which also makes life easier with a buggy.

Cologne is simple enough too. The station stands beside the cathedral, and the centre is flat and walkable. Its tram and Stadtbahn map takes some working out, though, and the trams can be crowded.

Cologne is the better place to shop. Schildergasse and Hohe Strasse cover the high street, and Ehrenstrasse and the Belgian Quarter add independent fashion and design. Eau de Cologne from the historic perfume houses and the Advent markets give it local character.

Luxembourg's Grand-Rue is about luxury labels for a wealthy clientele, with little independent design or bargain hunting. The best things to take home are Villeroy & Boch porcelain and a few bottles of crémant.

Cologne is much kinder to the wallet. A brewhouse meal with Kölsch is good value and the cathedral is free. Hotels are the main cost, and only during trade fairs and Carnival do they become steep.

Luxembourg is one of the dearer stays in Western Europe, with hotels priced for business travel and costly restaurants. Free transport, free museums and lunch menus help. Some visitors sleep in Trier or Metz and come in for the day.

Cologne has the broader stage life. The opera and theatre share Offenbachplatz, and the Philharmonie beneath the square by the cathedral is home to two orchestras. The city also has a strong tradition of electronic and experimental music, jazz in the Südstadt and the dialect bands of the Carnival sessions.

Luxembourg's Philharmonie on Kirchberg is a fine hall that draws touring orchestras, and the Grand Théâtre and the Rotondes keep the calendar full. Most of what plays there comes from elsewhere, though.

The two are evenly matched, but the setting differs. Cologne has the German sauna habit on its doorstep, including a mineral-spring thermal bath in the Rheinpark facing the cathedral, and Aachen's hot springs are a short train ride away. The city itself rarely feels slow, though.

Luxembourg sends you half an hour out to the spa park at Mondorf-les-Bains. Its main gift is the pace: quiet evenings and calm walks through the Pétrusse valley and the Grund.