Cortina d'Ampezzo or Freiburg?

Neither place is for beach life, but Freiburg at least gives you a proper summer swim. Locals cycle out to the flooded gravel pits on the Rhine plain, where the water warms up nicely and the banks are grassy. The city's open-air pools and the Black Forest lakes of Titisee and Schluchsee are there for cooler days.

In Cortina, the alpine lakes such as Ghedina and Pianozes are fed by snowmelt and stay bracing even in August. Swimming there mostly means a hotel pool.

Freiburg eats better and more widely. Baden cooking has a French lightness, the Kaiserstuhl and Markgräflerland wines are poured just outside town, and the Münster market with its long grilled sausages is a daily treat. Wood-panelled taverns and serious fine dining in the region make up the rest.

Cortina's best meals are Ampezzan mountain dishes such as casunziei and polenta with game, ideally eaten on a rifugio terrace among the peaks. In the valley the choice is narrow and rarely cheap.

Freiburg has far more to see in town. The red sandstone Münster, the Historisches Kaufhaus, the medieval gates and the running Bächle channels fill a satisfying day or two, with the Augustinermuseum for medieval art.

Cortina's sights are modest: the basilica with its bell tower, the 1956 Olympic ice stadium and the Rimoldi collection of modern Italian art. Its most striking history, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, takes a day in the mountains to reach.

Freiburg's large student population keeps its evenings going. There are pubs and wine bars around the Martinstor, summer crowds on the squares and along the Dreisam, and a few clubs for techno and indie.

Cortina's evenings are après-ski drinks, a stroll along the Corso Italia and long dinners. Only in the peak winter weeks do a few smart bars and clubs stay open late.

Cortina has the grander scenery. A ring of Dolomite peaks surrounds the Ampezzo valley, lifts climb straight from town, and the Tre Cime, Lago di Misurina and the Fanes-Sennes-Braies park are all close. Summer brings via ferrata, climbing and the Alta Via 1. Winter connects you to the Dolomiti Superski network.

Freiburg's outdoors is gentler but right on the doorstep. The Schlossberg rises behind the old town, a cable car climbs the Schauinsland, and the Feldberg gives you hiking and modest skiing. The Kaiserstuhl vineyards and the Rhine plain are excellent for cycling.

Freiburg's corner of Europe gives it a far wider choice of outings. Basel is under an hour by train, the Alsace wine villages and Colmar are about an hour by car, and Strasbourg and Baden-Baden are easy days out.

From Cortina, most excursions go deeper into the mountains. The towns of South Tyrol are pleasant, and Bolzano's Iceman is worth the two-hour drive. Venice is possible but makes a long day by coach.

Freiburg is much easier with children. They can paddle in the Bächle, see the animals at the free Mundenhof park and ride the Schauinsland cable car. Europa-Park, Germany's largest theme park, is about 40 minutes away.

Cortina suits active families well, with ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, public skating and summer walks to huts with meadows to play in. Beyond the outdoors there is little for children, wet days drag, and the costs add up quickly.

Freiburg is simple to get around without a car. The car-free old town is easy to walk, trams reach the suburbs, bike lanes are everywhere, and regional trains run into the Black Forest and to Basel, often covered by a guest card.

Cortina's own centre is a few minutes' walk across, but the town has had no railway since 1964. You arrive by coach from Venice or by car, and buses to the passes run on a limited service. Many visitors end up hiring a car.

The two are about even for shopping, but they appeal to very different shoppers. Cortina's Corso Italia is a short street of luxury fashion, jewellers, furriers and upmarket ski wear, anchored by the Cooperativa, which dates from 1893.

Freiburg has no luxury to speak of. It mixes chain stores on Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse with independent boutiques in the Gerberau and Konviktstrasse lanes, plus market wine, ham and cuckoo clocks.

Freiburg is noticeably cheaper. Hotel rooms are pricier than the city's size suggests, but market snacks, student-quarter restaurants, trams and free sights such as the Münster keep daily spending reasonable.

Cortina is among the most expensive places to stay in Italy. Lift passes, equipment hire and town restaurants all add to the bill. The rifugi and the quieter weeks of June and late September soften the cost a little.

Freiburg has a real season. Theater Freiburg stages opera, drama and dance, the Konzerthaus is home to the respected Freiburger Barockorchester, and the summer Zelt-Musik-Festival fills a tent village with concerts.

Cortina has no theatre or regular music venue. It offers summer chamber festivals in churches and mountain settings, and very little the rest of the year.

Freiburg sits in spa country. A thermal bath lies on the city's edge, and Bad Krozingen's warm outdoor pools are about twenty minutes away. Badenweiler has its Roman ruins and Baden-Baden its grand bathhouses, both within reach.

Cortina has no thermal tradition, so relaxing there means a hotel spa with sauna, hay bath and indoor pool, or a slow afternoon on a hut terrace. It is calm in June and September but far less so in the peak weeks.