Cortina d'Ampezzo or Heidelberg?

Neither town works for a swimming vacation, but what they offer differs. Cortina has cold alpine lakes fed by snowmelt, such as Ghedina and Pianozes, which are better for walking round than swimming in. Heidelberg has outdoor pools and the gravel-pit lakes of the Rhine plain, which are warmer and suit a lazy afternoon. The nearer sea is the Adriatic, more than two hours' drive from Cortina.

Both towns eat well for their size, in different ways. Cortina's best meals are Ampezzan mountain dishes such as casunziei and polenta with game, ideally eaten on a rifugio terrace among the peaks. The valley's dining rooms are polished but rarely cheap.

Heidelberg's strength is wine: Riesling and Pinot from the Bergstrasse and the Palatinate, drunk in village wine taverns with Flammkuchen or spring asparagus. Its large student population also keeps cheap kebabs and pizza plentiful, which Cortina barely offers, although the restaurants nearest the castle are uneven.

Heidelberg has much more to see. The red sandstone castle ruin stands above a well-preserved baroque Altstadt and the Old Bridge. Germany's oldest university, with its graffiti-covered Student Prison, adds to a compact and rewarding day or two of sightseeing.

Cortina's centre is pretty, with its tall bell tower and painted houses, and the Rimoldi art collection fills a wet afternoon. Its most striking history, the First World War tunnels and trenches on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, lies up in the mountains and takes a full day to reach.

Neither is a nightlife destination, but Heidelberg gives you more to do after dinner. In term time the Untere Strasse fills with small bars and old student taverns until late, and Mannheim and Frankfurt are a train ride away for bigger club nights.

Cortina's evenings are après-ski drinks, a stroll along the Corso Italia and a long dinner. Late bars open mainly in the peak winter weeks, and summer nights are quiet.

This is where Cortina stands apart. The Dolomites surround the town and lifts rise straight onto the peaks, with the Tre Cime, Lago di Misurina and the Fanes-Sennes-Braies park all close. Winter brings skiing across the Dolomiti Superski area, and summer brings via ferrata, climbing and hut-to-hut trails.

Heidelberg's outdoors is green and gentle rather than dramatic: the Philosophers' Walk, forest trails over the Königstuhl at 568m, and the flat Neckar cycle path past castles. It makes lovely walking and cycling country, but it has no high peaks, lifts or rock walls to compare with the ring of mountains around Cortina.

Heidelberg is much the better base for days out. Speyer's cathedral and the palace gardens at Schwetzingen are about half an hour away, and Worms, Lorsch and Maulbronn are easy outings. Mainz and Frankfurt are around an hour by train, and the Palatinate wine villages and Baden-Baden are also within reach.

From Cortina, most days out head into the mountains. South Tyrol has the best town outings, from San Candido to Bolzano and its Iceman, but the drives are longer, and Venice is a long day by coach.

Heidelberg suits more families. The funicular to the Königstuhl and its fairy-tale park, a compact zoo and river boat trips are all close at hand. For rainy or restless days, the Technik Museum Speyer and a large theme park are within easy reach.

Cortina works well for families who ski or hike, with ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, skating at the Olympic stadium and easy walks to mountain huts in summer. Beyond the outdoors there is little aimed at children, and bad weather leaves few options.

Heidelberg is far simpler without a car. The Altstadt is walkable from end to end, and trams run in from the station. One fare system covers the trains, trams and buses of the whole Rhine-Neckar area, so day trips need little planning.

Cortina's centre is tiny and easy on foot, and ski buses reach the slopes in winter. But the town has had no railway since 1964, so arriving means a coach from Venice or a long drive. Buses up to the passes are limited, and most visitors who want to explore the wider Dolomites hire a car.

Shopping is a short affair in both towns, but the character differs. Cortina's Corso Italia is a compact luxury strip of fashion, jewellers, furriers and upmarket ski wear, anchored by the old Cooperativa store, with local wood carving and filigree on the side. Heidelberg's long Hauptstrasse is mostly high-street chains and souvenirs such as beer steins and Studentenkuss chocolates. Bergstrasse wine is the best thing to take home, and Mannheim and Frankfurt are close by train for more.

Cortina is one of Italy's priciest resorts, and in the winter peak and in August both rooms and restaurant meals cost what a luxury resort charges. Skiers then pay for lift passes and hire on top. The cheaper ways in are lunch at a rifugio, a visit in early summer or late September, or a bed in a quieter valley with a drive in each morning.

Heidelberg is far easier on the wallet, with costs typical of western Germany. Its main problem is a shortage of hotel rooms, so congresses, graduations and summer weekends push rates up. Many visitors sleep in Mannheim or a nearby town and arrive by train, and entry to the castle and most museums stays modest.

Heidelberg has a full season. The municipal theatre stages opera, drama and dance, a philharmonic orchestra gives regular concerts, and the Heidelberger Frühling festival comes in spring. In summer the castle courtyard hosts open-air performances, and Mannheim's larger house is twenty minutes away.

Cortina has no theatre and no regular music venue. Its music comes from summer chamber and classical festivals, sometimes held outdoors among the mountains, and a few concerts around Christmas and New Year.

Neither town has thermal baths of its own, and both rely on hotel spas. Cortina's are Alpine in style, with saunas, hay baths and indoor pools after a day on the slopes, and its calm comes from clear mountain air and hut terraces in the quieter months.

Heidelberg's advantage is the thermal water nearby: the Kraichgau spa towns with warm saline pools are about half an hour away, and Baden-Baden is about an hour. In town, the slow pleasures are evenings on the Neckar meadows in Neuenheim and unhurried wine taverns.