Dijon or Frankfurt?

Neither city has a coast, and both are hours from the sea, so swimming means a lake or a pool. The difference is in kind. Dijon's Lac Kir is a reservoir on the edge of town with a lawn-and-sand bathing area, supervised in summer and close enough for a spare afternoon. Frankfurt's gravel-pit lakes, such as the Langener Waldsee in the forest to the south, have sandy shores and feel more like a proper lake beach, but getting there takes more of a trip.

Dijon is clearly the better place to eat. It sits at the head of one of France's great food regions, so you get boeuf bourguignon, snails in garlic butter, gougères and the city's own mustard and cassis. Les Halles is stocked with Époisses and Bresse poultry, and the wine bars pour village Burgundies you seldom find by the glass anywhere else.

Frankfurt's own cooking is narrower. It means apple-wine taverns in Sachsenhausen, Grüne Soße and Handkäs at shared tables, plus the Kleinmarkthalle for regional produce. Where Frankfurt does better than Dijon is variety: good Turkish, Italian and Asian kitchens and cheap food from all over the world in the Bahnhofsviertel, none of which Dijon really offers.

For sightseeing the two are broadly level, but they reward different kinds of visit. Dijon's history has survived in place. The Palace of the Dukes holds the Valois tombs with their carved mourners, and around it are half-timbered lanes, the gargoyles and lucky owl of Notre-Dame, and Sluter's Well of Moses. Walking the town is the main experience.

Frankfurt's strength is its galleries. The Museumsufer lines both banks of the Main, with the Städel as its star and the Senckenberg alongside. Its old town was largely rebuilt after 1944, so the Römer, the Paulskirche and Goethe's birthplace stand next to a skyline of towers. Choose Dijon for original streets and Frankfurt for days in museums.

Frankfurt has much more to offer after dark. Together with Offenbach it has a real place in techno and house history, and serious clubs still run at weekends. The Bahnhofsviertel has cocktail bars and late kiosks, Sachsenhausen has rowdier taverns and the Main banks fill with people on summer evenings.

In Dijon, a night out means student bars on Rue Berbisey, a glass of wine and a late dinner. Outside term time, the streets are quiet by around midnight.

Both cities sit in gentle country rather than dramatic scenery, and Frankfurt has a slight edge. The Taunus forests and the Großer Feldberg at about 880m are under an hour away by S-Bahn and bus, the Stadtwald lies within the city, and the vineyard paths of the Rhine Gorge give the best views in the region.

Dijon's outdoors is more local: the wooded combes west of town with climbing cliffs, the flat Burgundy Canal towpath, and the Morvan further out. Its standout is the signed cycle route through the Côte de Nuits vineyards towards Beaune, which Frankfurt has nothing quite like.

Both are fine bases for excursions, but Frankfurt's reach is wider. It sits at the centre of Germany's high-speed rail network, so Heidelberg, the castles of the Rhine Gorge, Cologne Cathedral and Würzburg's Residenz are all easy days by train, with Mainz, Wiesbaden, Worms and Speyer closer still.

Dijon's day trips centre on wine and Burgundian history: the Grands Crus villages, walled Beaune twenty minutes away by train, Fontenay Abbey and Semur-en-Auxois. For much of the wine country you will need a car, a bike or a tour.

Frankfurt keeps children busier. The Senckenberg's dinosaur skeletons, the walkable zoo and the Palmengarten fill the city days, and a wildlife park and a fairy-tale amusement park in the Taunus make easy outings.

Dijon is safe and relaxed, with a pedestrian centre, the planetarium at the Jardin de l'Arquebuse, play areas in the Parc de la Colombière and paddling at Lac Kir. Beyond that there is little aimed at children, and the vineyards and art collections are really for adults.

Both centres are compact enough to walk in a few minutes, and Frankfurt is slightly ahead because its network goes further. U-Bahn, S-Bahn and trams run as one system that covers the Taunus, Wiesbaden and Mainz, and the airport is about a quarter of an hour from the centre by train, although the zones take some learning.

Dijon is simpler: two tram lines, regional trains to Beaune and a TGV to Paris. The wine villages away from the railway, though, still need a car, a bike or a tour.

Frankfurt is the better city for actual shopping. The Zeil has department stores and malls, Goethestraße has the luxury fashion and jewellery houses, and Berger Straße and Schweizer Straße have independent boutiques. On Saturdays there is a flea market by the river.

Dijon's strength is things to eat and drink: mustard in dozens of flavours, pain d'épices, cassis and Burgundy from the wine merchants. Rue de la Liberté adds little beyond chains.

Dijon is the cheaper stay. Its hotels charge moderate regional-city rates, bistro set lunches are a good way to eat well, and wine by the glass costs less than in most of France. The bill mainly climbs on serious restaurants, cellar tastings and good bottles.

In Frankfurt, hotels are the problem. They are priced for business travellers and become very expensive and hard to find during the big trade fairs, while weekends and summer are often cheaper. Eating in cider taverns and Turkish grills costs little, and the Museumsufer pass helps.

Frankfurt is clearly stronger on stage. Its opera company is among Germany's most respected and is known for adventurous productions. The Alte Oper hosts the radio symphony orchestra, the Schauspiel stages serious drama, Mousonturm presents contemporary dance, and jazz cellars keep up a post-war tradition.

Dijon does well for its size. The Opéra de Dijon performs in the old Grand Théâtre and the acoustically fine Auditorium, but there is much less choice night to night. In both cities the season thins out in summer.

Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own, but Frankfurt has spa towns within easy reach. Bad Homburg's thermal complex at the foot of the Taunus and Wiesbaden's Art Nouveau Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme make an easy day of taking the waters.

Dijon offers a few hotel spas, some with grape-based treatments. Its restfulness comes from the slow pace of long lunches, quiet squares and afternoons among the vines.