Dresden or Krakow?

Neither city is a beach destination, and both send swimmers to old quarries rather than the river. Dresden spreads its cool-offs across outdoor pools, flooded gravel pits on the city edge and the ponds around Moritzburg.

Krakow has one striking spot, the turquoise Zakrzowek quarry under its cliffs, though swimming there is limited to fenced areas in summer. Its large indoor water park is what keeps swimming possible all year.

Krakow is the more rewarding city to eat in. It has more street food, cheap milk-bar lunches, pierogi in endless fillings, and a drinking culture of flavoured vodkas and craft beer that suits grazing through the day and night.

Dresden's strengths are narrower and more about afternoons: coffee with Eierschecke or Stollen, and dry whites and sparkling wine from the Elbe vineyards around Radebeul and Meissen. The Neustadt has the most varied plates. Neither city has much fine dining, and both have tourist menus on their main squares.

The two are evenly matched, but in different ways. Dresden's riches are mostly indoors: Raphael's Sistine Madonna in the Zwinger, the jewelled Green Vault, and Caspar David Friedrich at the Albertinum. They sit within a baroque skyline that is largely rebuilt and has post-war blocks close by.

In Krakow the city itself is the main sight. Its medieval square, Cloth Hall and Wawel Hill are original, Kazimierz keeps its synagogues, and the Schindler Factory tells the story of the occupation. Krakow takes a day less to see, while Dresden's galleries reward a slower pace.

Krakow has much more going on after dark. Brick-vaulted cellar bars under the Old Town run well past midnight, Kazimierz adds vodka bars and crowded courtyards, and cheap drinks make bar-hopping the normal way to spend an evening. On weekends the Old Town fills with stag groups, so Kazimierz and Podgorze are calmer bets.

Dresden's nights are concentrated in the Äußere Neustadt, where students drink at beer kiosks and on the pavements, and a few clubs occupy old industrial buildings. It is pleasant for a couple of evenings, while the old town is quiet after dinner.

Dresden has the better outdoors right on its doorstep. Saxon Switzerland's sandstone towers and gorges are well under an hour away by suburban train, with the Bastei view, several days of trail on the Malerweg and traditional free climbing. The Elbe cycle route and the Dresden Heath add easy days closer in.

Krakow's surroundings are gentler near the city: the Planty, the Blonia meadow, the Wolski Forest and the small limestone valley of Ojcow. Its big landscapes, the Tatras and the Dunajec gorge in the Pieniny, are about two hours away and take a long day each.

Both cities are excellent bases for day trips, but the trips feel very different. From Dresden they are mostly elegant and easy-going: porcelain at Meissen, Moritzburg's lakeside lodge, the Königstein fortress, the intact old towns of Görlitz and Bautzen, Leipzig in an hour, and Prague at the edge of a day.

From Krakow the main trips carry more weight. You can go underground in the Wieliczka salt mine, and most visitors give a whole sombre day to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Zakopane and the pilgrimage sites of Kalwaria and Czestochowa round things out.

Both cities are relaxed with children and hard on pushchairs. Dresden's draws are hands-on: the Transport Museum, the children's miniature railway in the Großer Garten, and paddle steamers up the Elbe.

Krakow has a fire-breathing dragon by the river, an indoor water park for any weather, and Energylandia within an hour's drive. Some of its major sights deal with subjects too heavy for younger children, so plan around them.

Getting around is equally easy in both, with walkable centres, dense tram networks and no need for a car. Dresden adds the river to the mix: suburban trains run along the Elbe to Meissen and Saxon Switzerland, and paddle steamers make the trip to Pillnitz part of the outing. Krakow's centre is largely car-free, and a train runs from the airport to the main station. Wheeled luggage is slow on the cobbles in both.

Krakow is slightly more fun for souvenirs. The medieval Cloth Hall sells amber, lace, embroidered linen and carved boxes, there is blue-patterned Boleslawiec pottery to take home, and a weekend flea market runs on Plac Nowy.

Dresden's best buys are Meissen porcelain and wooden Ore Mountain toys. Its quirkiest browsing is in the Neustadt's Kunsthofpassage, and in Advent the Striezelmarkt is the main reason to shop. Neither city is a place for luxury or serious fashion.

Krakow is clearly the cheaper stay. Milk bars, pierogi places, beer, trams and city museums all cost little, and moving away from the Main Square into Kazimierz or Podgorze lowers costs further.

Dresden is moderate for Western Europe and cheaper than Germany's big western cities. The Neustadt is good value for eating out. However, each major museum charges its own entry, and rooms in the old town get more expensive in the Christmas market season.

For music lovers, Dresden is the clear choice. The Semperoper, where Wagner and Strauss premiered works, is home to the centuries-old Staatskapelle, the Kreuzchor sings in the Kreuzkirche, and the Philharmonic plays at the Kulturpalast.

Krakow's offer is more informal: Chopin recitals in Old Town churches and palaces most evenings, jazz in brick cellar clubs, and klezmer in Kazimierz, with the Jewish Culture Festival closing on Szeroka Street. Its strong theatre tradition is mostly in Polish, so it is out of reach for most visitors.

Dresden has a little more to offer. Saunas and cold plunges at the municipal baths are ordinary local practice, and Bad Schandau's thermal pool is under an hour away.

Krakow relies on hotel spas and the water park's saunas, plus the unusual option of salt-air therapy deep in Wieliczka. Its naturally hot pools in Podhale are two hours south. In both cities, the most restful hours are spent beside the river or over cake in a café.