Dubrovnik or Sofia?

This is Dubrovnik's clearest win. You can swim from rocks below the seaward walls, at Banje beach and in the Lapad coves, though the beaches are pebble and concrete platforms rather than sand. For calmer bays, take a boat to Lokrum, the Elafiti islands or Sunj's sandy cove on Lopud.

Sofia has no coast. A summer swim there means a park pool or the lake at Pancharevo, and the Black Sea needs a separate trip.

The two are on a par, but the cooking is quite different. Dubrovnik's is Dalmatian and built on the sea: black risotto, octopus salad, grilled fish and Ston oysters, with Peljesac reds to go with them. The catch is that you have to avoid the Old Town's tourist menus and seek out konobas in Gruz or Konavle.

Sofia's food is heartier and comes from the land: kebapche, shopska salad, clay-pot stews and banitsa for breakfast, served in mehana taverns. Both have good local wine. Neither has much range beyond its own region, but in Sofia it is easier to eat well close to the centre.

Dubrovnik's Old Town is one complete, intact set piece. You can walk the full circuit of the walls, then the marble Stradun past the Rector's Palace and the Franciscan pharmacy, with Fort Lovrijenac on its rock outside. The museums are small, and summer crowds squeeze the lanes.

Sofia is more scattered. Roman Serdica sits beneath the Serdika station, the Rotunda of St George is close by, and the gold domes of Alexander Nevsky stand to the east. Out at Boyana are UNESCO-listed frescoes, and the city has stronger museums, from Thracian gold to socialist statues. The plain streets between the sights mean it never matches Dubrovnik's overall impression.

Sofia gives you more choice after dark. Around Shishman and Tsar Ivan Asen streets there are cocktail bars, craft beer and wine bars, there are cellar bars under old buildings and a few electronic clubs, and the scene runs all year.

Dubrovnik's evenings are about the view rather than the variety. You have the rock bars outside the walls at sunset, small bars in the lanes off the Stradun, and a club in the Revelin fortress. It is lovely on a July night but thin, and much of it closes in winter.

Sofia has more mountain on its doorstep. Vitosha rises above 2,200m right at the city's edge, with spruce forest and the climb to Cherni Vrah, and the glacial Seven Rila Lakes and the slopes of Borovets are further out. It works in summer for hiking and in winter for snow.

Dubrovnik's outdoors is the meeting of mountain and sea. You can climb Mount Srd for the archipelago views, kayak around the walls to Lokrum, cycle on the Elafiti islands and visit Mljet's saltwater lakes. Its bare hills are hard going in summer heat.

Dubrovnik's edge comes from crossing borders. The Bay of Kotor with Perast, Ottoman Trebinje and, on a long day, Mostar all make it easy to add another country, while Ston, Cavtat and the islands are close by sea. Summer border queues are the drawback.

Sofia's outings stay within Bulgaria but are excellent. Rila Monastery sits in its mountain valley and Plovdiv has its Roman theatre and painted old town, each about two hours away, with Koprivshtitsa as a quieter choice.

Dubrovnik gives children more to enjoy: walking the walls, boat rides to Lokrum, the cable car and calm swimming coves in Lapad. The difficulty is stairs everywhere and summer crowds, so families usually stay near the beaches.

Sofia is calm but has less to offer children. Its big parks, a science centre and a gondola day on Vitosha are the highlights, while cracked pavements make pushchairs hard work.

Both are easy without a car, but in different ways. Dubrovnik's Old Town is small and car-free, but its side streets are stairways, the hotels are spread around it and linked by buses, and boats do much of the longer-distance work. Sofia has a proper metro from the airport through the centre, plus trams. That gives it a slight advantage, despite broken pavements and Cyrillic signs.

Sofia gives you a little more to browse. Vitosha Boulevard has chains with the mountain at its end, there are rose oil and Troyan pottery, and the icon flea market sits near Alexander Nevsky. Dubrovnik is mostly souvenirs, with filigree jewellery, Konavle embroidery and candied peel from the morning market as the local finds.

The gap here is wide. Sofia is one of the cheapest capitals in the EU, where comfortable hotels, tavern meals, wine and day trips cost little, and even its smarter bistros feel moderate.

Dubrovnik in summer charges Western European capital prices for rooms, and the walls, cable car and boats add up. Spring, autumn and a base in Lapad or Cavtat soften the cost, but it never becomes cheap.

Sofia has a full season through the year: the National Opera and Ballet, the Philharmonic at Bulgaria Hall, Orthodox choral singing and jazz bars, all at gentle prices.

Dubrovnik's strength is a single event. The Summer Festival in July and August stages theatre and concerts in Fort Lovrijenac and the Rector's Palace atrium, which is memorable, but for the rest of the year there is little on.

Sofia has the spring water Dubrovnik lacks. There are warm mineral taps beside the old baths, pools at Bankya half an hour away and spa resorts such as Velingrad further out, and the city's pace is unhurried for a capital.

In Dubrovnik, rest comes from the setting rather than from any spa tradition. Its quiet times are spring, autumn and a stay on the Elafiti islands or in Cavtat, as the centre in high summer is anything but restful.