Dusseldorf or Karlovy Vary?

Neither city is a beach destination, and both send swimmers inland. In Düsseldorf that means Unterbacher See or a gravel-pit lake, since the Rhine is too dangerous for swimming. In Karlovy Vary it means Lake Medard, a flooded mine half an hour out, or the warm spring-fed outdoor pools, which are the more unusual swim of the two.

Düsseldorf is much the better place to eat. It has two strong traditions to work through: the Altstadt brewhouses, where hearty Rhineland plates come with endless small glasses of Altbier, and the ramen, izakaya and bakeries of one of Europe's largest Japanese communities. Carlsplatz market and a layer of fine dining add to them.

Karlovy Vary sticks to roast pork, dumplings and svíčková with good Czech beer. Its real treats are the warm spa wafers and a glass of Becherovka in the town where it was invented. You will enjoy a few meals there, but you would not plan a trip around them.

The two are broadly level, but they offer very different things. Düsseldorf's culture lives inside its museums: Klee and modern art at K20, the net under the dome at K21, and the Kunstpalast. Its townscape is largely rebuilt, so Benrath Palace and Kaiserswerth carry the history.

In Karlovy Vary the streets themselves are the attraction. Pastel Belle Époque hotels rise up the valley, the UNESCO-listed colonnades line the river, and the Vřídlo geyser erupts under cover, while the museums are small and specialised.

The gap is wide. Düsseldorf's Altstadt turns into a street party at weekends, with crowds drinking outside brewhouses past midnight, and Carlstadt and Flingern offer quieter bars. Carnival brings days of costumed revelry.

Karlovy Vary goes to bed early. A hotel bar, a Czech pub or a casino is about the extent of it, except during the film festival week.

Karlovy Vary has the better outdoors on its doorstep. Beech and spruce forest rises straight from the colonnades, old spa paths lead to the Diana tower and other lookouts, and the Slavkov Forest and Ore Mountains offer longer walks, cycling and winter skiing at Klínovec.

Düsseldorf's countryside is flatter and tamer. It is at its best on a bike along the Rhine meadows to Kaiserswerth, with the Neandertal and the Bergisches Land a short trip away.

Düsseldorf is the stronger base. Fast, frequent trains reach Cologne Cathedral in under half an hour and Bonn, Brühl's palaces, the Zollverein colliery, Aachen and even Maastricht without a car.

Karlovy Vary has some fine outings too. The castle at Loket is twenty minutes away, the sister spas of Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně and the reliquary at Bečov are close, and Plzeň is not far. But the connections are slower, and Prague takes a long day.

Düsseldorf keeps children busier. It has the Aquazoo, the tilted windows of the Rheinturm, wild boar in the Grafenberg game park, river beaches in summer, and two big theme parks within an hour.

Karlovy Vary charms children for a day or so with the geyser, the spouted spring-water cups, the funicular and the wafers. After that there is little aimed at them, and the steep streets are hard work with a pushchair.

Both centres can be walked, but Düsseldorf's is flat. You can stroll from the Altstadt to the Kö and the Japanese quarter, trams and light rail fill the gaps, and a regional network carries you straight on to Cologne and the Ruhr.

Karlovy Vary's spa strip is easy along the river, but the hotels and viewpoints sit up steep slopes, so you lean on buses and the funicular. Trains beyond town are slow regional lines.

Düsseldorf is the shopping city of the two. It has the Königsallee's luxury flagships beside the canal, big department stores on Schadowstrasse, and smaller finds in Flingern and the Japanese quarter.

Karlovy Vary's range is narrower but more local. Moser crystal from its own showroom, regional porcelain and Bohemian garnets are the things worth carrying home, alongside spa cups and Becherovka.

Karlovy Vary is the cheaper stay. It charges for the setting on the colonnades, but Czech pubs one street back keep meals inexpensive, and the springs and promenades cost little or nothing.

Düsseldorf's hotels are expensive for its size and can be several times dearer during trade fairs. Brewhouse meals and noodle bars help, but overall it has the costs of a prosperous Western European city.

Düsseldorf has a real cultural calendar. The Deutsche Oper am Rhein stages opera and ballet, the domed Tonhalle hosts symphony concerts, and the Schauspielhaus offers serious theatre, with cabaret, jazz and the Kraftwerk legacy on top.

Karlovy Vary offers a gentler evening. Light classical concerts are given by an orchestra descended from the old spa bands, sometimes outdoors on the colonnades, and the Fellner and Helmer theatre hosts touring productions.

Here Karlovy Vary is in a different league. Thirteen springs feed the colonnades, the drinking cure has been prescribed for centuries, and spa hotels offer carbonated baths, peat wraps and warm spring-water pools. The whole town moves at a convalescent's pace.

Düsseldorf offers the German sauna habit in its public baths, quiet walks in the Hofgarten and the Japanese garden, and Aachen's hot springs as a day out.