Dusseldorf or Lubeck?

Lübeck has a real seaside within its own boundaries, which Düsseldorf cannot match. Travemünde's long sandy beach with its wicker beach chairs, and the resorts along the bay, have calm, shallow water with no tides, which suits small children. The Baltic stays cool, though, and the swimming season is short.

In Düsseldorf the Rhine looks inviting but is too dangerous to swim in, so a swim means Unterbacher See or an outdoor pool. The North Sea is a long way off, so beach days are not really part of a stay there.

Düsseldorf is the better place to eat, mainly because it has two strong food traditions where Lübeck has one narrower one. Brewhouse cooking in the Altstadt, with sauerbraten, Halve Hahn and the city's sharp mustard, sits alongside the Japanese quarter around Immermannstrasse, one of the largest in Europe. Carlsplatz market and a good choice of fine dining round it out.

In Lübeck food is more about a few specialities than range: marzipan from the old confectioners, herring and fish sandwiches by the harbour, Rotspon from the city's cellars and a meal in the sea captains' guild house. Beyond those, the choice narrows quickly.

Lübeck is the better city for sightseeing, because its whole island old town is the attraction. It is a UNESCO-listed Hanseatic centre of brick Gothic churches, the Holstentor, the Marienkirche, and merchants' houses with courtyards behind them. With the Hansemuseum and the Buddenbrookhaus added, it fills two satisfying days.

Düsseldorf's strength is art rather than old buildings. K20, K21 and the Kunstpalast are serious collections, but wartime bombing left little of the old city standing. Apart from Benrath Palace and the ruins at Kaiserswerth, most of the sights are modern, from the Rheinturm to the Gehry buildings at the Medienhafen.

The gap here is wide. Düsseldorf's Altstadt packs hundreds of pubs and brewhouses into a few streets that turn into a street party at weekends. There are quieter cocktail bars in Carlstadt and the Medienhafen, and Carnival brings the whole city out for days.

Lübeck has wine bars, a few student pubs and summer evenings on Travemünde's promenade, and little goes on after midnight. People who want a proper night out take the train to Hamburg.

Neither city has dramatic scenery, and both offer gentle country for walking and cycling. The difference is the water. Düsseldorf's outdoors follows the Rhine, with flat paths through the meadows to Kaiserswerth, the Grafenberg forest, the Neandertal, and the wooded Bergisches Land within half an hour.

Lübeck has the coast and the lakes instead: canoeing on the Wakenitz through reeds and woodland, the clifftop walk along the Brodtener Steilufer, sailing on the bay and the lake district of Holstein Switzerland.

Düsseldorf is by far the better base. Cologne's cathedral is under half an hour away by train. Bonn, the Brühl palaces, the Zollverein colliery, Aachen, Münster, Maastricht and the Middle Rhine gorge are all within reach by fast, frequent trains.

Lübeck has a good handful of outings. Hamburg is the obvious full day, and Wismar, Schwerin's island castle and Ratzeburg on its lake are not far. After those, though, the options run out quickly.

Both cities are safe, flat and easy with children, but they work best in different seasons. Düsseldorf works all year round, with the Aquazoo, the Rheinturm's tilted windows, the free game park, and Phantasialand and Movie Park within about an hour.

Lübeck is at its best in summer, when Travemünde's shallow beach, the playgrounds along the bay and Hansa-Park make for an easy seaside stay. In the wet or cold months there is much less for children to do.

Both centres are easy on foot, but Düsseldorf has the edge thanks to its trams, its light rail and a fast S-Bahn link to the airport. All of it is part of a regional network that also reaches Cologne and the Ruhr, though the fare zones take some getting used to.

Lübeck is simpler. The old town island is about 2km long, the station is just across the river from the Holstentor, and a regional train reaches Travemünde in about twenty minutes. Cobbled streets and the occasional bus ride are about the only complications.

Düsseldorf is a real shopping destination, centred on the Königsallee with its canal, luxury flagships and arcades. Big department stores on Schadowstrasse and in the Kö-Bogen, and independent shops in Flingern and the Japanese quarter, add to it.

Lübeck covers the basics on Breite Strasse and Königstrasse, with galleries and craft shops tucked into the side passages, and marzipan is the souvenir everyone takes home. For serious fashion, people go to Hamburg.

Lübeck is easier on the wallet. Rooms in the old town are moderately priced, tavern meals and harbour fish kiosks are reasonable, and the old town costs nothing to explore. The one exception is the beach hotels in Travemünde, which cost more in July and August.

Düsseldorf's hotels are priced for a business city and rise steeply during trade fairs, so it is worth checking the fair calendar before booking. Brewhouse meals and Japanese noodle bars help keep day-to-day spending down.

Düsseldorf has the fuller programme. There is opera and ballet at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the symphony orchestra in the domed Tonhalle, one of the leading German-language theatres, political cabaret and a summer jazz festival. As Kraftwerk's home city, it also has a place in the history of electronic music.

Lübeck's season is smaller but has its own character. It centres on Theater Lübeck, the Philharmonic and organ concerts in the Marienkirche, where Buxtehude was organist, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival comes to the city in summer.

In Düsseldorf, relaxing usually means a German sauna. The public pools have mixed sauna areas where swimwear is not worn, which surprises some visitors. Large thermal complexes are within about an hour, and Aachen's hot springs are a little further away. Long walks through the Rhine meadows and the Japanese garden in Nordpark make a gentler alternative.

Lübeck's way to unwind is the Baltic seaside. Travemünde has been a spa resort for two centuries, and the bay has wellness hotels and an indoor seawater pool at Scharbeutz. Back in the old town, the courtyards and riverside benches are quiet all day.