Dusseldorf or Strasbourg?

Neither city is a beach destination, and in both the Rhine is unsafe for swimming, so people swim in lakes instead. Düsseldorf's main choice is Unterbacher See, with lawns and bathing areas on the south-eastern edge of the city. The cool Dutch North Sea is a long day's travel away.

Strasbourg has no sea within reach at all, but it has more lifeguarded gravel-pit lakes, and the tram runs to the Baggersee. Either city will do for a hot afternoon, but neither works for a sun-and-sand vacation.

Both cities are rewarding places to eat, but the two kitchens are very different. Düsseldorf is built around beer: Altbier in small brewhouse glasses with sauerbraten and the city's spicy mustard. The ramen counters and izakaya around Immermannstrasse give it a variety Strasbourg lacks.

Strasbourg builds its meals around wine and Alsatian cooking, eaten in wood-panelled winstubs with a pichet of Riesling. It has the richer tradition of foie gras and fine dining in the nearby villages. On the other hand, there is little choice of other cuisines, and the tourist menus around the cathedral are best skipped.

Strasbourg is the stronger city for sightseeing. The cathedral, the Grande Ile and Petite France form a medieval ensemble that survived, and the German-built Neustadt adds a second historic layer. The Palais Rohan museums and the European institutions add more on top.

Düsseldorf was heavily bombed and its Altstadt is largely rebuilt, so its draw is art rather than old streets: the Klee collection at K20, the net under K21's glass dome and the Kunstpalast. Benrath Palace is its finest historic building. Art lovers will be busy, but for historic streets Strasbourg is the stronger choice.

Düsseldorf is clearly the place for a night out. On weekends the Altstadt's few hundred bars and brewhouses spill out into the lanes and stay busy well past midnight. Carnival brings the whole city out for days, and the Medienhafen and Flingern have calmer bars.

Strasbourg's evenings centre on the student bars of the Krutenau and the summer terraces along the river. It has few clubs, and much of the city is quiet by midnight on weeknights. It suits a drink after dinner more than a late night.

Strasbourg has far better countryside within easy reach. The Vosges rise to the west with forest trails, sandstone castle ruins and the ridge at Mont Sainte-Odile, and the Black Forest to the east has higher, more serious hiking. In the city itself, level cycle routes run along the Rhine and the canals.

Düsseldorf's surroundings are gentler: grassy Rhine meadows with flat cycle paths, Grafenberg forest and the wooded Neandertal, with the Bergisches Land hills about half an hour out. They are pleasant for a walk but cannot compare with the Vosges.

Both make excellent bases, but for different kinds of trip. From Düsseldorf most outings are to towns and cities: Cologne cathedral in under half an hour, Bonn, the Brühl palaces, the Zollverein colliery and Aachen. Fast trains reach all of them, so you never need a car.

From Strasbourg the pull is the countryside: the Alsace wine villages, Colmar and Haut-Koenigsbourg on one side, and Baden-Baden, Freiburg and Heidelberg across the Rhine. Trains serve the towns well, but the wine route is easier by car or bike.

Both cities are safe, compact and easy with a buggy, so the choice comes down to the outings. Düsseldorf has the Aquazoo Löbbecke, the Rheinturm's tilted windows and the free game park in Grafenberg, with Phantasialand and Movie Park within about an hour.

Strasbourg has boat trips through Petite France, storks and rowing boats in the Orangerie, and the hands-on Le Vaisseau science centre, with Europa-Park an hour away across the border. Its weak spot is museums aimed mostly at adults. In Düsseldorf, the rowdy Altstadt on weekend nights is the thing to avoid.

Both are easy without a car, with a walkable centre and trams to fill the gaps. Düsseldorf's strength is how far its transport reaches: it belongs to a regional network running to Cologne and the Ruhr, and trains reach the airport in minutes. The fare zones take some getting used to.

Strasbourg's island centre is smaller and mostly pedestrianised. Its separated cycle lanes often make a bike the quickest way about, which Düsseldorf's busier inner roads cannot match. One tram line even crosses the Rhine to Kehl.

Düsseldorf is the better shopping city by some way. Luxury flagships and jewellers line one bank of the Königsallee's canal, while the department stores and the Kö-Bogen cover mainstream shopping. Flingern's boutiques and the Japanese quarter's stationery and homeware shops add independent options.

Strasbourg has little luxury or fashion of note. What it offers instead is regional goods: Alsace wine, Soufflenheim pottery, printed linens and gingerbread. December, during the Christmas market, is the peak season for crafts.

Neither city is cheap, and in both the hotel is the main expense while everyday eating is fair. In Düsseldorf, avoid the trade fair weeks, when rooms can cost several times the usual rate. Brewhouse plates and Japanese noodles keep meals down.

In Strasbourg, the expensive times are the Christmas market and the weeks when the European Parliament sits. Winstub dinners and wine by the pichet are reasonable, and the cathedral and the old town cost nothing to see.

Düsseldorf has the slightly broader year-round programme. It has the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, the symphony orchestra in the domed Tonhalle and the Schauspielhaus, plus political cabaret and its place in music history as Kraftwerk's home. Small jazz venues in the Altstadt and Flingern add more casual evenings.

Strasbourg is just as serious but narrower in range. The Opéra national du Rhin, the Philharmonic and the Théâtre National are all strong, and the autumn Musica festival gives it a particular standing in contemporary music. Evenings there take more planning around the season.

Strasbourg is the better choice for a restful stay. It has its own early twentieth-century public baths, the Bains municipaux, with tiled pools, a hammam and saunas. Baden-Baden's Friedrichsbad and Caracalla baths are under an hour away, and canal walks and long winstub lunches set an unhurried pace.

Düsseldorf has no springs of its own. Its saunas are inside public pools, mostly mixed and without swimwear, and the large thermal complexes and Aachen's hot springs mean a longer trip. The Rhine meadows and the Japanese garden in Nordpark still make for calm walks.