Frankfurt or Berlin?

Neither city has a sea, but Berlin makes much more of its lakes. Strandbad Wannsee, a historic lido with a long sandy shore, the Müggelsee and the forest lakes such as Schlachtensee and Plötzensee are all reachable by S-Bahn or bus. On a warm day, swimming in them is a real part of a Berlin summer.

Frankfurt has outdoor pools and gravel-pit lakes on its edge, of which the Langener Waldsee in the southern forest is the best, but nobody swims in the Main. In both cities the swimming season is July and August, and in neither is it a reason to choose the city.

Berlin eats better because of its range. Turkish bakeries and grill houses fill Kreuzberg and Neukölln, Vietnamese, Levantine and Korean cooking are everywhere, and there is a serious fine-dining tier. Market-hall street-food evenings and beer gardens fill in the rest.

Frankfurt has the stronger local tradition, though its menu is short. An evening in an apple-wine tavern in Sachsenhausen means long shared tables, tart Apfelwein from stoneware jugs, and Grüne Soße or Handkäs mit Musik. Beyond that and the Kleinmarkthalle, its international eating is solid rather than special.

Berlin is in a different league here. Museum Island alone, with Nefertiti and the Pergamon collections, could fill a Frankfurt-length trip, and the Gemäldegalerie and Charlottenburg Palace come on top of that. What sets it apart is the twentieth century, seen at the Reichstag, the Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse and the Topography of Terror, all standing where the events took place.

Frankfurt's strength is concentrated on the Museumsufer, where the Städel is the one collection of international standing. The rebuilt Römer, the cathedral, the Paulskirche and Goethe's birthplace all sit within a short walk, with a skyline of towers above them. It is a satisfying two or three days, not a week.

Berlin is one of the cities people travel to just to go out. Its techno clubs in former factories and power stations have strict doors and no closing time, and parties run from Saturday night into Monday. Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg have corner Kneipen, cocktail bars and canal-side drinking for every other night of the week.

Frankfurt shares some of that electronic heritage through its history with Offenbach, but its club scene is small and only busy at weekends. The most interesting evenings are in the rough-edged Bahnhofsviertel and the cider taverns of Alt-Sachsenhausen, and early in the week the city is quiet.

Frankfurt has the better countryside on its doorstep, because it has hills. The Taunus rises just beyond the suburbs to the Großer Feldberg at about 880m, with beech forest, Roman frontier trails and mountain-bike routes. The Stadtwald and the vineyard paths of the Rheingau add gentler walking.

Berlin's outdoors is mostly about water and open space. You can sail on the Havel, paddle on the Müggelsee, cycle the old Tempelhof runways or follow the Wall Trail around the former West. It is green and pleasant, but entirely flat.

This is where Frankfurt pulls ahead. It sits at the centre of Germany's high-speed rail network, so Heidelberg, the castles of the Rhine Gorge and Cologne Cathedral are each about an hour away. Mainz, Wiesbaden and Darmstadt are closer still, and a week of trips would not use them all up.

Berlin has one outstanding outing in the palaces and gardens of Potsdam, plus Wittenberg, Leipzig, the Spreewald and the Sachsenhausen memorial. Dresden makes a long day, and beyond these the choice soon runs thin.

Berlin gives children more to do. It has two big zoos: the Zoologischer Garten with its aquarium, and the leafy Tierpark in the east, which can fill a whole day. The Museum of Technology is full of trains and planes, and there are dedicated children's museums. Flat streets, playgrounds and lakes make the days easy.

Frankfurt's dinosaur hall at the Senckenberg is its star attraction, and the central zoo, the Palmengarten glasshouses and boat trips past the skyline fill a few days. Its compact centre is easier with small legs, but there is less to keep a family busy for a week.

Both cities are easy without a car, but in different ways. Berlin is big, with Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Charlottenburg as separate centres linked by the S-Bahn Ring, trams and trains that run all night at weekends. It is completely flat, so cycling is often the nicest way to get between them.

Frankfurt's sights are packed into a centre you can cross on foot in minutes. One ticket network reaches out to the Taunus, Wiesbaden and Mainz, the airport is a quarter of an hour away by train, and the zones take a little getting used to.

Berlin is the better place for independent and second-hand shopping. The Sunday flea markets at Mauerpark and Boxhagener Platz turn up East German curios, vinyl and old furniture. Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg are full of concept stores, record shops and vintage clothing, and KaDeWe's food hall is worth a visit on its own.

Frankfurt is more practical, with chain stores and malls on the Zeil and boutiques along Berger Straße. Oddly, it beats Berlin for luxury, since the jewellery and fashion houses of Goethestraße serve the banking crowd.

Berlin is the cheaper city, mainly because its hotels are good value for a capital. Döner, Vietnamese canteens and corner bars make cheap eating easy. Museums and fine dining are the costs that add up.

Frankfurt's hotels are priced for business travellers and become scarce and expensive during the big trade fairs. Weekends and summer are noticeably cheaper, and the cider taverns and the Museumsufer pass help, so timing your trip matters more here than in Berlin.

Berlin has far more on stage. The Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper and the Komische Oper make three full opera houses, the Berlin Philharmonic plays in Scharoun's tent-like hall, and the Konzerthaus on the Gendarmenmarkt adds another classical calendar. Most plays at the Berliner Ensemble or the Volksbühne are in German, so visitors tend to choose opera, dance or the Friedrichstadt-Palast revue, and the jazz cellars and experimental music spaces fill the late evenings.

Frankfurt has only one opera company, but it is highly respected and known for bold productions. Concerts at the rebuilt Alte Oper, contemporary dance at Mousonturm and a long-running English-language theatre add a few good evenings. That theatre gives visitors who do not speak German something Berlin's drama stages rarely do. The season runs from autumn to early summer, so there is less on during a July or August trip.

The two are about even, but the relaxation is found in different places. Berlin's is in town: big clothes-free sauna complexes with infusion rituals, the columned halls of the Stadtbad Neukölln, and slow Sundays in café gardens.

Frankfurt has little of its own, but the old spa towns around it are excellent. Wiesbaden's Art Nouveau Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme runs on hot springs, and Bad Homburg's thermal baths sit at the foot of the Taunus. For real spring water, Frankfurt has more to offer.