Frankfurt or Hallstatt?

Neither is a beach destination, but Hallstatt at least has its lake right by the houses. The bathing lawn at the northern end of the village and the lido at Obertraun give you a clear, cold swim, around 20°C at best in high summer. It is a good way to end a hike.

Frankfurt has nowhere to swim in the centre, and the Main banks are for sitting. Summer swimming means an outdoor pool or a trip out to gravel-pit lakes such as the Langener Waldsee. Its sandy shores and warmer water are pleasant, but you have to make a special trip to get there.

Frankfurt gives you far more to eat. There are the cider taverns of Sachsenhausen, with Grüne Soße and Handkäs at shared tables, the Kleinmarkthalle's sausages and cheese, and the Turkish, Italian and Asian kitchens of an international city. Together they make several days of varied meals.

Hallstatt has a few guesthouse dining rooms serving schnitzel, goulash and dumplings, and the one dish worth seeking out is char or whitefish from the lake. Kitchens close early, so for patisserie and more choice you go to Bad Ischl.

One is a city of museums, the other a village that is the sight in itself. Frankfurt's Museumsufer lines both banks of the Main with more than a dozen institutions, led by the Städel's old masters and modern painting, the Schirn's major exhibitions and the Senckenberg. A short walk away are the rebuilt Römer, the Paulskirche and Goethe's birthplace, with enough between them for two or three days.

In Hallstatt you look at painted houses on a ledge between cliff and lake, with seven thousand years of salt mining in the mountain above. The salt mine, the small museum telling the story of the Iron Age burial ground that named the Hallstatt culture, and the painted skulls of the Beinhaus make a remarkable day, but not a longer stay.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Frankfurt has cocktail bars in the Bahnhofsviertel, rowdy taverns in Alt-Sachsenhausen and relaxed bars along Berger Straße. It also has a techno and house tradition shared with Offenbach that comes alive on Friday and Saturday.

In Hallstatt, the evening is dinner, a glass of wine on a terrace and a walk by the lake. Most people who stay overnight come for exactly that silence.

Frankfurt's countryside is green and gentle. There is the Stadtwald on the city's edge, flat cycle paths along the Main, beech forest and Roman frontier trails in the Taunus, and vineyard walks in the Rheingau, all easy to reach by S-Bahn and bus. It is good walking and cycling country, though never dramatic.

Hallstatt has real mountains at the door, and for anyone who wants to climb it is far the stronger choice. The Dachstein massif rises straight from the lake, with the Five Fingers platform over a sheer drop, the Giant Ice Cave and the waterfalls of the Echerntal. Summer brings via ferratas and rowing on the still water, and winter brings ski touring on the Krippenstein, though mist and rain can close in for days.

Frankfurt is by far the better base, thanks to its high-speed rail network. Heidelberg, the castles of the Rhine Gorge and Cologne Cathedral are each about an hour by train, and Mainz, Wiesbaden and Würzburg's Residenz are close behind.

Hallstatt's outings are lovely but slower to reach. Bad Ischl's Kaiservilla, St Wolfgang and the Wolfgangsee towns are close, and Salzburg makes a long day. Without a car, though, the buses and the lakeside railway take careful planning.

Frankfurt works better for a family stay. The Senckenberg dinosaurs, a central zoo, the Palmengarten and boat trips past the skyline are all an easy tram ride away, even with a pushchair.

Hallstatt has a few memorable outings: above all the salt mine, with its miners' slides and underground lake, and the ice caves for older children. But the single steep lane is crowded at midday and awkward with a pushchair, so families often stay in Obertraun instead.

Frankfurt is much easier to get around. In the compact centre, the Römer, the cathedral, the Zeil and the Museumsufer are a few minutes apart on foot, and bridges lead across to Sachsenhausen. U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses share one ticket network that reaches the Taunus, Wiesbaden and Mainz, and the airport is about a quarter of an hour away by train. The zones take some learning, but you will never need a car.

Hallstatt is only a few minutes' walk from end to end, though the lane is steep and narrow in places, with steps up to the church. Arriving is the harder part. The railway station is on the far shore, and a small boat carries you across to the village. Buses to Obertraun, Gosau and Bad Ischl are limited, especially outside summer, so many visitors find a car worth having.

Frankfurt is a proper shopping city, with the Zeil's department stores and malls, luxury houses around Goethestraße and independent shops on Berger Straße and Schweizer Straße. Hallstatt has a single lane of souvenir shops, where salt from the local mine is the one thing worth taking home.

Neither place is cheap, but Frankfurt gives you more ways to save. Hotels are expensive during trade fairs but often cheaper at weekends and in summer. Tavern meals, Turkish grills and the Museumsufer pass keep daily costs down.

Hallstatt has few rooms and visitors from all over the world, so rooms and meals are priced at Alpine resort level, and the tickets for the mine and the cable car add up. The usual way round it is to sleep in Obertraun, Bad Goisern or Bad Ischl.

Frankfurt has a full opera season, concerts at the Alte Oper, German-language drama at the Schauspiel, contemporary dance and cellar jazz clubs, although things quieten down in summer.

Hallstatt has its brass band on feast days and the odd church concert. For a proper night of music, you would go to Salzburg or catch the summer operetta in Bad Ischl.

For proper spa bathing, both places rely on nearby spa towns rather than baths of their own. Frankfurt has slightly the stronger choice, all reachable by train: Wiesbaden's Art Nouveau Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme, the thermal complex in Bad Homburg and old spa towns such as Bad Nauheim.

Hallstatt's calm comes mostly from its setting: mist on the lake at dawn and an empty village at dusk, with the brine baths of Bad Ischl half an hour away. At midday the lane is crowded, so a slow stay means spending those hours on the water or in the hills.