Frankfurt or Lubeck?

Lübeck has a real seaside within its own boundaries. Travemünde's long sandy beach, with its hooded wicker chairs, and the bay resorts of Timmendorfer Strand and Scharbeutz give calm, tide-free water that is ideal for paddling. The Baltic stays cool even in midsummer, though, so this is beach afternoons rather than a swimming trip.

Frankfurt has nothing comparable. Its summer swimming is in outdoor pools and gravel-pit lakes such as the Langener Waldsee, which are pleasant on a hot day but are no substitute for the coast.

Frankfurt is the better place to eat, mainly because of its range. The apple-wine taverns of Sachsenhausen, with Grüne Soße and Handkäs at shared tables, give it a strong local ritual, the Kleinmarkthalle is an excellent market stop, and the Turkish, Italian and Asian kitchens add depth that a smaller city lacks.

Lübeck's table is narrower but distinctive: marzipan from confectioners near the town hall, herring and fish sandwiches from the harbour, and Rotspon claret from old cellars, all best enjoyed in the sea captains' guild house. Beyond that the choice soon becomes provincial.

Frankfurt is the city for galleries. The Museumsufer lines both banks of the Main with more than a dozen museums, led by the Städel's old masters and modern painting, with the Schirn's big exhibitions alongside. Above ground, though, the Römer, the cathedral lanes and the Paulskirche are mostly rebuilt after 1944 and stand beneath a wall of towers.

Lübeck is the more rewarding place simply to walk through. Its UNESCO-listed island is a Hanseatic town that has largely survived, from the leaning Holstentor to the Marienkirche, the model for brick Gothic churches around the Baltic, and the gabled merchants' houses with courtyards behind them. The Hansemuseum and the Buddenbrookhaus fill in the history and literature behind what you have just walked past.

Frankfurt is clearly the place for a night out, though mostly at weekends. The station district has the most character, Berger Straße suits relaxed neighbourhood drinking, and the techno and house clubs carry a real musical heritage.

Lübeck's evenings are pubs and wine bars in the old town and along the Obertrave, plus Travemünde's promenade in summer. There are almost no clubs and the town is asleep by midnight, so night owls take the train to Hamburg.

Frankfurt has the better outdoors on its doorstep. The Taunus hills rise to about 880m on the Großer Feldberg, with beech forest and Roman frontier trails under an hour away, the Stadtwald lies inside the city, and the Rhine Gorge and Rheingau vineyard paths add real scenery.

Lübeck is flatter and wetter: canoeing on the reed-lined Wakenitz, the crumbling clay cliff walk at Brodtener Steilufer and the lakes of Holstein Switzerland. What it offers that Frankfurt cannot is the sea, with sailing and windsurfing on the bay in summer.

Frankfurt is one of the best bases in Germany for excursions. Heidelberg, the castle-lined Rhine Gorge and Cologne's cathedral are each about an hour by train, and Mainz, Wiesbaden, Würzburg, Speyer and Marburg add a week's worth of easy outings.

Lübeck has a few excellent choices but a shorter list. Hamburg is under an hour away, and Wismar and the island castle at Schwerin make strong days out. After Ratzeburg, Eutin and Kiel, though, the options soon run out.

The two are about equally good with children, but the appeal differs and so does the timing. Frankfurt works in any season, thanks to the Senckenberg's dinosaur hall, a central zoo, the Palmengarten glasshouses and boat trips past the skyline.

Lübeck is at its best in summer, when Travemünde's shallow beach, the bay promenades and Hansa-Park turn it into a seaside-and-city stay. On a wet winter visit there is much less for children to do.

Both centres are easy to walk, but Frankfurt's transport reaches further. One integrated U-Bahn, S-Bahn and tram network covers the city and region out to Wiesbaden and the Taunus, and the airport is about a quarter of an hour from the centre by train. The cost is a system of lines and zones that takes some learning.

Lübeck is simpler. The island old town is about 2km long and mostly pedestrianised, though cobbled, and the station sits just across the river. Buses and a short regional train to Travemünde handle the rest, but you would need a car for the lakes and smaller villages.

Frankfurt gives shoppers far more. The Zeil has department stores and malls, Goethestraße holds the luxury houses, and Berger Straße and Schweizer Straße have independent boutiques and delis. Even so, it has no speciality of its own.

Lübeck's Breite Strasse and Königstrasse cover the chains, with crafts and galleries tucked into the side passages. Its one great souvenir is marzipan, and serious fashion shoppers head to Hamburg.

Lübeck is the easier city on the wallet. Old-town guesthouses and mid-range hotels are reasonably priced, and harbour kiosks and taverns are cheap. The exception is the coast in July and August, when beach accommodation costs noticeably more.

Frankfurt's weak point is its hotels, which are priced for business visitors and become scarce and very expensive during big trade fairs. Eating in cider taverns and Turkish grills stays cheap, and weekend or summer stays are usually much better value.

Frankfurt is the stronger stage city. Its opera company is known for adventurous productions, the Alte Oper hosts the radio symphony orchestra, and serious drama, contemporary dance and post-war jazz cellars complete the picture. Its season is quiet in summer, however.

Summer is when Lübeck has more to offer, as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival brings well-known performers to its halls and churches. For the rest of the year, Theater Lübeck and the organ concerts at the Marienkirche, where Buxtehude played, are its quieter highlights.

Frankfurt itself is a brisk working city, but it has the better spa country within reach. Wiesbaden's Art Nouveau Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme, the thermal baths at Bad Homburg and the old cure towns of Bad Nauheim and Bad Soden make easy restorative days.

Lübeck is the calmer place to simply be, with quiet courtyards and riverside benches. For proper bathing, it relies on Travemünde's long seaside spa tradition, wellness hotels and the seawater pool at Scharbeutz, which is a gentler and smaller offer.