Freiburg or Milan?

Neither city has a coast, and in both swimming is a summer outing. Freiburg's version is homely: grassy gravel-pit lakes on the Rhine plain that warm up nicely, or the cooler but more scenic Titisee and Schluchsee up in the Black Forest.

In Milan you can swim in the city at the Idroscalo basin by Linate, but the better swimming is on Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, about an hour away by train. They have pebbly lidos and swimming platforms in a much grander setting.

Freiburg's Baden cooking is lighter than most German food and has a French touch. The morning market around the Münster, with its long grilled sausages, and the wines of the Kaiserstuhl are real pleasures. The range is narrow, though, and after a few days of Flammkuchen and Schäufele the menus start to look alike.

Milan is the stronger food city by some way. Beyond saffron risotto and ossobuco, it brings together cooking from all over Italy and has plenty of serious fine dining. The aperitivo ritual in Brera, Isola and along the Navigli shapes the start of every evening.

Freiburg's appeal lies more in atmosphere than in masterpieces. The red sandstone Münster, the Bächle running along the streets and the medieval sculpture in the Augustinermuseum make a lovely day or two. Much of the centre was rebuilt after the war, though, and there is little to keep you longer.

Milan has fewer sights than its size suggests, but each one counts: the Duomo with its rooftop terraces, Leonardo's Last Supper, the Brera paintings and the Rondanini Pietà in the Castello Sforzesco. Book the Last Supper well ahead.

Freiburg's evenings depend on its students. There are pubs and wine bars around the Martinstor and summer crowds along the Dreisam. The mood is friendly and easygoing, but it is quieter than Milan and drops off during the semester break.

Milan offers a proper night out. Aperitivo drifts into the bars on the Navigli towpaths, Porta Venezia has a mixed crowd and the city's gay scene, and the dressy clubs near Corso Como care about how you look at the door.

Freiburg has the edge because the Black Forest starts right where the city ends. The Schlossberg rises behind the old town, a cable car climbs to the Schauinsland ridge, the Feldberg offers hiking and skiing, and the Kaiserstuhl vineyards are good for gentle cycling.

Milan sits on the flat, hazy Po plain, with little more than Parco Sempione and the canal towpaths inside the city. Lake Como, Lake Maggiore and the Grigne ridges are spectacular and add sailing and via ferrata, but reaching them takes a train ride and usually a full day.

Freiburg's strength is having three countries close together. Basel is about 45 minutes by train, Colmar, Strasbourg and the Alsace wine villages are across the Rhine, and Staufen and Breisach are close by. There is plenty of variety, though several of the French places are easier to reach by car.

Milan's high-speed rail puts it ahead. Verona, Turin and Bergamo are each about an hour away and Bologna not much further, and Lake Como, the Borromean Islands and Lugano are within easy reach.

Freiburg is the more relaxed place to bring children. The flat, car-free centre, toy boats in the Bächle, the free Mundenhof animal park and the Schauinsland cable car fill days easily, and Europa-Park is Germany's largest theme park. Rainy days are its weak spot.

Milan copes better in bad weather, thanks to the science and technology museum with its submarine, and Leolandia and Gardaland are within reach. But the summer heat is hard on small children, and the headline sights are mostly for adults.

Both are easy without a car, but in different ways. Freiburg is a city for walking and cycling, with a small, largely car-free old town, bike lanes everywhere and regional trains that climb straight into the Black Forest.

Milan covers a larger area with a simple five-line metro and a dense tram network, including the old orange trams, and its stations have direct trains to the lakes. The downsides are the heat underground in summer and the long transfer from Malpensa.

Freiburg's shopping is modest. There are chains on Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse, independent shops in the Gerberau, and cuckoo clocks and Black Forest ham to take home.

This is where Milan is furthest ahead. The Quadrilatero della Moda, the Galleria and La Rinascente make fashion a reason to visit in itself, and design showrooms and the antique markets along the Navigli add more.

Neither city is cheap, but Freiburg is easier on the wallet. Hotel rooms are scarce and cost more than you would expect for a city its size. Market snacks, restaurants in the student quarter and free sights such as the Münster keep daily spending down.

Milan is Italy's most expensive city. Hotel rates climb during trade fairs and fashion weeks, and drinks in stylish bars cost to match. Aperitivo snacks and lunch menus for office workers help, and so does staying near a metro stop outside the centre.

Freiburg is good for an evening out. The Theater Freiburg puts on opera and drama in repertory, the Konzerthaus hosts the period-instrument Freiburger Barockorchester, and the Zelt-Musik-Festival fills a tent village with concerts each summer. It is pleasant, but not something to plan a trip around.

Milan is worth the trip for the stage alone. La Scala's season opens each December on the feast of Sant'Ambrogio, the Piccolo Teatro is still one of Italy's leading theatres, and San Siro hosts the big summer concerts.

Freiburg is the calmer choice. It has its own thermal bath on the eastern edge, Bad Krozingen and Badenweiler with its Roman bath ruins are close by, and riverside paths and café terraces set an unhurried pace.

Milan is a working city that rarely slows down. Its thermal spa complex and the 1930s Bagni Misteriosi pools make a pleasant afternoon, but for real rest most people head out to the lakes.