Freiburg or Padua?

Neither city is a beach base, but Padua at least has the sea within reach. Sottomarina and the Lido of Venice are about an hour away, and the Adriatic there is warm, shallow and calm, which suits small children, though the beaches are flat rows of umbrellas.

Freiburg's water is fresh and usually cool. You can swim in the warm gravel pits on the Rhine plain, at the scenic Titisee and Schluchsee an hour into the hills, or in the city's crowded open-air pools. That is fine for cooling off, but there is no real seaside day to be had.

The two cities eat about equally well, but in different ways. Freiburg's Baden cooking leans towards France: Flammkuchen, Schäufele, Black Forest trout and spring asparagus, served in wood-panelled taverns with Kaiserstuhl Pinot. The countryside around it also has serious fine dining, which Padua lacks.

Padua cooks the Venetian home way, with bigoli in duck sauce, baccalà and risotto with peas, and its evening revolves around the spritz taken standing in the squares. Both cities centre on a morning market, the stalls around the Münster in Freiburg and the shops beneath the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua. Neither offers much variety beyond its own regional cooking.

Padua is much richer here. Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel is one of the turning points of European painting, and around it stand more fourteenth-century fresco cycles, the domed Basilica of Saint Anthony with Donatello's bronzes, and the university's anatomical theatre and botanical garden.

Freiburg has one great building, the red sandstone Münster with its open-lace tower, along with the medieval gates and the Augustinermuseum's sculpture. Much of the centre was rebuilt after the war, so it gives a pleasant historic feel rather than originals, and a day or two covers it.

Evenings are much alike in both cities: easy-going, driven by students and quieter during the university breaks. Neither is a big night out. The difference is in the setting. Freiburg leans towards beer gardens, wine bars and summer nights on the banks of the Dreisam, with a few clubs in town for techno and indie.

In Padua the night starts with aperitivo crowds standing in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori, then moves on to small bars in the old ghetto. Its few clubs are out on the edge of town.

Freiburg is far ahead here. The Black Forest rises straight behind the old town, with ridge trails on the Schauinsland at about 1,280m and skiing and snowshoeing on the Feldberg. There are gorges to walk, and both the vineyard terraces and the Rhine plain are good for cycling.

Padua sits on a flat plain, so getting into nature means travelling out. The Euganean Hills, about 15km away, have trails and quiet roads popular with cyclists, and the Brenta towpaths make easy rides. For proper mountains, Monte Grappa and Asiago are about an hour and a half's drive away.

Both are excellent bases, but Padua's list is hard to beat. Venice is less than half an hour away by train, Vicenza a quarter of an hour, and Verona, Treviso, Bologna and Ferrara around an hour. Closer in are the Brenta villas and the walled towns of Este and Montagnana.

Freiburg's strength is three countries in a small area. Basel is about 45 minutes away by train, Colmar and the Alsace wine villages about an hour by car, and Strasbourg a little further. Staufen, Breisach and Baden-Baden add German variety, though nothing on the list matches Venice.

Freiburg is clearly the better choice with children. Europa-Park, Germany's largest theme park, is about 40 minutes away. In and around the city there are the free Mundenhof animal park, the Schauinsland cable car, the Steinwasen suspension bridge and summer lakes, and children love paddling in the Bächle. Rainy days are the weak spot.

Padua is safe and flat, and children are welcome in any trattoria, but its main sights are frescoes and churches. Apart from running around Prato della Valle and the botanical glasshouses, families need to travel to Gardaland, Lake Garda or the Adriatic.

Both cities are easy to get around, and you can walk to almost everything within about twenty minutes. Freiburg relies on a dense tram network and some of the best cycling in Germany. Many hotels also give guests a card for local buses and trains, including the Höllental line into the forest.

Padua's centre is mostly closed to traffic, and its arcades give shelter from both sun and rain. A tram runs from the railway station through the centre to Prato della Valle, and buses cover the rest. The city's real strength is its main-line station, with fast connections in every direction.

Padua has a slight edge. Its arcaded streets carry Italian fashion and shoe shops, the delicatessens under the Palazzo della Ragione are ideal for food to take home, and a large antiques market fills Prato della Valle one Sunday a month.

Freiburg has German chain stores on Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse and independent shops and organic stores in the Gerberau quarter. Typical things to buy are cuckoo clocks, wood carvings, schnapps and ham. In both cities, serious shoppers go elsewhere: Basel from Freiburg, Venice or Milan from Padua.

Padua is easier on the budget, and the biggest difference is the hotels. Rooms there are reasonably priced, which is why many people stay in Padua and visit Venice by train. A standing spritz and market food cost little, although the Scrovegni Chapel and the museums charge normal admission.

In Freiburg, hotels are scarce for the demand and expensive for a city its size, and some visitors stay in Black Forest villages instead. Once you are there, the Münster is free and taverns are fairly priced, but outings into Switzerland add up quickly.

Freiburg offers a little more for a night out. The Freiburger Barockorchester, one of Europe's leading period-instrument ensembles, plays at the Konzerthaus, Theater Freiburg runs opera, drama and dance, and in summer the Zelt-Musik-Festival fills a tent village with concerts.

Padua's programme is smaller but has some lovely settings. Teatro Verdi stages plays and some opera, and chamber concerts take place in the frescoed Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica. For big opera, the Fenice in Venice and the Verona Arena are within easy reach.

Both are good places to slow down, but the spas are different. Padua is next to Abano and Montegrotto, about 12km away. This is one of Europe's largest thermal districts, with very hot mineral water, mud treatments used since Roman times and dozens of spa hotels that take day visitors.

Freiburg has its own thermal bath on the eastern edge of town and a string of separate spa towns nearby: Bad Krozingen's warm outdoor pools, Badenweiler with its Roman ruins, and the grand bathhouses of Baden-Baden. Forest walks and the Dreisam riverbanks make for a cooler, greener kind of rest.