Freiburg or Portofino?

Portofino has the sea, and the swimming is lovely. You climb down ladders from the rock platforms on the lighthouse path into very clear, deep water, Paraggi has a sheltered sandy bay, and boats reach the pebbles at San Fruttuoso. The catch is that every spot is small, Paraggi is mostly given over to paid loungers, and the free strip fills early.

Freiburg has nothing like this. A summer swim means the warm gravel-pit lakes on the Rhine plain with grassy banks, the cooler mountain water of Titisee or Schluchsee, or a crowded city pool. These are pleasant on a hot afternoon but won't make a beach trip.

Freiburg is the better place to eat. Baden cooking has a French touch: Flammkuchen, Schäufele, trout and spring asparagus, with Kaiserstuhl Pinot in wood-panelled taverns, the morning market around the Münster and serious fine dining in the countryside around. The range is narrow, but it is local, varied enough for a week and fairly priced.

Portofino offers Ligurian classics like trofie al pesto, pansoti and cheese focaccia from Recco, served at a small cluster of harbour terraces where most of the bill pays for the yachts in view. There is no market or everyday eating to speak of, so food lovers end up in Camogli or the hill trattorie.

Freiburg has more to see. You can climb the Münster's lace-work tower, follow the Bächle past the medieval city gates and spend a morning with the medieval art in the Augustinermuseum. Much of the centre was rebuilt after the war, and a day or two covers it, but there is real substance.

In Portofino the village itself is the sight: the coloured houses around the harbour, San Giorgio above the bay, Castello Brown's gardens and the abbey in its roadless cove at San Fruttuoso. It is all about atmosphere, without a single museum of any size.

Freiburg has a real evening, driven by its students. Pubs, wine bars and beer gardens around the Martinstor fill up, people stay out late along the Dreisam in summer, and a few clubs play techno and indie, at least during term.

A night in Portofino is a long aperitivo and a dressed-up dinner facing the yachts, and then it is over. There are no clubs, and outside July and August the village is quiet early. Anyone wanting more heads to Santa Margherita, Rapallo or Genoa.

Both are superb outdoors, in very different ways. From Freiburg you reach mountain and forest country: the Schauinsland cable car to ridge trails with Alpine views, the Feldberg for summer hiking and winter skiing, the gorge walks and excellent mountain biking, plus gentle cycling through the Kaiserstuhl vineyards. The snow gives it a season Portofino can't match.

Portofino's outdoors is a protected headland above a marine reserve. Its cliff paths, some with chains, run past Semaforo Nuovo to San Fruttuoso and Punta Chiappa, and below the water are red coral walls and the bronze Christ of the Abyss for divers. Kayaking around the point adds a dimension Freiburg lacks entirely.

Both are excellent bases, and the difference is variety against scenery. Freiburg sits where three countries meet: Basel's museums are under an hour by train, and Colmar, Riquewihr and Strasbourg are across the Rhine in Alsace. Closer at hand are Staufen, Breisach and the bathhouses of Baden-Baden, so in a week you can see three countries and eat German and French cooking side by side.

From Portofino, most outings follow one beautiful coastline: Camogli, Rapallo, Sestri Levante's two bays, and the Cinque Terre and Portovenere by ferry, plus Genoa's palaces and medieval lanes for a dose of city. The boat rides are half the fun, but out of season it all takes more planning.

Freiburg is much better with children. The flat centre is safe and green, children float boats in the Bächle, the Mundenhof animal park is free, and the Schauinsland cable car is an adventure in itself. Europa-Park, Germany's biggest theme park, is about 40 minutes away. The one weak spot is a shortage of indoor options on wet days.

Portofino is calm, and children enjoy the boats and the rocks, but it is built for adults. There are no playgrounds, a pushchair is hopeless on the steep steps, and the little sand there is sits mostly in paid beach clubs. Families usually stay in Santa Margherita or Rapallo instead.

Freiburg is easy in every direction. The car-free old town is walkable, trams reach the suburbs and the cable car, the city is made for bikes, and regional trains climb the Höllental or run down to Basel, often free with a guest card.

Portofino is only a few minutes end to end, though the climbs to the castle and lighthouse are steep. The trouble is getting there. A single narrow road runs 5km from Santa Margherita, parking is scarce, and summer buses are packed. Ferries make the best link from spring to autumn.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Freiburg gives you a longer browse. Kaiser-Joseph-Strasse has the chains and department stores, the Gerberau and Konviktstrasse lanes hold independent bookshops and boutiques, and the market sells wine, schnapps and ham to take home.

Portofino's few lanes behind the harbour hold an unexpected run of big fashion and jewellery names, along with resort linen, Ligurian lace and jars of pesto. It's glamorous for a village this size, but you've seen it all in under an hour.

Freiburg is moderately expensive at night, with hotels scarce on summer weekends and trade-fair dates, but cheap by day. The market stalls, student restaurants, trams and the Münster itself cost little or nothing.

Portofino is in another bracket. Its few hotels are mostly luxury properties, the piazzetta charges for the view, and loungers, boats and parking all add up. Walking and the bus are the only bargains, so the usual tactic is to sleep in Camogli or Rapallo and visit for the day.

Freiburg has a stage worth planning an evening around. Theater Freiburg runs opera, drama and dance in repertory, and the Konzerthaus is home to the Freiburger Barockorchester, a leading period-instrument ensemble. There are also small jazz clubs and the summer tent concerts of the Zelt-Musik-Festival.

Portofino has the odd summer concert in the piazzetta or at the castle, and nothing more. Opera or theatre means a trip to the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

Freiburg sits in real spa country. There is a thermal bath on the city's edge, Bad Krozingen's warm outdoor pools and saunas are twenty minutes south, Badenweiler pairs a modern bath with Roman ruins, and Baden-Baden is a train ride away. Quiet paths along the Dreisam add to the slow pace.

Portofino has no public baths, so pampering means a hotel spa. Its calm comes from the setting: shaded headland paths and long lunches by the water, early or late in the day. At midday in high summer, the tour boats break that calm.