Freiburg or Zermatt?

Neither has a coast, but Freiburg at least has summer swimming. Flooded gravel pits on the Rhine plain warm up nicely, and Titisee and Schluchsee in the Black Forest make a scenic, cooler dip. In Zermatt the glacier-fed tarns are too cold to bathe in, so swimming means a hotel pool.

Freiburg has the broader, more everyday food scene. Baden cooking with a French touch, Flammkuchen and Schäufele, the morning market around the Münster and dry Pinots from the Kaiserstuhl make eating out one of the pleasures of a stay, and the wider region has serious fine dining.

Zermatt's best meals are on the mountain: long terrace lunches in the larch-wood hamlets of Findeln, Furi and Zum See, with raclette, air-dried beef and Valais wine. The village adds a few ambitious kitchens, but cheap options are scarce and many places close between seasons.

Freiburg gives the culture-minded much more. The red sandstone Münster with its climbable lace tower, the medieval gates, the Historisches Kaufhaus and the medieval art in the Augustinermuseum make a rewarding day or two, even if much was rebuilt after the war.

Zermatt's heritage is all mountaineering: the underground Matterhorn Museum on the 1865 first ascent, the climbers' graves by the church and the old larch barns of the Hinterdorf. It is moving, but it fills a morning.

Freiburg has the livelier evenings, and they last all year. Its large student population fills the pubs, wine bars and beer gardens in the lanes around the Martinstor, and on summer nights people stay out late on the squares and along the Dreisam. A few clubs play techno, indie and student nights. Evenings are quieter during the semester break.

In Zermatt, going out is mostly a winter thing. Après-ski starts on the slope-side bars as skiers come down into the village, and on busy weekends a few bars and small clubs on the main street stay open past midnight, all at steep prices. In summer the hikers and climbers go to bed after dinner, and between seasons much of the village is closed.

Zermatt is in another league for scenery and altitude. The Matterhorn rises above the village, lifts reach over 3,800m on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the skiing links into Italy, and summer brings the Five Lakes walk, the Europaweg suspension bridge, marmots, ibex and guided climbs of four-thousanders.

Freiburg's outdoors is gentler but still excellent, with the Black Forest starting at the edge of town. The Schauinsland cable car, hiking and skiing on the Feldberg, gorges like the Ravenna valley, mountain biking and cycling among the Kaiserstuhl vineyards make it a strong base for active days on a smaller scale.

Freiburg's position where Germany, France and Switzerland meet is its trump card. Basel is about 45 minutes away by train. Colmar and the Alsace wine villages are about an hour by car, Baden-Baden is about an hour north by fast train and Strasbourg is a little further. Staufen, Breisach and the Kaiserstuhl wine villages are closer still.

From Zermatt, every outing starts with the long train ride down the valley. Sion with its castle hills is the best of them, and Brig and Saas-Fee are worth a visit, but most visitors sensibly spend their spare days on the mountain instead.

Freiburg is the easier family base. Children can sail toy boats down the Bächle, roam the free Mundenhof animal park and ride the Schauinsland cable car, and Europa-Park, Germany's largest theme park, is about 40 minutes away.

Zermatt's car-free lanes are safe and relaxed, with good children's ski schools and nursery slopes at Sunnegga, but there is little made for children beyond that, the high viewpoints can be too cold and thin-aired for toddlers, and rainy days drag.

Both are easy without a car, for different reasons. Freiburg's compact old town is walkable, trams reach the suburbs, bikes are everywhere and regional trains run into the Black Forest and to Basel. In Zermatt you walk the car-free village and let the cog railway, funicular and gondolas carry you up the mountain, though arriving and leaving means changing at Täsch and a long train ride out.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Freiburg has more to browse: independent boutiques and bookshops in the Gerberau and Konviktstrasse quarters, the Münster market for wine, ham and crafts, and cuckoo clocks all over town. Zermatt has a single main street of luxury watch shops, souvenirs and excellent ski and climbing outfitters, which is useful if you need gear and little else.

Freiburg is far cheaper to visit. Rooms are pricier than its size suggests, but market food, wine taverns and free sights such as the Münster keep daily costs moderate.

Zermatt is among the most expensive places in the Alps. Hotels, terrace meals and the lift and railway tickets nobody can avoid all add up quickly, and self-catering or a bed down in Täsch only softens the bill.

Freiburg has a proper year-round stage. Theater Freiburg puts on opera, drama and dance, the Konzerthaus is home to the renowned Freiburger Barockorchester, and the Zelt-Musik-Festival fills a tent village each summer. Zermatt has no theatre or concert hall, so its live music comes from two festivals, the acoustic Zermatt Unplugged in spring and chamber music in late summer, plus après-ski bands.

Freiburg sits in genuine spa country. There is a thermal bath on the city's edge, the big warm outdoor pools of Bad Krozingen are about twenty minutes away, Badenweiler pairs a modern bath with Roman ruins, and Baden-Baden is an hour by train.

Zermatt has no springs but plenty of polished hotel spas with mountain views, and the traffic-free air is restful. The mood is active rather than slow, though, and real thermal bathing means heading down the valley.