Hallstatt or Stuttgart?

Neither is a place for a beach vacation, but Hallstatt at least lets you swim in open water. The deep, cold lake has a lawn-and-jetty bathing spot in the village and a larger lido at Obertraun, and on a warm summer afternoon it is good for a bracing dip after a hike.

In Stuttgart you cannot swim in the Neckar or at Max-Eyth-See, so summer swimming means the outdoor pools, some of them fed by mineral springs. The nearest proper lake bathing is at Lake Constance, more than two hours away.

Stuttgart is much the better place to eat. It has a distinct regional cuisine of Maultaschen, Käsespätzle and Zwiebelrostbraten, the Art Nouveau Markthalle, wine from vineyards inside the city and a strong fine-dining tier for a city of its size.

Hallstatt has a few guesthouse dining rooms serving Austrian standards. Smoked or pan-fried char from the lake, eaten with a view of the water, is the one meal worth seeking out, and kitchens can close early once the coaches have gone.

Stuttgart has much more to see, and most of it is modern: the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums, European painting at the Staatsgalerie and Le Corbusier's houses on the Weissenhof Estate. Because of wartime bombing, its older heritage is limited to the palaces on Schlossplatz and the Stiftskirche.

Hallstatt's history goes back much further but fits into a smaller space. The salt mine has been worked for some seven thousand years, the burial ground gave its name to an Iron Age culture, and the painted skulls of the Beinhaus are unique. It all fits into a day, while Stuttgart needs two or three.

Stuttgart has an ordinary but real nightlife. There are bar crowds on Theodor-Heuss-Strasse at weekends, basement clubs with a following for electronic music, quieter wine bars in the Bohnenviertel and huge beer tents at the Cannstatter Volksfest.

Hallstatt has almost none. An evening means dinner, a glass of wine by the water and the quiet village after dark.

This is where Hallstatt is well ahead. It is a real high-mountain base: the cable car up the Krippenstein to the Five Fingers platform, the Giant Ice Cave, the Echerntal path towards the glacier and the Dachstein reflected in the Gosausee. Summer adds via ferratas and hut-to-hut hiking, and winter brings freeride and ski touring.

Stuttgart's outdoors is gentler and easier to reach on any day of the week. There are vineyard trails above the Neckar and deer in the Rotwildpark, and about an hour away are the Swabian Jura's cliff paths and the northern Black Forest. It is good walking and cycling country, but never Alpine.

Stuttgart has more day trips, and they are quicker to reach. Ludwigsburg's palace and Esslingen are a short S-Bahn ride away, the fast train gets to Heidelberg in about forty minutes, and Tübingen, Maulbronn, Hohenzollern Castle and Ulm are all within easy reach, with Strasbourg possible on a long day.

Hallstatt's outings are lake towns rather than cities. They include imperial Bad Ischl, St Wolfgang's altarpiece and Gmunden's lake castle, with Salzburg as the big day out. Without a car, buses and the lakeside railway need planning.

Stuttgart is easier with children. Wilhelma's zoo and gardens can fill a whole day, and Killesberg park has a miniature railway and animals. The rack railway, outdoor pools and beer gardens with playgrounds make ordinary days easy too.

Hallstatt has a few big hits: the wooden miners' slides and underground lake in the salt mine, and the ice caves for older children. The rest of the village is one steep, crowded lane that is hard with a pushchair, so families often do better staying in Obertraun.

Within the village, Hallstatt is simple: a few minutes' walk from end to end, with little traffic, though there are steps and steep lanes. Getting there and moving around the region is harder. The station is across the lake and reached by boat, and buses are limited, especially outside summer.

Stuttgart has the better system. Its flat centre is easy to walk, and one ticket covers the Stadtbahn, S-Bahn, buses, the rack railway and the funicular, up to the hillside districts, the museums and the airport. A car only helps for trips into the countryside.

Stuttgart is a real shopping city. Königstrasse is one of Germany's longest pedestrian streets, a long-established family department store covers designer fashion, and the Metzingen outlet town is about half an hour away, so it suits brand shoppers best.

In Hallstatt, shopping means a stroll past souvenir shops. Salt from the local mine, carved wood and schnapps are the things worth taking home.

Neither is cheap, but Stuttgart is easier on the budget. Hotel rooms get noticeably cheaper at weekends and outside the big trade fairs, tavern meals are generous for the money and a day ticket covers transport.

Hallstatt has few rooms and visitors from all over the world, so it charges resort prices for beds and meals, and the salt mine and cable car add up. Staying in Obertraun or Bad Goisern costs less.

This is the biggest gap between the two. Stuttgart has one of Europe's most respected ballet companies, an opera known for bold productions, serious drama, orchestral concerts and a Bach tradition at the Liederhalle, and long-running musicals at Möhringen. Ballet tickets need booking early.

Hallstatt has a brass band on feast days and the odd church concert in summer. For a proper evening of music, you have to go to Bad Ischl for operetta or to Salzburg.

Stuttgart has its own bathing culture. At the Mineralbad Cannstatt and the Mineralbad Leuze, Europe-class mineral springs fill pools with warm, naturally carbonated water, with saunas alongside, all a short ride from the centre.

Hallstatt has only hotel saunas, so for a proper soak you go half an hour to the brine baths of Bad Ischl. What it offers instead is stillness: misty early mornings and empty evenings on the lake, as long as you avoid the crowded lane around midday.