Hallstatt or Wroclaw?

Neither is a swimming destination, but Hallstatt at least gets you into the water. Its clear Alpine lake has a small bathing lawn in the village and a larger lido at Obertraun. The water stays cold even in high summer and is best for a quick dip after a hike.

Wroclaw's sandy spots along the Oder are for deckchairs and a drink, not swimming, and locals go to pools or countryside lakes when they want a swim. Anyone after real beach days should look elsewhere for both.

Wroclaw gives you far more to eat. Pierogi, żurek in a bread bowl and roast duck are served everywhere from cheap milk bars to modern bistros off the Market Square. The beer, from cellar brewpubs to Polish craft taps, is the real strength.

Hallstatt has a few guesthouse dining rooms serving schnitzel and goulash, and its one local speciality is char from the lake, smoked or pan-fried. Kitchens close early. For anything more you drive to the old patisseries of Bad Ischl.

Wroclaw has a full city's worth of sights: the huge Market Square with its Gothic town hall and astronomical clock, the red-brick churches of Ostrów Tumski, the gilded Aula Leopoldina, the Centennial Hall and the Racławice Panorama. That is enough for several days.

Hallstatt's history goes much further back, through seven thousand years of salt mining and the burial finds that gave the Hallstatt culture its name. The salt mine, the small museum and the painted skulls of the Beinhaus tell that story vividly. Still, it adds up to a day of sightseeing, with the village itself as the main sight.

This is the widest gap between the two. Wroclaw's large student population keeps the cellars and courtyards around the Market Square busy. The passage off Ruska Street is the place to drift between shot bars, craft beer pubs and cocktail bars until late, and in summer the drinking spreads to the riverbanks.

In Hallstatt an evening means dinner, a glass of wine on a terrace and a walk by the lake in the dark. That calm is a reason to stay the night, but it is no substitute for going out.

Hallstatt sits in true Alpine country, with the Dachstein massif rising straight above a glacial lake. The Krippenstein cable car, the Five Fingers platform, the Giant Ice Cave, the via ferratas and the walk to the Gosausee are all close at hand, and winter adds ski touring and freeride.

Wroclaw's green side is gentler: river islands, Szczytnicki Park with its Japanese Garden, and kayaks on the Oder. For hills you drive to Ślęża or travel about two hours to the Karkonosze and the Table Mountains. These make fine long days out, but they are not on the doorstep.

Both make good bases for outings, and in both a car makes them much easier. From Hallstatt the trips are to lake towns and imperial spas: the Kaiservilla in Bad Ischl, the altarpiece at St Wolfgang and the lake castle at Gmunden. Salzburg is about an hour and a half away by road.

Around Wroclaw the outings are about castles and churches, not lakes. Książ castle above its gorge, the wooden Churches of Peace at Świdnica and Jawor, the abbey at Krzeszów and the palaces of the Jelenia Góra valley are days out for history more than scenery.

Wroclaw is the easier city with children. Its centre is flat, largely car-free and fine for a pushchair, and hunting for the bronze dwarfs turns a walk into a treasure hunt. The zoo's Afrykarium, with its shark tunnel, and the water science centre fill a rainy afternoon.

Hallstatt has fewer attractions for children, but they are memorable: the miners' slides and underground lake in the salt mine, the ice caves for older children, and rowing boats on the lake. Its single steep lane gets crowded at midday, so families often stay in Obertraun and visit for a few hours.

Both centres are walkable, in different ways. Hallstatt takes a few minutes end to end and is mostly free of traffic, but it is steep and full of steps. Getting there means a boat across the lake from the station or a limited bus service, so many visitors want a car for the wider region.

Wroclaw's centre is flat and largely pedestrianised. A large tram network reaches the zoo and the Centennial Hall, there are bike lanes along the river, and direct trains run across Lower Silesia. It is the simpler place to manage without driving.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Wroclaw has more to browse. Malls cover the international chains, and the 1930s Renoma department store is worth seeing for its ceramic facade. The market hall by the river, Bolesławiec stoneware, Baltic amber and the vintage shops of Nadodrze provide the souvenirs.

Hallstatt's lane of souvenir shops comes down to one distinctive buy, salt from the mine, plus carved wood and schnapps. Half an hour is enough.

Wroclaw is far easier on the wallet. Central hotels cost a fraction of what they would in Western capitals, and milk-bar lunches, beer, trams and museums are all cheap once you step away from the terraces on the Market Square.

Hallstatt has few rooms and visitors from all over the world, so lakeside stays cost well above the Austrian average, and the salt mine, funicular and cable car add up quickly. Many visitors sleep in Bad Goisern or Bad Ischl and come in for the day.

Wroclaw has a real season to plan around. There are orchestral and chamber concerts at the National Forum of Music, the Wroclaw Opera in its house near the moat, and festivals such as Wratislavia Cantans and Jazz on the Oder. The theatre is strong but mostly in Polish, so for most visitors the music is the way in.

Hallstatt offers its brass band on feast days and the occasional church concert. For a night of music you would drive to Salzburg, or to Bad Ischl for operetta in summer.

Hallstatt is the more restful stay, although its calm comes at the edges of the day: early mist on the lake, and evenings after the tour groups have left. The salt-brine baths and thermal complex of Bad Ischl are half an hour away.

In Wroclaw, relaxing means hotel spas, an indoor aquapark with saunas and slow afternoons on the river islands. For a proper spa cure you go about an hour out to the pump rooms and spa park of Szczawno-Zdrój.