Hallstatt or Zagreb?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but Hallstatt at least has its lake on the doorstep. You can take a cold, clear dip from the jetty at the north end of the village or at the lido in Obertraun after a hike, though the season is short.

Zagreb's options are Lake Jarun and Bundek, former gravel-pit lakes in the suburbs that are fine for a hot afternoon. The Adriatic is a two-hour drive away, so sea swimming means a separate coastal stop.

Zagreb gives you far more to eat. Dolac market sells farm cheese and vegetables every morning, the city has its own dishes such as štrukli and turkey with mlinci, and good wine comes from the surrounding hills. Its café culture is a daily ritual, and the Saturday promenade around Flower Square is its high point.

In Hallstatt, a few guesthouse dining rooms serve schnitzel and goulash, and the lake char or whitefish is the one meal worth seeking out. For coffee and cake with more choice, people go to the patisseries of Bad Ischl.

Hallstatt is one remarkable sight rather than a sightseeing city. The village is set on its ledge inside a UNESCO landscape, and the salt mine, the prehistoric museum and the painted skulls of the Beinhaus fill a rich day.

Zagreb gives you more to do over a longer stay. The medieval Upper Town has St Mark's Church and the Stone Gate, and the Austro-Hungarian Lower Town is laid out around the Green Horseshoe. Add museums from the Strossmayer old masters to Naive Art and the arcades of Mirogoj, and you have two full days.

Zagreb has a real evening scene, though it is relaxed rather than wild. Café-bars along Tkalčićeva switch from coffee to drinks, smaller cocktail and craft beer bars fill the Lower Town courtyards, and in summer the crowd moves to the lakeside clubs at Jarun.

Hallstatt has nothing comparable. After the day visitors leave, an evening means dinner, a glass of wine by the water and a walk along the dark lake shore.

This is Hallstatt's great strength. The Dachstein massif rises straight out of the lake, and the Krippenstein cable car takes you to the Five Fingers platform and the giant ice caves. Paths lead up the Echerntal towards the glacier and over to the reflections of the Gosausee, and there is ski touring on the mountain in winter.

Zagreb's outdoors is gentler but easy to reach. A tram and a short bus ride bring you to the beech woods of Medvednica, and Maksimir park and the Sava embankments are good for runs. Plitvice's lakes are a long day trip south.

Both make good bases for outings, and the difference lies in what you go out to see. From Hallstatt the trips are lake towns: the Kaiservilla at Bad Ischl, the altarpiece at St Wolfgang and Gmunden's lake castle, with Salzburg as one long, standout day.

Zagreb's outings lead into castle and hill country instead: Trakošćan above its lake, baroque Varaždin, cream cake in Samobor and Karlovac's star-shaped fortress. Trams and trains make the city easier to leave without a car, while Hallstatt's buses take planning.

Zagreb is the easier choice with children. Its flat Lower Town, trams that take pushchairs, the zoo in Maksimir and the Tesla technical museum make for several relaxed days.

Hallstatt has fewer attractions, but the ones it has are memorable: the miners' slides and underground lake in the salt mine, and the ice caves for older children. The steep, crowded lane is hard going with a pushchair, so families often stay in Obertraun.

Hallstatt itself takes minutes to cross on foot, although its lanes and steps are steep. The difficulty is getting there and beyond: you reach the village from the station by boat, and buses are thin outside summer, which is why many visitors hire a car.

In Zagreb, a dense web of blue trams and the tiny funicular link a mostly flat, walkable centre, and you only need a car for Plitvice and the Zagorje castles.

Neither city is a shopping trip, but Zagreb has an actual high street. Ilica has chains and local fashion, and you can take home licitar hearts, Croatian neckties, truffle products and food from Dolac, or browse the Sunday flea market at Britanski trg.

Hallstatt's shopping is a half-hour stroll past souvenir shops, where salt from the mountain is the one thing worth buying.

Zagreb is clearly kinder to the wallet. Central rooms, trams, museums and market food are all reasonably priced, and only upmarket dining reaches Western European levels.

Hallstatt has few beds and draws visitors from around the world, so rooms and meals are priced like an Alpine resort, and the salt mine and cable car add up quickly. Staying in Bad Goisern or Obertraun is the usual way to save.

Zagreb has a season you can plan an evening around. There is opera and ballet at the ochre Croatian National Theatre, the Zagreb Philharmonic plays at the Lisinski hall, operetta runs at the Komedija, and summer brings concerts in Upper Town courtyards.

In Hallstatt, music means the brass band on feast days and the occasional church concert. For a proper performance you would travel to Salzburg or to the summer operetta in Bad Ischl.

Hallstatt offers more calm, provided you avoid the crowded midday lane. Misty early mornings and empty evenings by the lake are restful, and Bad Ischl's brine baths and thermal complex are half an hour away.

Zagreb's way of slowing down is urban: long café mornings, quiet Upper Town lanes and shaded parks. For a soak you need the Zagorje spa towns such as Tuheljske Toplice, about an hour north.