Innsbruck or Nuremberg?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but Innsbruck makes a summer dip easier. The Lanser See and Natterer See sit on the plateaus just above town and warm up in high summer, with the clear but chilly Achensee further out.

Nuremberg's equivalent is the Franconian Lake District, about an hour south, where the Brombachsee has grassy shores and small sandy strips. It works for a hot day with children, but it is a proper outing rather than an afternoon by the city.

Both kitchens are hearty and filling, but Nuremberg's has more character of its own. Beechwood-grilled finger bratwurst, Schäufele with crackling and centuries-old Lebkuchen give it real signature dishes, and Franconia's many small breweries, with their smoky Kellerbier and riverside beer gardens, make drinking a reason to come.

Innsbruck's Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn taste best at a mountain hut after a walk, which is its great asset. In town the choice is narrower, with coffee houses, traditional inns and tour-group restaurants around the Golden Roof.

Nuremberg has more to see and more layers to it. Inside its near-complete walls are the Kaiserburg, St Sebaldus and St Lorenz, and Dürer's house, while the Germanisches Nationalmuseum can take a whole day. The Rally Grounds documentation centre and Courtroom 600 add a sobering chapter of the twentieth century that few cities can match.

Innsbruck's Habsburg heritage is smaller in scale but very fine. Maximilian's tomb in the Hofkirche, the Golden Roof and the curiosities at Ambras Castle cover two or three days well.

Both make for a good evening out rather than a reason to travel, and both owe much of their energy to students. Innsbruck's nights gather under the railway viaduct, where bars and small clubs in the brick arches stay open late at weekends, and in winter much of the partying moves to après-ski in the resorts. Nuremberg is more about bars, with the alternative spots in Gostenhof and summer crowds on the squares and riverbanks.

This is the biggest gap between the two. Innsbruck has high Alpine country on its doorstep: the Nordkette ridge reached by funicular and cable car, the Karwendel nature park behind it, and the Stubai glacier and valleys across the Inn. Skiing in winter and hiking, biking, rafting and paragliding in summer are all part of an ordinary day.

Nuremberg's outdoors is gentle by comparison. The Reichswald suits easy walks and cycling, and Franconian Switzerland, an hour away, has limestone towers, caves and fine rock climbing, but there are no mountains to speak of.

Nuremberg has the denser ring of rewarding towns. Bamberg is under an hour by train, Regensburg and Würzburg about an hour, and the walled towns of Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl a little further, so you could spend a week on old towns alone.

Innsbruck's trips reach further and cross borders. Hall in Tirol and Rattenberg are close, Munich and Salzburg just under two hours by train, and over the Brenner lie Bolzano, Merano and Ötzi the Iceman, a change of country and cuisine within the day.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Innsbruck's appeal is the mountains: the Alpenzoo of ibex and lynx on the funicular route, adventure trails and hut playgrounds, and ski schools in winter, though rainy days take planning. Nuremberg plays on its toy-making past, with the Toy Museum, full-size locomotives at the railway museum, the zoo in former quarries and a children's Christmas market in Advent, which gives it more to do indoors.

Both centres are compact and easy to walk, with the main station right by the old town. Innsbruck's special asset is how quickly public transport lifts you into the mountains, with the funicular starting at the old town's edge and ski buses in winter, though a car helps for remote valleys. Nuremberg has the fuller city network, with U-Bahn lines, trams and S-Bahn on one ticket reaching the Rally Grounds, the zoo and Fürth.

Nuremberg gives shoppers a bit more to take home. Lebkuchen in tins, wooden toys and tin figures and the Handwerkerhof's workshops are distinctive, and the Christkindlesmarkt in Advent is one of Germany's most famous Christmas markets.

Innsbruck's shopping is narrower, centred on Maria-Theresien-Strasse and the old town arcades. Its strengths are loden jackets, dirndls, Speck and schnapps, and excellent outdoor and ski shops for anyone kitting out for the mountains.

Nuremberg is the cheaper stay. Beer and tavern meals are inexpensive, transport and sights are modestly priced, and hotels are fair outside the trade fair weeks and Advent.

Innsbruck adds an Alpine premium, especially in ski season and at Christmas, and cable car tickets mount up on an active trip. Spring and autumn and the city cards that bundle lifts with transport soften the bill.

Nuremberg's programme is a little fuller. The Staatstheater runs opera, ballet and drama in its Art Nouveau house, two orchestras play, including a big open-air summer concert in the Luitpoldhain, and the Bardentreffen fills the squares with free folk music.

Innsbruck's standout is the summer Festival of Early Music in settings such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras, alongside the Landestheater and evenings of yodelling and brass.

Neither city has historic baths, and relaxation looks much the same in both: saunas and slow days. Innsbruck's version is Alpine, with mountain-view hotel spas in Igls and the plateau villages and big thermal complexes in the Ötztal and Zillertal an hour away. Nuremberg offers the large thermal spa in Fürth a short U-Bahn ride off, nude mixed saunas in the German manner, and saline pools at Bad Windsheim.