Innsbruck or Stuttgart?

Neither city is a place for a beach vacation, but Innsbruck at least has natural water to swim in. On hot July and August days, the small Lanser See and Natterer See on the plateaus above town warm to about 22°C, and the clear, chilly Achensee is lovely to look at.

Stuttgart has nothing comparable within easy reach. The Neckar is a working river, so summer swimming means outdoor pools, some fed by the mineral springs, and the nearest proper lake is Lake Constance, more than two hours away.

Both kitchens are hearty and regional, but Stuttgart's offers far more. Maultaschen, Käsespätzle and Zwiebelrostbraten come with Trollinger and Riesling from vineyards inside the city, and the seasonal Besen taverns in growers' houses, the Art Nouveau Markthalle and a solid fine-dining tier give you plenty to explore over several days.

In Innsbruck the best meals are Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn at a mountain hut after a walk, where the view does much of the work. In town the range is narrow, the wine is brought in from elsewhere, and there is no market hall or market culture to browse.

The two are broadly level for sightseeing, and each needs two or three days, but the subject matter is quite different. Innsbruck is about Habsburg history packed into one arcaded old town: the Golden Roof, the Hofburg, Maximilian's bronze-ringed tomb in the Hofkirche, and Ambras Castle with its cabinet of curiosities.

Stuttgart lost much of its old core in the war, so its draw is industry and modern design. The Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums, the Staatsgalerie's painting collection and the Le Corbusier houses at the Weissenhof Estate are the highlights, with the palaces on Schlossplatz as the historic counterweight.

Neither city is worth choosing for its nightlife, and the two are fairly evenly matched after dark. Innsbruck's scene is student-driven and packed into the brick arches under the railway viaduct, and in winter much of the partying moves out to après-ski in the resorts.

Stuttgart spreads out more. There are lounges along Theodor-Heuss-Strasse, basement and industrial clubs with a loyal electronic crowd, and wine bars in the Bohnenviertel. It peaks during the beer tents of the Cannstatter Volksfest and the late-summer wine village.

This is where Innsbruck pulls furthest ahead. From a café in the old town you can be on the Nordkette ridge at about 2,300m within half an hour, with Austria's largest nature park behind it and the Stubai Glacier, ski areas, via ferratas and rafting rivers all around.

Stuttgart's green is gentler and lower. It has vineyard trails above the Neckar, deer forests in the Rotwildpark and Schönbuch, and the cliff-edge paths of the Swabian Jura and the northern Black Forest about an hour away. It suits walkers and cyclists, not mountaineers or skiers.

Both are good bases, but Stuttgart has more excellent towns close by. Heidelberg is about forty minutes by fast train, Tübingen under an hour, and Ludwigsburg's baroque palace and half-timbered Esslingen are short S-Bahn hops, with Maulbronn, Hohenzollern Castle, Ulm and even Strasbourg also within a day's reach.

Innsbruck's strength is reaching three countries. Medieval Hall in Tirol is ten minutes away, Munich and Salzburg are just under two hours, and over the Brenner you reach Bolzano, Merano and Ötzi the Iceman. Neuschwanstein is a drive rather than a train ride.

Both cities are safe and easy with children, and they are close on this, though they amuse them in different ways. In Innsbruck it is the mountains: the Alpenzoo with its ibex and lynx on the way up the funicular, adventure trails, hut playgrounds and lake swims, though rainy days in town take some planning.

Stuttgart has more to do at street level. Wilhelma's zoo and gardens fill a whole day, Killesberg has its little railway and lookout tower, Ludwigsburg has a fairy-tale garden, and older children enjoy the car museums.

Innsbruck is slightly easier to get around. Its flat centre takes minutes to cross, and the striking thing is that the funicular to the Hungerburg leaves from the edge of the old town and links straight to the Nordkette cable cars, with trams and ski buses covering the valleys.

Stuttgart's core is also flat and walkable, but the city climbs steeply up its basin, so you rely more on the Stadtbahn, S-Bahn and rack railway, all on one ticket, or on the public stairways known as Stäffele.

Stuttgart is the better shopping trip. Königstrasse is one of Germany's longest pedestrian streets, Breuninger covers designer fashion, and the outlet town of Metzingen is about half an hour away for brand hunters.

Innsbruck's shopping fills an afternoon on Maria-Theresien-Strasse and in the old town arcades. The things worth buying are loden jackets, woodcarvings, Speck and schnapps, and the specialist ski and outdoor shops are excellent.

Neither is cheap, and they cost about the same overall, but the expensive times differ. Innsbruck charges its premium in ski season and around the Christmas markets, and cable car tickets mount up on an active trip, so spring and autumn are the times to save.

Stuttgart's hotel prices follow the trade fairs, so weekends and quieter months are noticeably cheaper, and its taverns and beer gardens give generous portions for the money.

Stuttgart is the one to choose for an evening at the theatre. The Stuttgart Ballet, famous since John Cranko's era, shares the state theatre with an opera company known for bold productions. On top of that come serious drama, symphony and Bach at the Liederhalle, long-running musicals and a well-known jazz scene.

Innsbruck offers a solid programme at the Tiroler Landestheater and a symphony orchestra. Its standout is the summer Festival of Early Music in historic rooms such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras, which is worth timing a visit around if that is your interest.

Stuttgart has the proper bathing culture. The springs of Bad Cannstatt and Berg feed public mineral baths such as the Mineralbad Cannstatt and the Mineralbad Leuze, where naturally carbonated warm water and saunas make a restful afternoon, even if the city's pace is businesslike.

Innsbruck has no springs of its own. Relaxation there means mountain air, hotel spas with valley views in Igls and the plateau villages, and a slow evening at a hut, with the big thermal complexes of the Ötztal and Zillertal an hour's drive away.