Kalambaka or Ohrid?

There is no real swimming in Kalambaka. The sea is more than two hours away, so a dip means a hotel pool or a cold mountain river in the Pindos.

Ohrid has a proper summer swimming scene, though in a lake rather than the sea. The water is very clear and calm, with small coves below Kaneo and the town beach at Potpeš within walking distance, and longer shores with loungers at Lagadin and Gradište. The beaches are pebbly or concrete platforms and the season runs only from late June to mid-September, but on a hot day it beats anything near Kalambaka.

Both towns serve plain, generous home cooking with little fine dining or international food, but Ohrid has a little more to discover. Kalambaka's tavernas in town and in Kastraki keep to the central Greek repertoire of grilled lamb and pork, bean soups, pies and tsipouro with meze, and the view of the rocks at sunset is often the best part of the meal.

Ohrid adds a lakeside speciality: fish such as belvica, alongside tavče gravče, ajvar and Macedonian wines from Tikveš. The waterfront menus repeat themselves too, but the family places in the upper old town and the shore villages, plus morning burek from the bakeries, give a bit more range.

Kalambaka has one great sight, and it is a spectacular one: the monasteries of Meteora, perched on sandstone pillars, with frescoed churches, refectories and icon collections reached by rock-cut steps. Apart from the Byzantine church of the Dormition, though, the town itself is modern and plain, and the monasteries are spread along a road high above it.

Ohrid offers more depth and variety in one walkable old town. The frescoes of St Sophia, St John at Kaneo on its rock above the water, Plaošnik with its links to the Cyrillic tradition, a Hellenistic theatre, Samuel's Fortress and streets of Ottoman-era houses add up to a richer day or two of exploring.

Kalambaka goes to bed early. A drink at a café-bar on the central square after dinner is about as far as it goes, and anyone wanting more drives half an hour to Trikala.

Ohrid has a real summer night scene. In July and August the promenade and the streets around the old bazaar stay busy late, and beach clubs on the southern shore play music into the small hours. Out of season it is almost as quiet as Kalambaka, and neither town has a serious club scene.

Kalambaka has the more remarkable landscape. The grey Meteora pillars, some around 400m high, rise straight from the back streets, with footpaths through oak woods and ravines between them and long bolted climbing routes on the rock. West of town, the Pindos brings fir forests around Pertouli, rafting in the Aspropotamos valley and small ski slopes near Metsovo.

Ohrid's appeal is gentler and built around water. You can kayak on the clear lake, walk the shore path, or head up into Galičica National Park, where the summit trails go above 2,000m and paragliders launch above Lake Prespa. It is lovely, but it lacks the drama of walking from your hotel to the clifftops of Meteora.

Both towns offer an equally good range of outings, but they lead to very different places. From Kalambaka they head into Greek mountain and river country: Trikala's Varousi quarter, the stone village of Metsovo over the Pindos, Ioannina's lake and castle quarter, and the Zagori villages at the edge of a long day.

From Ohrid the most popular trip is by boat to St Naum at the end of the lake. Beyond that there is Struga, Bitola with the mosaics of Heraclea Lynkestis, and easy hops into Albania to Pogradec and Korçë. In both places a car makes life much easier.

Kalambaka suits children old enough to walk the monks' paths or try a beginners' climbing session on the rocks, ideally in spring or autumn before the trails get hot. Younger ones have a harder time. The monasteries mean long flights of steps, hushed interiors and dress rules, and apart from hotel pools and the town playgrounds there is little made for them, so a night or two is usually enough.

Ohrid is the easier place to spend a longer stretch with young children. A lakeside apartment puts the water right outside the door, an ice cream on the promenade rounds off the evening, and Macedonians are relaxed and welcoming towards children in restaurants. It has no zoos or theme parks either, and the old town's steep cobbled lanes are hard going with a pushchair.

Ohrid is the easier base without a car. The promenade, bazaar and old town sights are close together, though the cobbled lanes are steep, and cheap taxis cover short hops. Summer boats and local buses run along the shore, if not very reliably.

Kalambaka's town is flat and quick to walk, and it has a rail link towards Athens and Thessaloniki. The catch is that the monasteries lie several kilometres up a winding road with an infrequent bus. Unless you hike up the old paths in about an hour, you will need a car, taxi or tour.

Ohrid has something worth buying: the Ohrid pearl, a lustre-coated bead made in a few family workshops in the old bazaar, along with carved wood and filigree silver. It is worth buying from an established workshop rather than a stall.

Kalambaka's single souvenir street sells painted icons, honey, herbs and tsipouro, and the monasteries sell their own religious items. Neither town has boutiques or fashion streets.

A stay in Kalambaka costs noticeably less than one in the big Greek cities or on the islands, but Ohrid is cheaper again. In Kalambaka the monastery entry fees are small and taverna meals are generous. Rooms with direct views of the rocks cost more, though, and the town fills with Greek visitors over Orthodox Easter and the feast-day weekends. Car hire or a guided tour to reach the monasteries also adds to the bill.

Ohrid is one of the cheapest lake towns in Europe. Guesthouse rooms, a full meal with local wine, taxis and entry to the churches and fortress all cost little. Only July and August push up the price of lakefront rooms, so late spring and early autumn give the best value.

Ohrid has a real reason to plan around the summer: the long-running Ohrid Summer Festival, with concerts, opera and theatre staged in St Sophia and the ancient theatre, plus a choral festival. The rest of the year there is little on.

Kalambaka has essentially no stage. The closest thing is the Byzantine chant at a monastery service, which is worship and should be attended in that spirit, plus the odd summer folk evening.

Neither town has a bathing or spa tradition, and both offer only a few hotel pools, saunas and massage rooms. The difference is the kind of calm. Kalambaka's comes from a small town that sleeps early and the slow light over the rocks at dawn and dusk. In Ohrid it is mornings beside a still lake, best in May, June and September, as August brings crowds and noise.