Ljubljana or Pula?

Pula is the obvious pick for swimming. The coast around Verudela and Stoja and the wild coves of Cape Kamenjak give very clear water off rocks and pebbles all summer, and the sheltered bays at Medulin have shallows for small children. There is no sand, so water shoes earn their place in the bag.

Ljubljana has no sea at all. A swim means the Sava on the city's northern edge, Lake Bled or the colder water of Bohinj, or a drive of an hour and a half to Piran on the Slovenian coast. That is a day out, not a beach vacation.

Both cities eat well without being great food destinations, but the cooking is quite different. Ljubljana's is Alpine and hearty, with Carniolan sausage, štruklji and jota at gostilna inns, and its real strength is wine by the glass along the river, including the orange wines of western Slovenia.

Pula cooks Istrian food: truffle pasta, scampi buzara, grilled fish, Malvazija and Teran. The catch is that its best meals are often out in the hinterland villages, while the tables by the Arena lean towards tourist menus. In Ljubljana the good eating is right in the centre.

The two are broadly level, but they reward you in different ways. Ljubljana's appeal is a whole townscape shaped by Plečnik, with the Triple Bridge, the market colonnades and the library forming a UNESCO-listed ensemble around a baroque and Secession old town, plus the murals of Metelkova.

Pula has one great monument instead. The three-storey Arena, the Temple of Augustus on the Forum and the Arch of the Sergii make Roman history unusually tangible, with Habsburg naval forts as a second layer. Either city is covered in two or three days.

Neither is a place for big nights out, and the real difference is the season. Ljubljana's riverside terraces and the scruffy late clubs of Metelkova run all year, kept going by students during term.

Pula comes alive only in summer, when the evening drifts from the Forum to beach bars on Verudela and around Medulin. Out of season most nights end early.

Ljubljana has far more landscape within reach. Tivoli Park runs into forested hills, and the Julian Alps, Triglav National Park and the Kamnik-Savinja range offer serious hiking, with rafting on the Soča, the Postojna and Škocjan caves, and skiing in winter.

Pula's outdoors is coastal and low. Kamenjak's cliffs, sea kayaking among the islets and wreck diving are good, but the nearest real high ground, Učka, is an hour and a half away, and summer heat limits walking to spring and autumn.

Both make excellent touring bases, and both can reach Piran and Trieste. From Ljubljana the whole of Slovenia is close: Bled, Škofja Loka, Predjama Castle, Idrija and the Brda wine villages, with Zagreb as another option. Buses and trains reach the main places.

Pula's range is Istria: Rovinj, the Byzantine mosaics at Poreč, hill towns like Motovun and Hum, and the boat to Brijuni. Buses are thin, so here a car matters more than it does around Ljubljana.

Pula has the edge for children, mostly thanks to the sea. The shallow bays at Medulin, an aquarium inside a Habsburg fort, the Arena's underground passages and a dinosaur park and water park within an hour keep a week full, though rocky shores, summer heat and driving take some effort.

Ljubljana is gentler but thinner. Its flat, car-free centre suits pushchairs, and the castle funicular, the dragons and the puppet theatre delight younger children, but most families see it all in two or three days.

Ljubljana is far easier to get around. Nearly everything a visitor wants is within about 20 minutes on foot through a largely pedestrianised centre, with bike-share and intercity buses for trips out.

Pula's old centre is just as walkable, but the coves, Kamenjak and the hill towns depend on a car or scooter, the regional buses are sparse and central parking is tight in high season.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the best buys in both are edible. Ljubljana adds a little more variety, with Idrija lace, gingerbread hearts, a Sunday flea market on the embankment and a few design boutiques around Trubarjeva.

Pula's strength is Istrian olive oil, truffles, wine and pršut, often bought straight from producers, while its main street offers little beyond chains and souvenirs.

Costs are similar, and both are mid-priced places where July and August rooms cost about what they would in Western Europe. In Ljubljana, accommodation is the main expense, while walking everywhere and set lunch menus keep daily spending low.

In Pula, the extras add up: car hire and boat trips, plus tourist-level prices near the Arena. Private apartments in spring or autumn are the way to keep it cheap.

Ljubljana has a real year-round programme for a city its size. The Slovenian Philharmonic, the National Opera and Ballet, and Cankarjev dom fill the calendar, and the summer festival in Plečnik's Križanke courtyard brings visiting orchestras.

Pula has one memorable stage: summer concerts and film screenings inside the Roman Arena. Outside the summer there is little beyond Croatian-language theatre.

Ljubljana is the better choice for a restful stay. It has a water park with a large sauna complex, and Slovenia's thermal spa towns are within about an hour, while the quiet, green centre encourages long riverside afternoons.

Pula has only the spas of its resort hotels, so here relaxation means pine-shaded coastal walks and a slow coffee on the Forum outside high summer.