Lubeck or Maastricht?

The gap here is wide. Lübeck has a real seaside within its own city limits: Travemünde's long sandy beach with its hooded wicker chairs, and the resorts of Timmendorfer Strand and Scharbeutz a short drive along the bay. The water is cool even in summer, but it is calm and shallow, which makes it good for a few beach afternoons.

Maastricht is far inland. Swimming there means the old gravel-pit lakes along the Maas, which are pleasant on a hot day and nothing more.

Maastricht eats better. Its Dutch reputation for good living shows in zuurvlees with fries, vlaai in every bakery, asparagus and game in season, Belgian beer and white wines from the local hillsides. Its fine dining is unusually strong for a small city.

Lübeck's food is narrower and more northern: marzipan around the town hall, smoked herring and fish sandwiches from harbour kiosks, Rotspon from the city's cellars, and a meal at the Schiffergesellschaft under its hanging ship models. Some of it is memorable, but food is a side pleasure there rather than the reason to go.

Lübeck has the stronger set of sights. Nearly its whole island old town is a UNESCO site, the best-preserved Hanseatic townscape on the Baltic. It has the Holstentor, the Marienkirche that set the pattern for brick Gothic churches across the north, and museums such as the European Hansemuseum and the Buddenbrookhaus.

Maastricht's history goes back further, to Roman and Romanesque times. It has the Basilica of Saint Servatius, the Helpoort, the tunnels of the Sint-Pietersberg and the Bonnefanten for art. That fills two good days, but its sights are scattered pieces rather than a whole preserved old town like Lübeck's.

Neither is a clubbing city, but Maastricht has much more going on after dark. Its large student population keeps the brown cafés around the Markt and the Platielstraat busy late at weekends, and for several days before Lent carnival turns the whole city into a street party.

Lübeck goes to bed early. It has a few pubs and wine bars in the old town and along the Obertrave, and Travemünde's promenade is livelier on summer nights. For anything bigger, people take the train to Hamburg.

Maastricht has more varied countryside on its doorstep. Footpaths start at the edge of the city on the marl cliffs of the Sint-Pietersberg. The Heuvelland of South Limburg has orchards, sunken lanes and short steep climbs that road cyclists love, and Hoge Kempen and the Ardennes lie further out.

Lübeck's surroundings are flatter and full of water: canoeing on the Wakenitz, the clifftop walk along the Brodtener Steilufer, the lakes of Holstein Switzerland and long, easy cycle routes by the coast. It has the sea and sailing, which Maastricht lacks, but less variety for walkers.

Maastricht wins this one through its position on two borders. Aachen and Liège are each about half an hour away, Valkenburg and Tongeren are nearer still, and Cologne, Brussels and Leuven make longer days out. A week there can take in three countries.

Lübeck has one outstanding excursion in Hamburg, about 45 minutes by train, and good second choices in Wismar, Schwerin's island castle and Ratzeburg on its lake. Beyond those, the list runs short.

Both are small, safe and flat enough for buggies, so the difference is in what children can do. In summer Lübeck has the seaside, with Travemünde's shallow beach, promenades and playgrounds along the bay, and Hansa-Park half an hour up the shore. Maastricht has no sea, but its tunnel tour under the Sint-Pietersberg and Valkenburg's caves, cable car and fairy-tale park work in any season.

Both centres are made for walking, and in both the station is a short stroll from the old town. Lübeck's island is about 2km long, and buses and a twenty-minute train cover the trip to the beach at Travemünde. Maastricht spreads across both banks of the Maas and is a cycling town, where a bike is the natural way to reach the riverside and the hill villages.

Maastricht is a shopping destination in its own right. The restored 17th- and 18th-century houses of the Stokstraat quarter hold designer boutiques, the Grote Staat has the main brands, and the weekly market fills the Markt with cheese and textiles.

Lübeck's Breite Strasse and Königstrasse are mostly chain stores and a department store, though the courtyard passages around Hüxstrasse hide some craft shops and galleries. For fashion in any depth, shoppers go on to Hamburg.

Lübeck is the easier city on a budget. Old-town rooms are moderately priced, tavern meals and harbour fish kiosks are reasonable, and the train to the coast is cheap. The exception is Travemünde's beach accommodation in July and August, which costs noticeably more.

Maastricht has Dutch prices, and because it is a favourite for short breaks, weekend rooms are in demand. Midweek stays, bakery lunches and a walkable centre help keep costs down, but overall it costs more.

The two are on a similar provincial footing and differ mostly in style. Lübeck leans towards church and classical music: organ concerts in the Marienkirche, where Buxtehude was organist, opera at the Art Nouveau Theater Lübeck and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in summer.

Maastricht has more popular and outdoor music. Large open-air concerts fill the Vrijthof in summer, jazz cafés play through the week and brass bands march at carnival, alongside the regional orchestra and opera at the Vrijthof theatre.

Maastricht is better placed for a spa break. The thermal pools above Valkenburg, Aachen's baths, in use since Roman times, and the Belgian town of Spa are all within an hour, and the city itself has a slow rhythm of long lunches.

Lübeck's restful side is the sea. Travemünde has been a seaside spa resort since the early nineteenth century, and there are wellness hotels along the bay and an indoor seawater pool complex at Scharbeutz. It suits a quiet few days more than a dedicated spa trip.