Lubeck or Munich?

Lübeck has the real seaside. Travemünde, part of the city, has a long sandy beach with hooded wicker chairs, and the Bay of Lübeck resorts are within half an hour, all on a calm, shallow Baltic with no tides. The drawback is the cool water and a short season.

Munich has no coast. Its swimming happens on the Isar's gravel banks at the Flaucher and at Starnberger See and the Ammersee, which are under an hour away by S-Bahn. The lakes are slightly warmer at their peak, but a lawn and a jetty are not a beach. Neither city is worth booking for the water.

In Lübeck, eating centres on a few specialities: marzipan from the old confectioners near the town hall, smoked and pickled herring, harbour fish sandwiches, and Rotspon wine aged in the city's cellars. You can eat under ship models at the old captains' guild house, but beyond that the choice is provincial.

Munich offers more to eat and more ways to eat it. There are vast brewery beer halls, chestnut-shaded beer gardens where you may bring your own picnic, white sausage and pretzels in the morning, and the Viktualienmarkt for snacks. It also has a tier of starred restaurants that Lübeck does not match.

Lübeck's strength is the town itself. Almost the whole island old town is UNESCO-listed, with the Holstentor, the Marienkirche as the model for northern brick Gothic, and stepped gables and passageways that largely survived intact. The European Hansemuseum and the Buddenbrookhaus round it out, and two days covers it well.

Munich goes deeper, through its collections. The Kunstareal's Pinakotheks, the Glyptothek and the Lenbachhaus, the Residenz, Nymphenburg and the Deutsches Museum could fill a week. Its old town is handsome but was largely rebuilt after the war.

Lübeck goes quiet early. There are pubs and wine bars around the Obertrave and the cathedral, and Travemünde's promenade gets livelier on summer nights, but most of the town is asleep by midnight. For a big night out, locals take the train to Hamburg.

Munich gives you far more choice after dark. Evenings often start in a beer hall, the Glockenbachviertel and Gärtnerplatz have a dense run of cocktail and gay bars, and a few serious techno clubs stay open until morning at weekends. During Oktoberfest the whole city becomes one long party.

Around Lübeck the countryside is gentle: canoeing on the Wakenitz through reeds, the clay cliff walk at the Brodtener Steilufer, the lakes of Holstein Switzerland, and easy cycling along the coast and the old border strip. It is pleasant, but there are no hills to speak of.

Munich has the mountains. The Alps rise on the southern skyline, and trains reach the Wetterstein, the Zugspitze and Tegernsee for summer hiking and winter skiing. In town, the English Garden and the surfers on the Eisbach standing wave bring the outdoors right into the centre.

From Lübeck, Hamburg is the obvious day out at 45 minutes by train. Wismar and Schwerin's island castle are about an hour away, and Ratzeburg, Mölln and Eutin are closer still. After those, the choice thins out quickly.

Munich's list is longer and takes in more countries. Augsburg, Nuremberg and Regensburg are all within easy reach by train, Salzburg and Innsbruck lie across the Austrian border, and Neuschwanstein and Herrenchiemsee are classic castle trips. You could fill a fortnight without repeating yourself.

Lübeck works well for families mainly in summer. Travemünde's shallow, calm water suits toddlers, the bay resorts have playgrounds and an aquarium, and Hansa-Park is half an hour up the shore. Out of season there is much less aimed at children.

Munich keeps children busy all year. There is the Hellabrunn zoo along the Isar, the hands-on galleries of the Deutsches Museum, the transport museum and the Sea Life aquarium, and beer gardens with their own playgrounds. Legoland is within driving range for a bigger day out.

Lübeck's strength is its size. The old town is a walkable island about 2km long, with the station just across the river from the Holstentor, and a regional train reaches the beach at Travemünde in about twenty minutes. Buses fill the gaps, though the lakes and small coastal villages are easier to reach with a car.

Munich's transport reaches much further. One integrated network of U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses links the museums, Nymphenburg, the Olympic Park, the airport and the lakes, and regional trains cover most day trips, so most visitors can manage without a car. The flat riverside routes suit cycling, and the main irritation is delays on the central S-Bahn line.

Lübeck's shopping is modest: chain stores along Breite Strasse and Königstrasse, small galleries and craft shops tucked around Hüxstrasse and Fleischhauerstrasse, and boxes of marzipan to take home. For fashion, people head to Hamburg.

Munich has much more on offer. Luxury houses line Maximilianstrasse and the Theatinerstrasse arcades, department stores fill the pedestrian axis, and Glockenbach and Schwabing have independent boutiques. It also has a souvenir all its own in Tracht: dirndls and lederhosen from specialist tailors.

Lübeck is the easier city on the wallet. It has a good spread of moderately priced hotels and guesthouses, reasonable taverns and fish kiosks, and cheap trains to the coast. The exception is a beach stay at Travemünde in July and August, which costs more and books up early.

Munich is Germany's most expensive city, and you feel it most in the price of a room, especially during Oktoberfest and the big trade fairs. Beer-hall food, a picnic in a beer garden, the free parks and lakes, and the token Sunday museum fees soften the bill a little.

Lübeck's musical life is modest but has real character. There is opera and drama at the Art Nouveau Theater Lübeck, organ concerts at the Marienkirche, where Buxtehude once played, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in summer. Live rock and jazz are thin on the ground.

Munich ranks among Europe's music capitals. The Bavarian State Opera plays at the National Theatre, three orchestras of real standing perform in halls such as the Herkulessaal, and the gilded Cuvilliés Theatre stages chamber opera. There is a respected jazz scene as well, and big touring acts play at the Olympic Park.

Lübeck's idea of relaxing is seaside air: Travemünde has been a spa resort since the early nineteenth century, there are wellness hotels along the bay and an indoor seawater pool complex at Scharbeutz. The old town's quiet courtyards and riverside benches do the rest.

Munich has a real bathing culture. The Art Nouveau Müller'sches Volksbad has a Roman-style steam bath, the city's public saunas are textile-free in the German manner, and Erding's huge thermal complex is about forty minutes away. The old spa towns of Bad Tölz and Bad Reichenhall lie towards the Alps.