Lubeck or Prague?

Lübeck has a real coast and Prague has none. Travemünde's sandy beach with its wicker beach chairs, and the resorts along the Bay of Lübeck, have shallow water with no tides. The sea is cool even in August but fine for paddling and summer afternoons.

In Prague, swimming means a reservoir: Dzban in the Sarka valley or Slapy, about an hour south. There are also outdoor pools. If the water is any part of the plan, Lübeck is the only one of the two that offers it.

Prague comes out a little ahead, mostly thanks to its beer. Lager poured fresh from the tank, svickova and dumplings, chlebicky and the old buffets give it a clearer identity at the table. Vinohrady, Karlin and Letna have a modest modern scene, as long as you avoid the menus around Old Town Square.

Lübeck's food is narrower but has its own character: marzipan from the confectioners by the town hall, herring and fish sandwiches at harbour kiosks, Rotspon from the cellars, and a meal under the ship models of the Schiffergesellschaft. Beyond that, the menu is provincial.

Both historic centres are UNESCO-listed, but Prague's is on another scale. The Castle with St Vitus, Baroque Mala Strana, the Charles Bridge, the Old Town and Josefov, followed by the Art Nouveau and Cubist buildings, add up to three or four days. The crowds are heavy, though.

Lübeck is a concentrated lesson in brick Gothic: the Holstentor, the Marienkirche, seven spires and gabled merchants' houses on one island, plus the Hansemuseum and the Buddenbrookhaus. It is quieter, and two days covers it properly.

This is where the two cities differ most. Prague's pubs keep their long tables full until late, and Zizkov's local bars and the beer gardens on Letna and Riegrovy sady make for easy evenings. For clubbing there are the alternative venues of Holesovice, or the big clubs near the Charles Bridge that stay open until dawn. The Old Town can be rowdy at weekends.

Lübeck has pubs and wine bars on the Obertrave and around the cathedral, and Travemünde's promenade is livelier on summer nights. There is little else, and anyone who wants a club takes the train to Hamburg.

Neither city has mountains and both landscapes are gentle, but Prague has more within reach. Petrin Hill, Stromovka and the rocky gorge of Divoka Sarka are inside the city. The sandstone towers of Bohemian Switzerland and the Bohemian Paradise offer real hiking within about two hours.

Around Lübeck, the outdoors means water and flat country: canoeing the Wakenitz towards the Lauenburg lakes, walking the clay cliff at Brodten, easy cycling along the coast and sailing on the bay in summer.

Prague has the longer list. Kutna Hora, Karlstejn and Terezin are each about an hour away, and Konopiste, Krivoklat and Melnik are easy outings. Dresden and Karlovy Vary make longer days, so castles and old towns alone could fill a week.

Lübeck's best outing is Hamburg, about 45 minutes by train. Wismar and Schwerin's island castle are around an hour away, and Ratzeburg, Mölln and Eutin are closer still. After that, the options thin out quickly.

Lübeck is the more comfortable choice with small children, especially in summer. Its old town is small and flat, and Travemünde's shallow beach, the aquarium on the bay and Hansa-Park give children both the sea and rides. Outside the warm months there is much less to do.

Prague has the bigger single attraction in the zoo at Troja, along with the astronomical clock and the Petrin funicular with its mirror maze. Cobbles, steep lanes, the castle stairs and summer crowds make it harder work with a pushchair.

Both centres are walkable, but Prague's public transport is the stronger. Three metro lines and a dense tram network that runs through the night reach nearly every neighbourhood on one ticket, and a tram saves you the climb to the castle. Watch for pickpockets on the busy lines through Mala Strana.

Lübeck needs less. Its island old town is about 2km long, the station is just across the river from the Holstentor, and trains reach Travemünde in about twenty minutes. A car is only useful for the lakes and villages.

Prague has more to offer, though neither city is a shopping destination. Parizska has the luxury labels and Na Prikope the chains. The Czech buys, such as Bohemian crystal, garnets and marionettes, are worth taking home, and the design and vintage shops in Vinohrady and Holesovice beat the souvenir shops of the centre.

Lübeck has chain stores on Breite Strasse and Königstrasse and small craft shops around Hüxstrasse, and marzipan is the souvenir everyone buys. Serious shoppers go to Hamburg.

Prague is the cheaper of the two, as long as you stay a few tram stops out. Beer, pub lunches and transport are inexpensive, but hotels in the historic core and riverside restaurants are priced for visitors. The exchange booths in the centre are best avoided.

Lübeck is mid-range throughout, with moderately priced rooms in the old town and cheap trains to the coast. Its expensive corner is Travemünde and the resorts on the bay in July and August, which book up early.

Prague is far ahead. It has three opera stages, including the Estates Theatre where Don Giovanni had its premiere, along with the Czech Philharmonic at the Rudolfinum and Smetana Hall, so evenings of classical music are easy to fill. Black-light theatre and marionette shows work for visitors who speak no Czech.

Lübeck's offer is smaller but has its own character: Theater Lübeck for opera and drama, organ concerts in the Marienkirche where Buxtehude played, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in summer.

Neither city is a spa destination, and the difference is in the kind of rest each offers. In Lübeck it comes from the sea. Travemünde has been a seaside spa resort since the early nineteenth century, and the bay has wellness hotels, saunas and a seawater pool at Scharbeutz, with a calm old town to come back to.

Prague has hotel spas, massage studios and novelty beer spas. Real rest there means the castle gardens, Kampa or a grand coffee house, and a quiet base in a residential neighbourhood.