Lucerne or Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

Neither town has a coast, but Lucerne at least has a lake you can swim in. In July and August the water is warm enough for a dip from the Lido, the old wooden lake baths or the lawns at Ufschötti, with mountains across the water.

In Rothenburg the choice is the town's outdoor pool or a drive of about an hour to the artificial lakes of the Franconian lake district, such as the Altmühlsee. Neither is a beach vacation, but in Lucerne a swim fits easily between excursions.

Both kitchens are hearty and regional with a narrow range, and in both the restaurants around the main sights cook for tour groups. The difference is in what you eat. Lucerne leans on cheese and lake fish: fondue, raclette, perch and the veal-filled Chügelipastete, with a few modern bistros in the Neustadt.

Rothenburg is pork and beer country, with Schäufele, bratwurst and dumplings, dry Silvaner from the Tauber valley, and family-run wine taverns away from the Marktplatz. Meals there cost noticeably less, while Lucerne has the riverside terraces for a long coffee.

Sightseeing in both towns is about equally rewarding and equally brief, but it works differently. Lucerne has a handful of famous set pieces: the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the Lion Monument and the Musegg towers. It also has real art in the Rosengart Collection's Picasso and Klee, and in the Bourbaki Panorama.

In Rothenburg the walled town itself is the sight. You walk the covered ramparts, stand at the Plönlein and find almost nothing modern inside the walls. Its one great work of art is Riemenschneider's Holy Blood Altar in St Jakob's, and the Medieval Crime Museum is its only substantial collection.

Neither town is made for a big night out, but Lucerne at least gives you some choice. It has wine bars along the Reuss, cocktail bars and a small club scene in the Neustadt near the station, and student weekends. At Fasnacht the whole town stays up until dawn.

Rothenburg's lanes are mostly silent by eleven, and its most popular evening outing is the night watchman's walking tour. For anything livelier you would have to go to Würzburg or Nuremberg.

This is where the two differ most. Lucerne sits on a branching lake beneath real mountains. Cogwheel trains climb Pilatus and Rigi, an open-top cable car goes up the Stanserhorn, and the glacier on Titlis is about an hour away, all linked by paddle steamers. Summer and early autumn are for hiking, and winter brings skiing and sledging.

Rothenburg's countryside is gentle by comparison. Paths drop from the walls into the Tauber valley, the riverside cycle path runs through vineyards, and the Frankenhöhe orchards look their best in spring blossom and autumn colour. It suits easy walks and family cycling, not days in the Alps.

Both make good bases, but Lucerne's day trips are easier to reach. Zurich, Bern and Basel are each under an hour by train. The lake is an outing in itself, with boats to Vitznau, Brunnen and the Rütli meadow of the William Tell story.

Rothenburg's strength is the string of towns along the Romantic Road: Dinkelsbühl, Nördlingen in its meteorite crater and Schwäbisch Hall. Würzburg's Residenz and Nuremberg's castle are about an hour away. Almost all of these trips mean driving, because the trains need a change on a quiet branch line.

Lucerne gives children more to do. The Swiss Museum of Transport fills a whole day. The cogwheel trains, steamers and summer toboggan run on Pilatus turn the excursions themselves into the fun, though they depend on clear weather.

For a day or two, Rothenburg is like a storybook for children. They can walk the ramparts, climb the Rathaus tower and follow the night watchman, and older children like the torture devices in the Crime Museum. After that it runs short of ideas, and the cobbles and steep valley paths are hard on pushchairs and small legs.

Lucerne is the easier place to manage without a car. The station, the boat piers and the Old Town sit together on the lakefront. One integrated ticket system takes you onto the steamers, cogwheel railways and cable cars.

Inside its walls Rothenburg is just as walkable, with fifteen minutes from one side to the other, though on cobbles and with a steep climb back up from the valley. Beyond the gates, a branch line with a change at Steinach and sparse buses make a car the practical choice.

Both towns sell mainly to visitors, but Lucerne has a little more range. Its speciality is Swiss watches, sold in large shops on Schwanenplatz and along the lakefront. There are also army knives and chocolate, a few Old Town boutiques and the Saturday riverside market.

Rothenburg sells Christmas all year round: glass baubles, nutcrackers, smoking men and Erzgebirge carvings, plus teddy bears and pewter along the Herrngasse. Its Christmas market on the Marktplatz is one of the most atmospheric in Germany, but there is almost no fashion or everyday shopping.

Rothenburg is far easier on the budget. Prices are those of small-town Germany with a tourist premium, beer and wine in the inns are reasonably priced, and staying in a village outside the walls saves a good deal.

Lucerne is expensive in every way: central hotels, simple meals and above all the mountain railways and cable cars that are the reason to go. A Swiss travel pass and picnics by the lake help, but there is no way to make it a cheap trip.

For its size, Lucerne is a serious music city. The Lucerne Festival brings leading orchestras to the lakefront concert hall, famous for its acoustics, mainly in late summer. The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and the city theatre keep up a year-round programme of concerts, opera, drama and dance.

Rothenburg's performances are mostly about its own history, above all the costumed Meistertrunk play, along with summer open-air theatre and organ and choral concerts in St Jakob's. On most evenings there is no show to go to.

Neither town has a bathing tradition, and in both the reward is peace and quiet more than spa treatments. Lucerne has a slight edge. Its calm comes from the water, with slow walks along the lake promenades and afternoons on the steamers. Mario Botta's mineral bath on the Rigi, reached by boat and train, offers a soak with a mountain view.

Rothenburg is at its most peaceful early and late in the day, when the coach groups have gone and the walls and the Tauber valley are empty. For thermal water you drive about an hour to the salt-water pool at Bad Windsheim or to Bad Mergentheim.