Munich or Prague?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Munich offers far better summer swimming. The Starnberger See and the Ammersee are under an hour away by S-Bahn, with lawns, jetties and clear alpine water. In town, the gravel banks of the Isar at the Flaucher are the place to sunbathe.

Prague's options are plainer: the Dzban reservoir in the Sarka valley, outdoor pools, or the wooded Slapy reservoir an hour south. Nobody swims in the Vltava in the centre, so a hotel pool is the realistic fallback.

Both kitchens are built around beer and roast pork, but Munich gets more out of the formula. Its brewery beer halls, chestnut-shaded beer gardens where you may bring your own picnic, the Viktualienmarkt beside Marienplatz and a group of starred restaurants give it a wider range. Afternoon coffee and cake is also taken seriously.

Prague's strength is the beer itself, unpasteurised lager poured from the tank in classic pubs, served alongside svickova, dumplings and cheap chlebicky lunches. The menus around Old Town Square are the weak spot, so for a good meal head to Vinohrady, Karlin or Letna.

Both are first-rate for sightseeing, in different ways. Munich's strength is indoors: the Alte Pinakothek and the Lenbachhaus in the Kunstareal, the Residenz, Nymphenburg and the huge Deutsches Museum, set in an old town largely rebuilt after wartime bombing.

Prague is the reverse. Its museums are good rather than great, but the streets themselves are the attraction, an intact historic centre that runs from the Castle and Mala Strana across the Charles Bridge to Josefov and the Cubist buildings. It is best seen early, before the crowds arrive.

Prague is the livelier night out. Cheap, excellent beer keeps its pubs going late, Zizkov's plain local bars and the summer beer gardens on Letna make easy evenings, and the clubs range from big venues near Wenceslas Square that close at dawn to an alternative techno circuit in Holesovice.

Munich is tidier, and many areas are quiet by midnight on weeknights. Evenings often stay in the beer garden, with cocktail and gay bars around Gärtnerplatz and a few serious weekend clubs. The city only really lets go during the Oktoberfest.

Munich has the mountains close by and Prague does not. From Munich, trains reach Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Zugspitze and Tegernsee for alpine hiking and skiing. In town, the English Garden, with surfers on the Eisbach, is one of Europe's largest city parks.

Prague's landscape is gentler: Petrin Hill, Stromovka and the rocky Divoka Sarka gorge within the city, and the sandstone towers of Bohemian Switzerland about two hours away for good hiking.

Both are excellent bases, but Munich's list is longer and more varied. Augsburg is half an hour away and Nuremberg and Regensburg not much further. Salzburg and Innsbruck bring Austria within reach, alongside the classic trip to Neuschwanstein and the island palace of Herrenchiemsee.

Prague's outings centre on Bohemian castles and towns: Kutna Hora with its ossuary, Karlstejn, the sobering former ghetto at Terezin, and Dresden by train along the Elbe. Cesky Krumlov is a long ride each way, so it works better as an overnight trip.

Munich is the easier city with children. Pushchair-friendly streets, playgrounds in every park, the Hellabrunn zoo along the Isar, the hands-on Deutsches Museum and beer gardens with play areas fill several days without strain.

Prague charms children with its castle, suits of armour and astronomical clock, and the zoo at Troja is one of Europe's best. Beyond those, there is less to do, and cobbles, long castle stairs and summer crowds make the city physically harder going.

Both cities are easy without a car, with one ticket covering all public transport. Munich is flat and good for cycling, and the S-Bahn runs to the lakes and regional trains to the mountains, though delays on the central S-Bahn line are a nuisance.

Prague relies on a dense tram network that runs all night, plus three metro lines, and you can walk across the centre in about fifteen minutes. The cobbles tire your feet, the climb to the castle takes effort, and pickpockets work the trams through Mala Strana.

Munich is the stronger shopping city. Maximilianstrasse has the luxury houses and Kaufingerstrasse the department stores. Specialist tailors make Tracht, the proper Bavarian dirndls and lederhosen, and Glockenbach and Schwabing have independent boutiques.

Prague is better for browsing than for serious buying. Bohemian glass, garnets and marionettes are the buys worth having, but the old centre is crowded with identical souvenir shops, so the design and vintage stores of Vinohrady and Holesovice are worth the detour.

Prague costs noticeably less. Beer, pub lunches and transport are cheap, and staying a few tram stops from Old Town Square makes the money go a long way, as long as you avoid the riverside tourist restaurants and the exchange booths.

Munich is Germany's most expensive city, and you feel it most in hotel prices, especially during the Oktoberfest and the big trade fairs. Picnics in the beer gardens, the free parks and lakes, and token Sunday museum entry help a little.

Munich has the edge at the top level. The Bavarian State Opera in the National Theatre is one of the world's leading companies, and three orchestras of real standing play the Herkulessaal and the Prinzregententheater. The rococo Cuvilliés Theatre adds intimate chamber opera.

Prague is still a strong city for music lovers. Mozart premiered Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre, the Czech Philharmonic plays the Rudolfinum, and Czech opera by Dvorak, Smetana and Janacek is a speciality. Black-light theatre and marionette shows need no Czech, though the many church concerts for visitors vary in quality.

Munich has a real bathing culture that Prague lacks. The Art Nouveau Müller'sches Volksbad, textile-free public saunas with infusion rituals and the huge thermal baths at Erding, about forty minutes away, make spa days easy. Long, slow afternoons in a beer garden help too.

In Prague, wellness means hotel spas, massage studios and the novelty beer spas. Rest comes instead from the grand coffee houses, the Baroque gardens below the castle and quiet benches on Kampa island or at Vysehrad, and it is easier to find if you stay in a residential neighbourhood.