Nuremberg or Wroclaw?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but Nuremberg has the more useful fallback. The Franconian Lake District, about an hour south, has reservoirs such as the Brombachsee with grassy shores, small sandy strips and water warm enough for a summer afternoon.

Wroclaw's sandy spots along the Oder are for deckchairs and a drink rather than swimming, and the Baltic is most of a day away. Here you would swim in outdoor pools or drive out to countryside lakes.

Both cities serve hearty regional cooking built around beer, so the difference is in character. Nuremberg has the more distinctive local identity: beechwood-grilled finger bratwurst on pewter plates, Sunday Schäufele and centuries-old Lebkuchen, washed down with Franconian lagers and smoky Kellerbier in taverns and beer gardens.

Wroclaw answers with pierogi, żurek in a bread bowl and roast duck, cheap canteen lunches in old milk bars and brewpubs in historic cellars. It also has a few modern bistros lightening Polish dishes just off the Market Square, while the terraces on the square itself are best skipped.

These two are closely matched, and what differs is the kind of history on show. Nuremberg is an imperial city: the Kaiserburg rises above almost unbroken medieval walls, with the churches of St Sebaldus and St Lorenz, Dürer's house and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum below. It also confronts its twentieth century directly, at the vast Nazi Rally Grounds and in the courtroom where the war crimes trials were held.

Wroclaw centres on its huge Market Square and Gothic town hall, the quiet lanes of Ostrów Tumski with their hand-lit gas lamps and the gilded Aula Leopoldina. Further out are the early concrete giant of the Centennial Hall and the vast circular Racławice Panorama. Both old towns were largely rebuilt after the Second World War, so each city carries its wartime past in its streets.

Wroclaw is the better night out. Its large student population fills the cellars and courtyards around the Market Square, and the bar-packed passage off Ruska Street keeps going well past 2am at weekends, with drinking moving to the riverbanks and islands in summer.

Nuremberg's evenings are calmer: taverns and wine bars in the old town, and a more alternative bar scene in Gostenhof west of the walls. Neither city has clubs worth travelling for, and Wroclaw goes noticeably quieter between university terms.

On the outdoors the two are level, though the settings differ. Nuremberg is ringed by pine forest, with the Reichswald at the city edge and Franconian Switzerland's limestone towers, caves and climbing crags about an hour away.

Wroclaw's green space is flatter and watery, with river channels, islands, Szczytnicki Park and its Japanese Garden. It does have the higher ground within longer reach: Ślęża for a half-day hike, and the Karkonosze and Table Mountains about two hours away, with skiing in winter.

This is where Nuremberg pulls well ahead. Bamberg, Regensburg and Würzburg are each about an hour by train, Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl a little further, and even Munich and Bayreuth are easy rail outings, so you can see a string of major historic towns without hiring a car.

Wroclaw's surroundings are rewarding but harder work. Książ Castle, the wooden Churches of Peace and the palaces of the Jelenia Góra valley are fine sights, but they lie spread across the countryside and a car makes combining them far easier.

Both cities work well with children, in different ways. Nuremberg plays on its toy-making past with a Toy Museum, a railway museum with full-size locomotives, a play park in nearby Zirndorf and a separate children's Christmas market, though the climb to the castle is steep and cobbled.

Wroclaw's centre is flat and largely car-free, and hunting for the bronze dwarfs keeps younger children busy. Its zoo's Afrykarium with a shark tunnel is the standout, but beyond that and the summer fountain shows the list runs out sooner.

Nuremberg is the easier city to handle. Almost everything sits within walls about 1.5km across, the main station is right by the southern gate, and one ticket covers U-Bahn, trams, buses and S-Bahn out to the zoo, the Rally Grounds and Fürth.

Wroclaw's centre is also flat and walkable, with pedestrian streets and good riverside bike lanes. Its trams can be slow in rush hour and the network takes some learning, and many day trips need a car.

Neither city is a shopping destination, so the interest is in souvenirs. Nuremberg offers Lebkuchen in decorated tins, wooden toys and the craft workshops of the Handwerkerhof, and in Advent the Christkindlesmarkt transforms the Hauptmarkt.

Wroclaw's best buys are Bolesławiec stoneware, Baltic amber and dwarf figurines, with the riverside market hall for food and a few vintage and design shops in Nadodrze. The ceramic-fronted Renoma department store is worth seeing for its architecture.

Wroclaw is much cheaper. Central rooms cost a fraction of Western European prices, milk-bar lunches and beer are very cheap, and only the Market Square terraces and big-event weekends push costs up.

Nuremberg is reasonable for Germany, with filling tavern meals and cheap local beer. Its weak point is hotels during the big trade fairs and the Advent season, when rooms become scarce and expensive.

Wroclaw has the edge, chiefly because of music. The National Forum of Music offers a full concert season in a hall known for its acoustics, and festivals such as Wratislavia Cantans and Jazz on the Oder add to it. Its strong theatre tradition is mostly in Polish, though.

Nuremberg's Art Nouveau Staatstheater stages opera, ballet and drama, and its summer brings the free Bardentreffen folk weekend and a big open-air concert in the Luitpoldhain. It is solid regional fare rather than a reason to visit.

Nuremberg is the more rewarding place to unwind. A big thermal spa with sauna gardens is a short U-Bahn ride away in Fürth, Bad Windsheim's saline floating pools are about an hour west, and German sauna culture is well served, though often nude and mixed.

Wroclaw itself has only hotel spas and an aquapark. To take the waters you would travel to the old spa towns of Lower Silesia, starting with Szczawno-Zdrój about an hour out.