Piran or Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

These two are about as far apart as they can be. In Piran you swim straight from the town, climbing down concrete platforms and ladders into clear, warm water around the Punta. Fiesa's pebble cove is a short walk away, and Portoroz and Strunjan have sand and sunbeds.

Rothenburg sits on a hilltop in Franconia, far inland. Swimming there means the town's outdoor pool or a drive of about an hour to the grassy shores of the Altmühlsee. If water matters at all, only Piran delivers it.

Piran eats better, though neither town is a food destination. Its strength is fresh seafood: grilled fish, squid and scampi buzara, with Istrian olive oil, truffles, Malvazija and salt from the nearby pans.

Rothenburg's cooking is heavy and inland, with roast pork, Schäufele and dumplings alongside Silvaner in its squat Bocksbeutel. Around the Marktplatz, menus are aimed at coach parties, so the good meals are in family guesthouses and Tauber valley wine taverns. Both have a narrow range, but Piran's harbour menus are lighter and fresher.

Rothenburg has more to see. Almost nothing modern breaks its ring of walls, towers and gabled houses, and you can walk much of the wall on its covered walkway. St Jakob holds Riemenschneider's Holy Blood Altar, a major work of late Gothic carving, and the Medieval Crime Museum has real depth.

Piran's appeal is its setting: Venetian Gothic houses on a narrow peninsula, the oval Tartini Square and the view from St George's campanile. Its maritime museum, aquarium and Minorite cloister are pleasant but small. Both towns take about a day to see, but Rothenburg's day is fuller.

Neither town is for a big night out, but Piran has a little more going on after dark. A sunset glass of wine on the Punta is the usual evening, and Portoroz, a few minutes along the shore, has beach bars, a casino and some summer clubs. In Rothenburg the evening means an inn dinner and the night watchman's tour, the lanes are quiet by eleven, and the nearest real nightlife is in Würzburg or Nuremberg.

Piran's surroundings are more varied. Within a short distance there are the flysch cliffs of Strunjan with a path along the top, lagoons full of wading birds at Secovlje, and kayaking below the cliffs. The Parenzana cycle route heads inland through olive groves, and the Skocjan caves are about an hour away.

Rothenburg's outdoors is a gentle river valley. Paths drop from the walls past mills and meadows, and the Tauber valley cycle path follows the river through vineyards and villages. It is lovely in blossom season or autumn colour, but there is no sea, cave country or cliff scenery to compare with Piran's.

Both are good bases, with a slight edge to Piran because it offers more variety. From Piran you can cross into two other countries: Habsburg Trieste, the Croatian hill towns of Motovun and Groznjan, Rovinj and Porec. In summer you can also take a boat to Venice, and Ljubljana and Predjama Castle are within reach.

Rothenburg's trips are more alike: other walled towns on the Romantic Road such as Dinkelsbühl and crater-ringed Nördlingen, plus the cities of Würzburg and Nuremberg. In both places a car makes these trips far easier.

Piran works better for younger children, mainly because of the sea. The water is calm and warm in summer, the old town has no cars, and Portoroz has a shallow sandy beach when ladders and ledges are too much.

Rothenburg suits older children who like a story. They can walk the ramparts, follow the night watchman's lantern and look at the torture devices in the crime museum. But the cobbles are hard work with a pushchair, and a day or two covers it. Neither town has much built for children, so plan short stays in both.

Getting around is much the same in both towns. You can cross either old centre on foot in about fifteen minutes, and cars stay outside, in Piran's garage with its shuttle bus and outside Rothenburg's gates. The differences come once you leave. Piran has no railway, while Rothenburg has a station at the end of a branch line where most journeys need a change at Steinach. Expect steep lanes up to St George's in Piran and a stiff climb back from the Tauber valley in Rothenburg.

Rothenburg has more to buy, though almost all of it is aimed at visitors. Shops on the Herrngasse sell Christmas decorations all year, from glass baubles to Erzgebirge carvings, and the Marktplatz Christmas market is among the most atmospheric in Germany. Piran's shopping is a few craft galleries and souvenir stalls, and the best things to take home are edible: salt flower from Secovlje, olive oil and coastal wine.

Costs are much the same, and in both towns the old centre carries a tourist premium. The difference is when prices peak. In Piran it is July and August, when old town rooms are scarce. In Rothenburg it is December and summer weekends. Both have the same fix: stay in Portoroz or out of season for Piran, and outside the walls or in a nearby village for Rothenburg. Swimming in Piran and walking the ramparts in Rothenburg cost little or nothing.

Neither town has a regular cultural calendar, and both have most of their performances in summer. Piran's are musical: classical concerts honouring Tartini in churches, the monastery cloister and on the square, plus recitals at the small Tartini Theatre. Rothenburg's are historical: the costumed Meistertrunk play about the Thirty Years' War, a small open-air theatre, and organ and choral concerts in St Jakob. Outside these events, both are quiet in the evenings.

Piran is much the better place to relax properly. The Portoroz spa tradition uses brine, seawater and salt-pan mud, and at Secovlje you can lie in salt mud in the open air with the lagoons around you. Add the car-free lanes and long evenings by the bay, and slowing down comes naturally.

Rothenburg's calm comes at the edges of the day, when the coach groups have gone and the walls and valley paths empty out. Beyond the small hotel spas, a proper soak means driving to Bad Windsheim's salt-water pool or to Bad Mergentheim.