Prague or Trieste?

Prague has no sea at all. Swimming there means the Dzban reservoir in Divoka Sarka, an outdoor pool, or a day trip to the wooded shores of Slapy, which is fine on a hot afternoon but not a reason to go.

Trieste offers proper sea swimming, if not sand. Locals climb down ladders off the concrete platforms at Barcola, the coves below Duino and the bay at Grignano are prettier, and from June to September the water is warm and clear. If your children need soft, shallow beaches it will let you down, but anyone happy to swim off rocks can be in the Adriatic every day.

Both cities lean hearty and Central European, but Trieste eats with more range. Prague's table is built around its superb lager: roast pork and dumplings, svickova, chlebicky, best found in Vinohrady or Karlin, away from the tourist menus around Old Town Square.

Trieste shares the boiled pork and sauerkraut, served from steaming pots at its buffets, but adds Adriatic sardoni, jota and Habsburg pastries. It also has a coffee culture with its own vocabulary and the farmhouse osmize on the Karst, which pour Vitovska and Terrano. Neither is a fine-dining city. Beer drinkers will prefer Prague, and anyone curious about a cuisine they won't meet anywhere else will prefer Trieste.

Prague is in a different league for sightseeing. The whole centre is a UNESCO site, and the Castle with St Vitus Cathedral, Baroque Mala Strana, the statue-lined Charles Bridge, the astronomical clock and the synagogues of Josefov fill three or four busy days. The architecture runs on into Art Nouveau and rare Cubist buildings.

Trieste's appeal is quieter and more about atmosphere. Piazza Unità opening onto the sea, the Canal Grande with San Spiridione, the cathedral mosaics on San Giusto and Miramare Castle make for a rewarding couple of days. Its Joyce and Svevo connections are felt more than seen.

Prague is far livelier after dark. Its pubs stay full late, Zizkov's cheap local bars and Vinohrady's cocktail lounges give it range, and there are clubs of two kinds: the big dawn-closing venues near Wenceslas Square and the techno spaces in Holesovice.

Trieste's evening is the aperitivo, a spritz or local white wine by the Canal Grande or in Cavana, then a summer drink on the Barcola seafront. There are few clubs and winter weeknights end early, so it suits a long dinner rather than a night out.

Trieste lives right up against wild landscape. The Karst plateau climbs straight behind the city, with cliff-top walks on the Strada Napoleonica and the Rilke Path, the Val Rosandra gorge for hiking and climbing, and the Grotta Gigante cave. The gulf adds sailing and snorkelling in the Miramare marine reserve, and the Julian Alps are within reach.

Prague's outdoors is greener but gentler. Petrin Hill, Stromovka and the Divoka Sarka gorge are good in-town escapes, and the sandstone towers of Bohemian Switzerland make excellent hiking about two hours away. There are no mountains and no sea, though.

Both make excellent bases, so the choice depends on what you want to see. From Prague the outings are Bohemian castles and old towns: Kutna Hora's ossuary and cathedral, Karlstejn, Terezin's sobering memorial, and Dresden along the Elbe.

From Trieste the range crosses three countries: Roman Aquileia, star-shaped Palmanova and Collio wine country in Friuli, Piran and Ljubljana in Slovenia, Istria by car, and Venice by train.

Neither city is built around children, and the two are about level, but they suit different ages. Prague has the storybook castle, the astronomical clock and one of Europe's best zoos at Troja, though cobbles, castle stairs and summer crowds wear out families with pushchairs.

Trieste is calmer and offers caves, boats and the Miramare gardens, plus a small aquarium and summer days at Barcola. Its rocky swimming and stepped streets suit older children better than toddlers.

Prague is the easier city to get around. The compact centre is quick to walk, and three metro lines plus a tram network that runs all night reach almost everywhere on one ticket. The only real drawbacks are the cobbles and pickpockets on the crowded tram lines.

Trieste's flat waterfront core is just as pleasant on foot, but the climb to San Giusto is a stiff one up long flights of steps. Beyond the centre you rely on buses and on boats to Muggia, and a car helps for the Karst villages and trips over the border.

Prague gives a shopper more to work with: luxury labels on Parizska, chains on Na Prikope, and distinctive Czech buys in Bohemian crystal, garnets and marionettes. You have to look past the souvenir clutter, and the small design shops of Vinohrady and Holesovice are worth the trip.

In Trieste shopping is an afterthought. Corso Italia has ordinary Italian clothing shops and the old town has antique dealers, but the best things to take home are coffee, Karst wine and presnitz.

Prague stretches a budget a little further. Beer, pub lunches and transport stay cheap, and staying a few tram stops out in Zizkov or Karlin keeps costs well down, provided you avoid the exchange booths and the restaurants with river views.

Trieste is fair rather than cheap. Buffet plates, bar coffee and buses cost little, and the swimming and Karst walks are free, but seafood and good hotels charge normal Italian city prices, and rooms get tighter around the regatta.

Prague is one of Europe's great music cities. You can choose between three opera stages, including the Estates Theatre where Don Giovanni premiered, the Czech Philharmonic at the Rudolfinum, and black-light and marionette theatre that needs no Czech. On top of that come countless church concerts and a modest jazz scene.

Trieste has a serious house in the waterfront Teatro Verdi and an unusual Habsburg taste for operetta, and in summer there are concerts in the San Giusto castle courtyard. Beyond that the circuit is thin, and you won't find a performance every night.

Neither city has a bathing tradition. Both offer hotel spas, and Prague adds its novelty beer spas. The real thermal towns lie beyond either city.

What differs is where you find rest. In Prague it means getting away from the crowds, in the castle gardens, on Kampa or at Vysehrad. Trieste's whole pace is slow, with long mornings in the coffee houses and a sunset stroll on the Molo Audace, so calm comes more easily there.