Sibiu or Sofia?

Neither city is for a beach vacation, as both lie far inland from the Black Sea. Sibiu has the more unusual swim: the salt lakes at Ocna Sibiului, about 20km away, are buoyant enough to float in and warm up well in high summer.

Sofia offers only park pools and the lake at Pancharevo on the city's edge, so a swim there is a way to cool off rather than a reason to go.

The two are about even at the table, both serving hearty regional cooking without much international range. Sibiu's strength is Transylvanian home food in vaulted cellars, with sheep's cheese, smoked meats and brandies from the Marginimea villages and its own dry salami.

Sofia's Balkan grills, shopska salad and banitsa breakfasts come with a better wine culture built on local grapes, and a few more modern bistros around Vitosha Boulevard give it a lighter option.

Each gives a rewarding two or three days, but in different ways. In Sibiu the town itself is the sight: three linked squares, the Council Tower, the Bridge of Lies, guild towers and rooftop "eyes", with the Brukenthal paintings and the ASTRA open-air museum to add depth.

Sofia's appeal lies in separate monuments rather than its streets: Roman Serdica under the centre, the Rotunda of St George, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Boyana's UNESCO frescoes and Thracian gold in the history museum, linked by streets that are often plain.

Sofia has noticeably more to do after dark. The streets around Shishman and Tsar Ivan Asen are packed with cocktail, wine and craft beer bars, cellar bars draw young professionals as well as students, and there are a few electronic clubs.

Sibiu's evenings are quieter: a drink on the summer terraces or in a student cellar bar near the squares, with clubs that come alive mainly at weekends in term time.

Both have serious mountains on the doorstep, but access differs. Sofia's Vitosha is reachable by city bus and gondola, with boulder rivers and the climb to Cherni Vrah within an hour, and the Seven Rila Lakes and Borovets's skiing further out.

Sibiu looks onto higher, wilder country: the Fagaras ridge above 2,500m, glacial lakes, multi-day traverses and the Transfagarasan drive to Balea Lake, plus gentle hiking at Paltinis. Most of it needs a car or a tour, and there is a chance of seeing bears.

Sibiu has the richer choice close by. Fortified Saxon churches such as Biertan and Cisnadioara, walled Sighisoara, Alba Iulia's star citadel and Corvin Castle all lie within easy driving range, so a week can be filled without moving hotels.

Sofia has two outstanding outings, Rila Monastery and Plovdiv's Roman theatre and old town, each about two hours away and with the advantage that Plovdiv is reachable by train. Beyond those and Koprivshtitsa, the best places are too far for a day.

Both are calm places with children and both are short of attractions made for them. Sibiu's best day out is the ASTRA museum with the Dumbrava zoo and playgrounds beside it, and its small traffic-free squares are easy to wander, though the stairways down to the Lower Town are tough with a pushchair.

In Sofia the big parks and a gondola ride up Vitosha do the same job, with a science centre for rainy days, but broken pavements make pushchairs hard work.

Sibiu's centre needs no transport at all: the sights cluster within a short walk of the Large Square on largely pedestrian streets, and the only effort is the steep lanes and stairways down to the Lower Town. The airport is close by, but slow, infrequent regional trains make a car or a tour the practical way to reach the fortified churches and the mountains.

Sofia is a bigger city with a proper network to match. The metro links the airport, the centre, the main railway station and Vitosha's foothills, and trams, trolleybuses and plentiful taxis fill the gaps, so a car only earns its keep for the monasteries and the high mountains. On foot it takes more getting used to, with cracked pavements, parked cars and Cyrillic signs once you leave the centre.

Sofia has a little more to offer. Vitosha Boulevard gathers the international chains on a pedestrian street, and rose oil, Troyan pottery and the icon flea market near Alexander Nevsky give it local character.

Sibiu is mostly about crafts on Nicolae Balcescu Street, painted ceramics, embroidered blouses and icons on glass, with the Christmas market and summer pottery fair as its high points.

Both are among the cheaper places to visit in Europe, with hearty meals, local wine and museum entry all costing little. The differences are in timing: Sibiu's rooms rise in price during the June theatre festival and the Christmas market, while in Sofia only the smarter bistros and cocktail bars push the bill up, and trips to Vitosha or Rila add very little.

The two are close, but they peak differently. Sibiu is defined by its June International Theatre Festival, when stages, churches and squares fill for over a week, and by the respected Radu Stanca National Theatre, though much is in Romanian and quiet weeks offer little.

Sofia keeps a steadier year-round season of opera and ballet at the National Opera, concerts at Bulgaria Hall and the National Palace of Culture, and the chance to hear Orthodox choral singing.

Neither is a spa destination in itself, and both rely on bathing just outside town. Sibiu's tradition is the salt lakes and mud cures of Ocna Sibiului, with mountain air at Paltinis for a restful stay.

Sofia sits on mineral springs, with warm public taps by the old Central Mineral Baths, mineral pools on its edges and the spa town of Bankya half an hour away, so it has slightly more on hand.